The British Data Awards is an annual quest that sets out to discover and celebrate the UK’s data success stories. This year, organisations taking part include fresh-faced start-ups, not-for-profits, technology unicorns, government departments, FTSE 100 heavyweights, and everything in between.

With a record 462 nominations received, competition to be named a Finalist has been particularly tough. The organisations and individuals behind these entries have showcased some of the most impactful data work being carried out across the United Kingdom.

We’re therefore really proud to share that Register Dynamics has been shortlisted as a finalist in the British Data Awards for Data for Good Consulting Initiative of the Year, for our work with Genomics England on the Somatic Variant Frequency Finder: Using Genomics Data to Support Cancer Research.

This is one of two finalist nominations we’ve received at this year’s British Data Awards.

Why this nomination matters to us

This nomination means a lot to us. It reflects a project we’re genuinely proud of—not just for the technical challenge, but for the real-world impact it could help unlock.

It also reflects our wider mission as a people-first data and technology consultancy: helping organisations take control of their data and use it to drive innovation and solve real-world problems.

Turning complex genomic data into usable insight

About 15 years ago, Genomics England (GEL) set out to deliver on an ambitious goal: sequence 100,000 whole genomes from NHS patients, set up a genomic medical service, and create a National Genomic Research Library. The data collected powers cutting-edge research. In particular, comparing data across patients with similar rare conditions can help researchers identify and interpret the genetic variants that facilitate diagnosis.

But while the potential is enormous, the reality is complex. It is not as simple as it sounds. Medical data is highly sensitive, and patient privacy paramount. Patient data use is rightly restricted to the scope of consent given by those patients, and bureaucratic delays around secure, efficient data-sharing have, in some ways, become a roadblock to future cures. This includes delays caused by manual, localised processes across regional laboratory hubs.

The challenge: enabling secure, controlled access

Genomics England came to Register Dynamics with a challenge: Find a way to use Beacon v2 (a genome discovery tool) to enable controlled and individualised access to their database.

In other words, they wanted researchers to be able to query the database and receive a response appropriate to their granted level of access.

What we built

Our team investigated the way phenotypic and genotypic data are produced by GEL’s data processing pipelines, and studied the Beacon v2 protocol, to build a proof-of-concept core search interface in Beacon v2 as a Lambda function within GEL’s Amazon Web Services development account. We called this the Somatic Variant Frequency Finder (SVFF).

Genomics England brought the data; we brought expertise in how to harness it in a user-friendly way.

We built functionality for different types of genomic queries and helped design a more intuitive frontend to demonstrate the capabilities of SVFF and increase access. We also prototyped a method to restructure the data to run queries more efficiently at scale, after discovering potential problems with the existing import pipeline structure.

In this way, we went beyond proving a concept to laying the groundwork for a real, transformative, and adaptable solution.

What we learnt

Cancer genomics is a highly technical problem domain, so extracting GEL’s requirements was a major undertaking. We learned to understand the nature of genomic data and the needs of genomic researchers so that we could build more effective tools.

Why this matters

The potential long-term impact of this initiative is that it could help empower researchers to discover better cancer drugs. In the short term, the success of our prototype already led to GEL starting a project to publish their Cancer Genomic Data via Beacon v2.

The service will allow cancer researchers to securely query GEL’s databases for connections between certain mutations and cancer types so they can initiate trials of new therapies.

Unearthing patterns of genomic data could accelerate research and save real people’s lives. It could give those with rare diagnoses more options and more priceless time with family and friends. It also supports the NHS vision of embedding genomic medicine into routine care, a vision grounded in accessible, secure interfaces that respect individual data privacy.

Proud to be recognised

We’re incredibly proud to be recognised as finalists in the British Data Awards for this work. It reflects what we care about most: using data to solve real problems, in ways that are thoughtful, practical, and focused on people.

We look forward to celebrating alongside fellow data innovators at the British Data Awards Ceremony in London on 20th May 2026.