Data and information generated through the provision and administration of health and social care provide potentially valuable untapped resources that can contribute to the development of effective and efficient services. We describe the Scottish system, which seeks to unleash, at scale, the power of administrative and health service data as part of the UK-wide Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research program. The ‘Scottish model’ balances current public attitudes and views around the use of administrative and health data for research purposes with researchers’ data requirements, and does so within Scotland’s legal framework. The past 3 years has seen the completion of more than 150 projects by researchers from industry (17%), academia (53%) and health service providers (30%). In the future, the aim will be to ensure that research findings are disseminated widely and used to both improve health service provision and further develop public trust.