Ensuring sustainable access to data
Is the data sustainable and usable by others beyond the life of the project?
Sustainable access to data is critical to ensure that data remains FAIR and safeguarded in the long term, allowing a wider group of people to use the data over time and maximizing its utility. It also enables the development of new products, services and research.
Understand how to ensure sustainable access to FAIR and safeguarded data beyond a project.
Does it plan for long term access, storage and use of the data, and if yes, for whom?
eLearning Module
Login or sign-up for a free CABI Academy account to get started. In this module you will define the need, and, determine when to plan for sustainable access to data, and:
- List the aspects that help ensure sustainable access
- Describe a number of exemplars
- Match solutions to data requirements
- Explain the role of a data management plan, with the
- Tools and guides that help ensure sustainable access to data beyond the project.
Tools and Resources
Developing a data management plan
This document provides a checklist and guidance on creating a data management plan, and, how to manage data as an asset. It also has resources for data management and planning.
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How to create a data inventory
This document summarizes the benefits of cataloging data in a data inventory, an outline of the steps to create a data inventory and recommendations about what to include, and, how to publish.
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What does good look like?
Question
Is the data sustainable and usable by others beyond the life of the project?
Data Purposeful
The investment will generate, access, use or share data, with clear plans for best practice and the role of the investment in the wider data ecosystem is understood.The investment articulates the ecosystem of potential users of the data.
The investment includes a clear plan for sustainable access to data that sets out where individual datasets will be stored, for how long, in what form (e.g. formats, standards), who will be accountable and how others can collaborate or gain access.
Data Aware
The investment will generate, access, use or share data, with limited plans for best practice and limited understanding of the data ecosystem, but recognises the need to improve.The investment shows awareness of the need for sustainable access to data for potential users.
Identification is in progress as to where individual datasets will be stored, for how long, in what form, who will be accountable and how others can collaborate or gain access.
Data Unintentional
The investment will generate, access, use or share data. It does not consider how it will ensure FAIR, ethical and equitable access to data that is as open as possible.The investment does not consider sustainable access to data after the life of the grant.
or
The data will be held internally and it is not clear how others can collaborate or gain access.
To find the definitions of these headings and see what good practice looks like across all seven modules: Download PDF
Module 1
Considering data in investments
Is this investment proposing to collect, access, use or share data or information?
This module helps make the grant process smoother and the results more impactful by detailing what is needed for integrating Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) and safeguarded data within an investment.