GA4GH and CRDSA agree to a Strategic Partnership

24 Jun 2025

The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) and the Clinical Research Data Sharing Alliance (CRDSA) have agreed to a Strategic Partnership to foster an aligned approach to the development of clinical research data and genomic data sharing standards.

By Jaclyn Estrin, GA4GH Science Writer

The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) and the Clinical Research Data Sharing Alliance (CRDSA) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to announce their Strategic Partnership. Within this collaboration, GA4GH and CRDSA will work to advance responsible data sharing through the development of aligned standards for genomic and clinical research data interoperability. 

Established in 2013, GA4GH is a not-for-profit organisation with a mission of accelerating progress in human health by establishing a shared global approach to responsible, broad, and democratised use of genomic and health data. The alliance includes over 500 leading organisations in healthcare, government, and global institutions working collaboratively to develop shared technical standards and policy frameworks that enable genomic and health data sharing.

CRDSA is a consortium that convenes stakeholders from across the clinical research ecosystem to advance clinical research data sharing. Formed in 2021, CRDSA is working to facilitate faster clinical data discovery through the development of clinical data standards and aligned policy frameworks.

Together, GA4GH and CRDSA will leverage their networks and resources to work towards broader genomic, health, and clinical research data sharing through aligned standards. As defined in the MoU, “clinical research data refers to the secondary use of individual patient data (IPD) from clinical trials and real-world data (RWD) sources.”

The advancement of personalised healthcare, precision treatments, and health data discovery would be greatly accelerated with the integration of clinical research data and genomic data. However, several challenges impact this integration including data silos, an absence of common data standards, a global regulatory landscape that places heavy restrictions on data sharing, and a complex and rapidly evolving global data privacy landscape.

Combining GA4GH’s strong history of technical standards and policy development with CRDSA’s expansive network of clinical research expertise, this Strategic Partnership will serve to address these data integration and policy challenges.

Aaron Mann, Chief Executive Officer of CRDSA, said, “GA4GH and CRDSA aim to enhance interoperability between genomic and clinical data, unlocking their full potential for researchers and, ultimately, benefiting patients by delivering new and transformative therapies.”

The two organisations will promote shared frameworks to ensure responsible data sharing across the whole lifecycle of data, from search and access to reuse in compliance with global regulations. By aligning efforts, GA4GH and CRDSA can bridge clinical and genomic research initiatives to empower a harmonised health data ecosystem.

“This Strategic Partnership with CRDSA further supports our efforts to align genomic, health, and clinical data sharing standards across different research domains to ensure these standards can translate into clinical practice,” said Peter Goodhand, Chief Executive Officer of GA4GH and President of GA4GH Inc. He continued, “Through this relationship, we are working towards a learning health system in which we are constantly innovating and iterating on a collective approach to health data sharing. Working together, we can really drive forward the potential to advance healthcare for the benefit of patients.”

The full MoU can be found here for additional information on shared objectives, as well as roles and responsibilities for each organisation under the structure of the Strategic Partnership.