DISCUSSION SESSION: ADVOCACY FOR PRESERVATION AND ACCESS TO UNIVERSITY RESEARCH DATA

ECURE 2005, TEMPE ARIZONA

A brainstorming exercise led by ECURE co-chairs Rob Spindler and Jeremy Rowe to compile ideas under the following four topical areas:

• Audience

• Message

• Strategies

• Champions

AUDIENCE:

• Data Creators

  • Faculty, esp. Principal Investigators

  • Graduate Students esp/ Post-Docs

  • Administrators

  • Automated systems

• Resource Allocators

  • Internal

  • External

• Research Administrators

• Librarians, Archivists, Records Managers

• Future Data Users

MESSAGE:

• There is a need to preserve the data

• There is a need for infrastructure to support the data

• There is a need to apply standards:

  • Standards provide structure for data

  • Open source software allows for broad distribution

  • Don't reinvent the wheel

  • Standards are not as rapidly moving a target as software

• Data Curation is a continuing expense over time

• Funding and regulatory agencies my require compliance

• Data is part of your professional legacy (the researcher's)

• Issues are too complicated for one group of stewards (one profession) to handle alone

• There is a need for collaborative appraisal (selection) of data sets

• There are discipline-specific repositories available

• Not all data can be saved

• Restructuring of repositories need to support digital data

STRATEGIES

• Redefine mission of repository

• Redefine mission of granting agencies

• Develop and disseminate best practices

• Publicize success and failure stories

• Target VP Research and other Executives

• Get buy-in from Industry and Legal

• Mandatory licensing/certification/training of systems administrators

• Education of data creators and users on importance of data curation perform on regular schedule

• Make dedicated staff lines

• Make outreach events: Data Days, Data Weeks

• Include training in grant-related workshops

• Establish records management training requirement

• Convince information professions that data curation is important and advocate

• Build a culture of preservation amongst faculty researchers

• Create online tutorials

CHAMPIONS:

• Research Administrators

• Librarians, Archivists, Records Managers

• Data Users

• Vice Presidents for Research

• Other Executives (e.g. CIO's)

• Industry

• General Counsel

• Funding Agencies

• ECURE

• Professional Associations

• Online Publications