Data-PASS Partners: Plans for Moving Forward Marc Maynard The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research University of Connecticut July 2010

Overview What is Data-PASS? Membership, Governance / Structure Membership Benefits Sustaining the Partnership Challenges Future Directions

Data-PASS... is a broad-based partnership of data archives dedicated to acquiring and preserving data at-risk of being lost to the research community partners collaborate to identify and promote good archival practices; seek out at-risk research data; build preservation infrastructure, and mutually safeguard collections has rescued thousands of data sets and created the largest catalog of social science data in existence

Distinct Features of Data-PASS Related and complementary missions Federated structure Maintain independence of partners Different business models Collection sizes vary Resource availability varies

Membership & Governance Structure General model: open, low-barriers partnership model –open to all levels of organizational and technological participation –minimum costs –each partner carries equal weight in terms of decision-making and direction Lead Organization: ICPSR –handles administration, communications, budget and reporting Steering Committee –handles major decisions regarding partnership direction and management –composed of at least one delegate from each partner Operations Committee –organized to develop and coordinate procedures and practices of the partnership –composed of at least one delegate from each partner

Membership Benefits Expanded visibility of collections –Partner data collections are described in the Data-PASS shared catalog which harvests and exposes partner metadata to partners and their constituent communities Insurance against institutional and technological failure –Partner data collections are protected against institutional and technological failure through succession planning and replicated preservation Advocacy for archival best practices –Partners leverage their substantial combined history and experience to advocate for and share archival best practices Shared technology –Partner developed tools and processes are shared among interested members

Sustaining the Partnership Consistently thought about Data-PASS in the long term –not simply a 3-year ‘project’ Keep barriers to participation low Keep costs low Share technology, expertise, contacts Leverage individual partner strengths for the benefit of Data-PASS Investigate and follow through on mutually-beneficial project opportunities

Organizational Challenges Infrastructure management, development and maintenance –Shared catalog, PLN Collection development strategies to support coordinated content identification and selection Relationship building with data producers and data consumers –Earlier data lifecycle steps to encourage the deposit of data Sustaining collaboration and momentum –Leverage partnership communications and previous work to provide a foundation on which to build

Future Directions Content: Coordination and Outreach Shared Catalog: Living in a Google world Shared Technology: From a single system to a standards-based modular approach Shared Preservation Activities: “Safe-archive” built on LOCKSS; developing area Sustainability: Solidify organizational commitments