In recent months, Charlie Wilkinson, UPD's Community and Partnerships Manager, has led work with organisations and individuals working within the health data space, to co‑develop the UPD's new Health Data Compass. In this blog, he shares what we’ve learned so far and where this exciting project is heading next.
Over the past few months, we’ve been working closely with people across the health data landscape to codevelop the Health Data Compass, UPD’s exciting new evidence hub which seeks to bring together public insights on health data into one coherent, live, and shared database.
The Compass aims to reduce duplication, share meaningful evidence, and offer an up‑to‑date view of what matters. From the start, we knew our intentions for the Compass would only be realised if the people who will use and champion the Compass helped to shape it – that’s why co-development has been the launch pad for this tool.
Between January and March 2026, we hosted four workshops with a broad mix of colleagues, to capture experiences from across engagement, policy, and research backgrounds to answer vital questions about the development of the Compass. The conversations have been rich, honest, and hugely beneficial as we consider what makes this evidence hub truly valuable. Below are some reflections on what we’ve learned, and where we’re going next.
What we have heard: The themes that cut across every workshop
1. Transparency
No matter which session we were in, people talked about how important it is to understand how public insights shared on the hub are captured – the methods used, who took part, motivations, limitations, funding, and more. People want transparency so they can make their own independent judgements about quality of work, and whether they trust it.
2. Keep things simple
Participants want the Compass to be easy to navigate, visually appealing, and centred around a reliable search function. Short summaries, consistent formatting, and layered access to information were all seen as important to support easy navigation of the tool.
3. Build on what's already there
A key message we heard was to not try and create new communities or programmes. The system already has vibrant networks and communities of practice. Instead, people encouraged us to partner with and plug into existing spaces rather than duplicate effort.
4. Visibility and impact
Whether coming from a researcher, a PPIE lead or a charity, people want to know that the work they share will be seen, used and generate impact. Recognition and visibility of this is important – spotlights, newsletters, and usage metrics were highlighted as important ways of showing value back to contributors.
5. The Compass should go beyond storing insights
Workshop participants saw the Compass as a platform that can help identify gaps, improve engagement practice, support policy development, guide research questions and shine light on trends. There’s a real appetite for this resource to help the system work smarter and more coherently in ways that go beyond collating insights.
What this means for the Health Data Compass
Working with our delivery partners White Tail and Invuse, we’re now using these insights to guide the next stage of development; from the structure of the submission portal to how insights are displayed and how the hub will evolve over time.
Some early commitments include defining the scope of the Compass by clarifying what counts as ‘health data’ and how long insights remain active. Rather than formal quality ratings, we will use light‑touch inclusion thresholds and transparent methods to support users’ own judgements. A strong search experience will come first, with layered information and clear summaries. We will prioritise collaboration to avoid duplication, and work iteratively after launch, expanding the definition of health data to include social care.
These decisions directly reflect what people told us they need for this resource to be useful, trusted and valuable.
Thank You
None of this would have been possible without the time, energy and honesty of everyone who joined our workshops and interviews, whose insights have shaped not only what the Compass will look and feel like, but the principles underpinning it.
Co-development doesn’t end here: as we move into design, build and testing, we’ll keep refining the Compass with this community and partners to strengthen what exists, fill genuine gaps and build a trusted resource. Express your interest to stay updated on the Compass, and get involved in future developments, here.