… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Funded by: This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 UK: Scotland License. To view a copy of this license, visit sa/2.5/scotland/ ; or, (b) send a letter to Creative Commons, 543 Howard Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. sa/2.5/scotland/ Creating a Policy Framework for Digital Curation Sarah Jones DCC, University of Glasgow

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Programme Preservation/Curation – what, why, who? DCC work on curation and policies ERIS survey of policies in Scotland Potential components of a policy framework

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Digital Curation Digital preservation - a series of actions and interventions required to ensure continued and reliable access to authentic digital objects for as long as they are deemed to be of value Digital curation - the process of maintaining, preserving and adding value to digital research data throughout its lifecycle

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 The Curation Lifecycle Model “preserve and curate continually flipping over into each other”

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Curation Lifecycle activities Conceptualise: conceive and plan for creation of digital objects, Create: produce digital objects and assign metadata Access and use: ensure users can easily access digital objects Appraise and select: evaluate digital objects and select those requiring long-term curation Dispose: rid systems of digital objects not selected for long-term curation and preservation Ingest: transfer data to an archive or trusted repository Preservation action: undertake actions to ensure the long-term preservation of authoritative data Reappraise: return digital objects that fail validation procedures for further appraisal and reselection Store: keep data in a secure manner as outlined by standards Access and reuse: ensure data are accessible to designated users and are meaningful Transform: create new digital objects e.g. by migration or reuse

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Why curate research outputs? For access to reliable, working data – both for the original creator and other researchers Compliance with funder mandates on data sharing and management To enable independent validation of research findings So data remains reliable and trustworthy Prevent loss or inaccessibility of valuable knowledge and data when funding expires and researchers move on Manages relationships between different versions of dynamic or evolving datasets, and facilitates linkage with other related research Allow data sets to be combined in new and innovative ways

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Whose role is it? Data centres vs. institutions do you need disciplinary or generic data skills? which structures prevail? who benefits / stands to lose out? If it comes back on the institution is it: the repository / library central services (IT, research office…) departments and research groups

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Programme Preservation/Curation – what, why, who? DCC work on curation and policies ERIS survey of policies in Scotland Potential components of a policy framework

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 What do research funders expect?

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Data Management Plans No joint statement from RCUK, but typically ask: 1.What data are you going to create? – type, format etc 2.How will you create it? – approaches, standards etc 3.What metadata and documentation are needed? 4.Access restrictions (e.g. embargoes) and data sharing plans 5.Plans for long term preservation – preparing data for deposit etc Funder DMP requirements: DCC DMP page: DMP Online tool:

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 DAF “JISC should develop a Data Audit Framework to enable all universities and colleges to carry out an audit of departmental data collections, awareness, policies and practice for data curation and preservation” Liz Lyon, Dealing with Data: Roles, Rights, Responsibilities and Relationships, (2007)

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 The methodology

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 GU scoping studies Digital Preservation Advisory Board established in 2008 Were keen to identify scale of digital preservation needs and establish a preservation policy, so… DAF scoping studies ran in 2009 at Glasgow in: Archaeology Chemistry Corporate Communications Court Office English Language Electronics and Electrical Engineering Evolutionary Ecology and Biology MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit udy/

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Programme Preservation/Curation – what, why, who? DCC work on curation and policies ERIS survey of policies in Scotland Potential components of a policy framework

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Preservation/Curation Policies Why have one? A view from A digital preservation policy is a vital first step in preserving digital content Organisations with a policy are more likely to include digital preservation in their operational, financial and business continuity plans, three times more likely to budget for it and four times more likely to be investing in a solution –PLANETS 2009 survey,

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 ERIS survey Status of policies at institutional / repository level 40 questions, 20 institutions, 50% response 9 active institutional repositories identified Other HEIs in process of planning/designing IRs typified by collecting research output from across institution providing access to publications and theses repository mandate typically focused on access not preservation, but preservation implied…

