The Swiss Personalized Health Network is a national data infrastructure under the responsibility of the SAMS in collaboration with the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. SPHN makes health data interoperable and reusable for research in Switzerland.
SPHN was launched in 2017 as a National Support Initiative of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). SPHN supports researchers throughout all phases of their projects: from identifying relevant data and meeting legal requirements to providing a secure environment for data analysis. The network also promotes the quality of clinical data by enabling hospitals to make their data interoperable in line with national and international standards. In doing so, SPHN promotes research with health data across Switzerland based on FAIR principles, ensuring that data is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.
Year 2025 and beyond
SPHN has been acknowledged as a sustainable part of the Swiss research infrastructure landscape in the ERI Dispatch 2025–2028. For SPHN, the years 2025–2028 mark a transition phase in terms of consolidation of its role as a national center for FAIR health data and supporting academic research across Switzerland. SPHN will focus on optimizing infrastructures, services and collaboration with its partners.
For the 2025–2028 funding period, SPHN focuses on the following priorities:
- Consolidation of the SPHN Data Coordination Center (SPHN DCC): Clarifying its role within the national data ecosystem and ensuring access to clinical and omics data in accordance with legal, ethical, and FAIR principles.
- Continuation of the SPHN network: Maintaining and further strengthening the structures established since 2017.
- Interfaces with other activities and institutions: Aligning with federally funded initiatives (e.g. DigiSanté, cohort data initiatives, the Swiss Health Study, the Swiss Biobanking Platform (SBP), the Swiss Clinical Trial Unit Network / Swiss Clinical Trial Organisation (SCTO), and the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC)); leveraging synergies; ensuring interoperability, security, and governance; and coordinating with the core competencies of other stakeholders in the clinical research landscape.
- Public–private partnerships: Further developing and implementing strategies for collaboration with industry.
- International cooperation: Expanding collaboration with international consortia, data infrastructures, and initiatives.
- Ethical, legal, and societal issues: Addressing questions related to the secondary use of clinical and related data in line with the principles of Open Research Data.
- BioMedIT: Coordinating a secure IT environment for data exchange and analysis (Trusted Research Environment, FAIR Data Repositories).
- Long-term data coordination from 2029 onwards: Supporting the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) in developing a sustainable national concept.
By 2029, the SPHN aims to have a well-established, optimized structure with clear governance, co-financing mechanisms and strong technical capabilities. This will ensure SPHN’s seamless integration into Switzerland’s broader Open Research Data landscape.
The SPHN website provides researchers, partners, and the community with comprehensive information about its goals, services, funding opportunities, network partners, and other aspects.
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