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At the ODI we have been dedicating considerable thought to privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs). Previously, we have looked into how these technologies work in practice, providing walkthroughs of real-world applications where these technologies have had transformative impacts. While these examples exist, they remain relatively limited in number comparative to how they could possibly be used. We have found that part of the reason for this is that details of what made these applications a success remains relatively fragmented.

It is for this reason that we conducted this research project, looking into fostering a thriving PETs ecosystem. In this report, we take a look at three applications of different types of PETs and look into the factors that helped make them a success. Specifically, we look into an application of differentially private synthetic data, a trusted research environment and multiparty computation.

Through our research, we also developed two resources that can help prospective adopters of PETs consider what might be necessary from within their ecosystem to stand them the best chance of successfully adopting a PET. This includes our implementation timeline, which can help actors think through the roles that will be necessary to achieve success, as well as our ‘Version 0’ PETs implementation framework, which contains practical steps that can help guide adopters through the process of selecting, developing and implementing a PET.

Through identifying the success factors and actors from previous examples, we hope that other organisations might be empowered to give greater consideration to incorporating PETs into their data infrastructure.

We hope that you find these resources helpful and that they inspire your curiosity around these novel technologies. If you are currently using or considering a PET and would like to discuss this with the PETs programme team, please get in touch with us on: [email protected]

Read the report