Registration Instructions for N3C Clinical or N3C COVID

Individuals wishing to access the N3C Enclave must complete the following steps. If you have questions, visit the N3C Office Hours or submit a ticket to the N3C Support Desk.

1. Confirm or Request a Data Use Agreement (DUA) between your Institution and N3C To access data within the N3C Data Enclave, a user’s institution must sign a Data Use Agreement (DUA) and agree to the terms of service outlined by NCATS and N3C. There are two DUAs at this time: N3C Clinical and N3C COVID. To confirm that your institution has signed institutional agreements with NCATS, check the N3C Clinical Signatories List and/or the N3C COVID Signatories List.

   • If a user’s institution does not currently have a signed institutional agreement on file, the user can download the N3C Clinical DUA form OR the N3C COVID DUA form and provide it to their institution’s signing official. Select the appropriate DUA(s) based on the data enclaves that you expect to access. Once complete, the signing official then submits the document to NCATS at NCATSPartnerships@mail.nih.gov. It takes approximately 1-2 weeks for NCATS to review, countersign, and add your institution to the appropriate Signatories List.
   • Individuals who are not affiliated with an institution are considered “citizen scientists” and can submit a N3C Clinical DUA listing themselves as the “accessing institution.” They must use the same email address for both their DUA and N3C Data Enclave account registration. Citizen scientists can only request access to the synthetic dataset for research. NOTE: The term, “citizen scientist” refers to any member of the public not affiliated with a research organization and is not limited to US citizens. For questions about this step, please visit the N3C Support Desk.

2. Register for an N3C Data Enclave Account A user must register for their own account. You cannot have someone register on your behalf. To register you will need:

   • Institutional, organizational, or school email address
   • A two-factor authentication application (e.g., DUO, Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator)
   • An ORCID to ensure appropriate author attributions. If you do not have an existing ORCID, you can create an account here

   Next, determine your login method: If your institution is part of the InCommon Federation, you can log in using your institution’s InCommon account. Check if your institution participates here: InCommon Federation Members. If your institution is not listed or you are a Citizen Scientist (not affiliated with an institution), you will need to use a Login.gov account.

   Setting Up a Login.gov Account (If Needed):

   • A Login.gov Account is required if:

     • Your institution does not participate in InCommon.
     • You are a Citizen Scientist

   • When creating a Login.gov account:

     • Use a workplace or institutional email (not an email associated with an InCommon institution).
     • If you are a Citizen Scientist, use the same email for both your Login.gov account and your Data Use Agreement (DUA).

     Registering for N3C Data Enclave Access: Complete the N3C registration form and request an Enclave account by selecting “Access to the N3C Data Enclave” and choosing “Yes” to the access suggestion.

     Access to the Enclave will be enabled after it has been verified that your DUA(s) match your account details. Once an account has been generated, an email with further instructions will be sent to the email address provided. Please allow approximately 5 business days for account creation.

     If your profile information needs to be updated, it can be done here.

     NOTE: N3C members who previously had accounts for accessing Palantir training will have to re-register for a new N3C Data Enclave account to gain access.

     Register for an N3C Data Enclave Account

3. Complete two trainings:

   • NIH Information Security Training
     • Each individual data user must complete the Information Security and Management Refresher, which consists of 6 modules (Information Security, Insider Threats, Privacy Awareness, Records Management, Emergency Preparedness, Rules of Behavior).
     • After completing the 6th module of the Information Security and Management Refresher course (only), a button will appear on the top bar that says, "Print Certificate".
   • Human Subjects Research Protection training in alignment with your institution's policies if you intend to access the de-identified or limited datasets. (This training requirement does not apply to investigators who will only access the synthetic dataset.)
     • Users will be asked to provide the date the training was completed, and retain evidence of completion to provide NCATS upon request.
     • NIH Required Education in the Protection of Human Research Participants or CITI Program courses may be used to complete your required training; consult your Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) for your institution's specific requirements

4. Log in to the N3C Data Enclave Once the previous steps have been completed, a user can log in to the N3C Data Enclave and begin the following steps to gain access to the data. Log in to the N3C Data Enclave

5. Submit a Data Use Request (DUR) Once a user has designed a study and completed the necessary steps for the required data access level (see data access levels here), they must complete and submit a Data Use Request (DUR) online form within the N3C Data Enclave. Pending approval and verification of the information, the user will then be able to access data within the Enclave in accordance with the data access tier for which they have been approved.