Simon Ball is the Senior Responsible Owner for the West Midlands Secure Data Environment, based at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), where he also serves as a consultant nephrologist. He is an honorary Professor at the University of Birmingham and leads Birmingham Health Partners  data theme. In 2018, Simon played a key role in establishing Health Data Research UK Midlands, laying the groundwork for collaborative clinical and data science communities across the East and West Midlands. From 2018 to 2023, he served as HDR UK’s national research director for the Better Care scientific theme.