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Onboarding External Users to REDCap

External users are individuals who are not currently staff or students at the University of Cambridge. This includes NHS staff, as well as researchers based at other universities or organisations.

All external users must complete a Digital Visitor Agreement (DVA) before they can be granted access to CAM:IDE-supported REDCap projects. This agreement is required to issue digital-only visitors with a University of Cambridge IT account (CRSid).

DVAs are initiated by the Chief Investigator (CI) or a delegated member of the study team through our online visitor agreement platform, CenCom Admin.

Please note: If the user you're requesting access for already has a visitor agreement in place — either with CAM:IDE or another University department — they may not need to complete a new one. In these cases, please contact us at helpdesk@camide.cam.ac.uk. If available, please include a copy of their existing visitor agreement.

The Chief Investigator (CI) or their delegate is only responsible for completing Step 1 of the process outlined below. All subsequent steps (steps 2–5) are included for reference only and are completed by the visitor or the CAM:IDE team.

Step 1: Supervisor Form

The onboarding process begins with the Chief Investigator or their delegate completing the supervisor section of the Digital Visitor Agreement (DVA) for them.

Please check the site’s delegation log to ensure the user has been approved by the PI before requesting a DVA.

To initiate a DVA:

  • Visit https://admin.camide.cam.ac.uk/visitors-agreements
  • Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Start New”
  • You’ll be presented with a department. This will either be “Psychiatry (CAM:IDE)” or the Chief Investigator's department followed by “CAM:IDE” (e.g., Paediatrics (CAM:IDE)). Please select whichever department is displayed.
    • If you are presented with multiple departments, look for your Chief Investigator’s department followed by “CAM:IDE”.
    • If you cannot find your Chief Investigator’s department followed by “CAM:IDE”, please select “Psychiatry (CAM:IDE)”.

You’ll then be prompted to fill in the following details:

  • Supervisor: Name of the CI or responsible supervisor
  • Department: The department selected above
  • Visitor’s full name
  • Visitor’s email address
  • Visitor type: Choose from Student, Researcher, or Clinical Research Fellow
  • Visit dates: Enter the intended start and end date for the visitor’s access

Under CAMIDE System, select any system(s) the visitor needs access to:

  • REDCap (Anonymised)
  • REDCap (Safe Haven)
  • XNAT

If you're unsure which platform the user needs access to, please contact us at helpdesk@camide.cam.ac.uk.

If you select either REDCap platform, three additional fields will appear:

  • Study name
  • Data Access Group (if applicable)
    • A Data Access Group (DAG) is typically the user’s Trust, hospital, or region. DAGs are used in REDCap to control which records a user can view. For example, a user assigned to the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust DAG would only be able to see records belonging to that DAG.
    • Not all projects use DAGs — if you are unsure whether your project has DAGs enabled, please contact us.
  • REDCap user role: Choose from data entry, data export, data entry and export, database design, and bespoke.

You’ll also be asked to complete:

  • Reason for visitor’s agreement: This field is required, but for access to CAM:IDE systems, the answer doesn’t need to be detailed. A simple entry such as “REDCap access for [name of study]” is sufficient.

Step 2: Visitor Form (completed by the user)

Once the supervisor section has been submitted, CenCom Admin will automatically notify the visitor by email and prompt them to complete the visitor section of the DVA.

The visitor will be asked to provide the following information:

  • Full name, title, date of birth, and home address
  • Institution name and address
  • Details for a named contact at their institution (Principal Investigator)

The visitor will also be asked to confirm that they have completed data protection and cyber security training within the last year. This can be satisfied by completing either of:

They will also need to confirm the date the training was completed.

Step 3: DVA Generation and Signature

Once the supervisor and visitor have completed their sections of the agreement, the CAM:IDE team will review the information provided and email the visitor their DVA.

The visitor must sign and date the DVA, get it countersigned by an appropriate contact at their institution (e.g., their line manager, supervisor, or local Principal Investigator) and return it to helpdesk@camide.cam.ac.uk.

Step 4: University IT Account Creation

Once the signed DVA has been returned to the CAM:IDE team, we will request a University of Cambridge IT account (CRSid) for the visitor.

The visitor will receive an email with their registration details and instructions for activating their University IT account the following working day.

Step 5: Account Setup and Access to REDCap

Once the visitor's University IT account has been activated, the CAM:IDE team will add the user to the relevant project(s) on CenCom.

From this point, the process will differ slightly depending on whether access has been requested for REDCap Anonymised, REDCap Safe Haven, or both.

If REDCap Anonymised access has been requested:

Once the user is added to the relevant project(s) in CenCom, their account will automatically sync with REDCap Anonymised. They will then receive an email from REDCap (redcap@camide.cam.ac.uk) confirming their account is ready to use, along with login instructions.

If REDCap Safe Haven access has been requested:

Once the user is added in CenCom, the CAM:IDE team will submit a Safe Haven access request to the University Information Services (UIS). Approval usually takes 1–2 working days.

Once UIS confirm approval, the user will receive an email from REDCap (redcap@camide.cam.ac.uk) confirming their account is ready to use, along with login instructions.

Last updated on 01/04/2026