Outputs & Outcomes Collections RCUK Outputs & Outcomes Collections System (OOCS) JISC Repositories and Preservation Programme Meeting 7 May 2009 Alan Green, Project Manager

Outputs & Outcomes Collections Background All Research Councils wish to improve the evidence base for strategy development, and want to improve the way they demonstrate economic and wider societal impact. To achieve this, they need to establish routes for researchers and research organisations to feedback information about outputs, outcomes and impacts arising from the projects they fund. As far as is possible, we should exploit existing sources of information, and work with others to minimise the burden on researchers. It must be possible to collect data on an ongoing basis, both during the lifetime of a funding agreement and beyond, so that longer term outcomes and impacts are not missed.

Outputs & Outcomes Collections Research Organisation (e.g. HEI) Repository, CRIS, etc. OOCS XML File Research organisations are responsible for collating information into a standard format for submission to Research Councils MIS, etc. Research Community (Grant Holder, etc.) Research Community (Grant Holder, etc.) ESRC Society Today UK PubMed Central etc… File Submission Harvested Data Manual Input Exported Data Operational Process

Outputs & Outcomes Collections Operational Process Explained Focus is on capturing data once, and sharing it amongst relevant stakeholders. Points towards a institution-centric approach to collection. Backed by an RCUK service, allowing researchers to submit additional information that cannot be provided by their institution, and to validate information that has been provided in that way. ESRC will continue to use ESRC Society Today, with information harvested out of there into OOCS. We may also harvest data from UK PubMed Central (not confirmed). The strategy provides a migration path for institutions to gradually improve the coverage that their systems provide over time, without disenfranchising researchers affiliated to institutions without the budget or inclination to implement or upgrade systems.

Outputs & Outcomes Collections Where do Repositories fit in? Repositories already hold much of the information that Research Councils wish to know and potentially could hold much more. Researchers who have already submitted data to a repository do nor want to submit the same data again to a Research Council application. Therefore, we need a way to harvest data from existing repositories, properly attributed to one or more specific Research Council grants. It is likely that the metadata held in repositories may need to change, to support this activity.

Outputs & Outcomes Collections Project Next Steps Business Case presentation and sign-off July 2009 New project may start late summer/autumn Consult with focus groups (researchers, RO administrators, librarians, etc) to support requirements definition – autumn/winter 2009/10 Pilot January 2011 Roll-out from April 2011

Outputs & Outcomes Collections Questions