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 ERIS survey respondents Job titleExplanation of the role and its relevance Cataloguing ManagerResponsible for the University's Institutional Repository Director, IS and LRC- eLearning Developer- Head of Learning Resources- Information SpecialistRepository management is part of a wide remit including responsibility for Library Management System, cataloguing classification, library performance statistics, monitoring FOI requests, Information Literacy teaching, enquiries Repository ManagerRepository manager/staff Senior Information Adviser (Research)Research support, library R&D, library service support for academic research staff Senior Researcher/ Programmer-

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 ERIS survey conclusions The concept of repositories is still relatively immature Low level of awareness of repositories amongst researchers No institutional preservation policies in Scottish HEIs (i.e. policies approved by Senate or Executive) Four Scottish HEIs have preservation policies in place but at a repository level only (i.e. as part of the IR workflow) Digital preservation is not yet a pervasively high priority The lack of preservation policies reflects the early stage of repository development  the need for curation policy is barely acknowledged…

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 ERIS survey recommendations There were 10 recommendations to the surveyed HEIs of which 3 were judged to be key: 1.Undertake a risk governance analysis of research outputs to establish the requirements for preservation policies at an institutional level 2.Develop institutional policies governing the management of research output, including preservation policies for publications, data and other digital materials 3.Identify and promulgate at an institutional level the roles and responsibilities for preserving research output

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Programme Preservation/Curation – what, why, who? DCC work on curation and policies ERIS survey of policies in Scotland Potential components of a policy framework

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Creating a policy framework What do YOU think this should include? (This is not a rhetorical question! We’ll come back to it later in discussion…)

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Creating a policy framework Does it Start with a process of persuasion? Promote authenticated tools and standards? Make a case for institutional repositories? Provide guidance or instruction? Exempt departmental data collections?

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 ERIS policy framework To apply to all managed academic output in digital form within an institution Recommends that the ownership of digital curation policies should be delegated to IRs Draws from existing authoritative preservation policies (e.g. UKDA and AHDS) and tools (PLATTER, DRAMBORA, DAF, etc.)

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 ERIS nine part policy framework 1.Rationale An unequivocal statement, preferably issued by senior management, describing the purpose and validity of the curation policy, drawing attention to: the breadth of its jurisdiction (to whom it applies and to which digital objects), its provenance, the consequences from non-compliance, key contacts for advice and support.

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 ERIS nine part policy framework 2.Data audit A requirement for academic departments to audit the research data collections for which they are the responsible producers and keepers, with repository staff advising on tools and methods.

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 ERIS nine part policy framework Key to scoping requirements and engaging with users What is there? Where is it and what is its condition? Who owns it and who uses it? Why keep it? Establish value proposition to define parameters Opportunity to introduce data management planning Using checklist to identify data obligations As a practice to avoid future laborious audits The first step in a major disposal exercise Sets the scene for the subsequent seven parts

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 ERIS nine part policy framework 3.Roles and responsibilities an explanation of the institutionally recognised remits of PIs, data creators and data managers. 4.Procedures for implementation and operation What procedures will take place under the policy, including timing, frequency and who are the active stakeholders.

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 ERIS nine part policy framework 5.Access, security and integrity Arrangements to protect whilst ensuring the appropriate use of deposited digital objects. 6.Review, refreshment and transformation Reappraisal, annotation and conversion of stored objects into new forms. 7.Version control Protocols for the update of digital objects or their replacement by new versions.

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 ERIS nine part policy framework 8.Disposal and withdrawal Criteria to be employed and auditable processes to be followed. 9.Sustainability Future proofing against organisational, funding or other changes.

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Your policy framework Do these fit your institutional environment? - for discussion this afternoon. Support is at hand from RSP, the Welsh Repositories Network, ERIS and the DCC in the form of health-checks and training. Come and speak to us!

… because good research needs good data Preservation for Repository Practitioners, Birmingham, 27 th May 2010 Thanks Any questions? Sarah Jones -