The challenges of data lifecycle management: what gave rise to

the UKRDS?

Jean Sykes

London School of Economics

Outline of presentation

• The challenge• The potential• The project• Aims• Methodology• What did we learn?• Are we in step?• Key messages

The challenge

• Data deluge• Research data: un untapped resource• Lack of coherent policies or consistent standards• Varying funder requirements for data management

and sharing• HE library and IT services under pressure to provide

solutions at institutional level - unsustainable

The challenge

• Whole data lifecycle- not just storage:

- Creation, selection, ingestion, storage,

- metadata, retrieval, preservation

- Access, analyse, synthesise, reuse data

- Link with the published output• It’s the management of the data that needs a UK-

wide approach

The potential

“Because digital data are so easily shared and replicated and so recombinable, they present tremendous reuse opportunities, accelerating investigations already under way and taking advantage of past investments in science.”

Clifford Lynch, Executive Director of CNI, ‘Big data: How do your data grow?’ Nature 4 September 2008

The project

• HEFCE Shared Services programme 2007/08• JISC also contributed funding• So did joint sponsors RLUK and RUGIT• Fully supported by SCONUL and UCISA• Over 40 more stakeholder bodies engaged• Governance provided by Steering Committee and

Project Management Board

Aims of the feasibility study

• Develop an understanding of the UK’s current and future research data management needs

• Identify gaps in current services• Test the feasibility of a UK-wide coordinated

approach to the management of research data compared to a fragmented approach

• Avoid reinventing the wheel in any proposed solution

Methodology: case studies

• Serco plc appointed as consultants for the study• Four case study universities: Bristol, Leeds,

Leicester, Oxford (April-June 2008)• Questionnaires and focus groups• Complementary internal project at Oxford dovetailing

with UKRDS• Total number of individuals consulted: 700+

Methodology: desk research

• Ongoing throughout the project• Finding out what services already exist in the UK• Speaking to key service providers• Following initiatives in other countries, notably

Australia, Europe, US, Canada• Keeping track of a rapidly developing area

What did we learn from the case studies?

• Growth in data volume to reach 360% in next 3 years• 50% of data has a useful life of up to 10 years• 26% of data seen as having indefinite retention value• Most research data is currently held locally• 21% use a national or international facility• 18% share data within a data centre• 43% believe their research could be improved by

access to more data

What did we learn from the desk research?

• National data centres in the UK have considerable skills and resources which could be spread

• DCC life cycle model provides a useful standard for data management

• Data management plans beginning to be funded (eg Wellcome)

• JISC’s IIE and JANET provide the infrastructure• JISC and RIN studies provide context

Was the original thesis right?

• The thesis posited in the bid to HEFCE was borne out by the case studies and desk research:

- Research data needs managing

- There are major gaps to be filled

- There are also good practices/services in place

- A coherent UK-wide approach involving existing

facilities and services is feasible

Are we in step?

• US model, distributed and NSF funded: 5 large ‘Datanets’ (consortia of universities) to build data stewardship capabilities: $100m over 5 years

• Australian model, centralised and top-down approach, ANDS: $Aus24m over 3 years

• Similar initiatives in Canada (Research Data Canada) and Germany

• Policy statements at the highest levels

Key messages

• UKRDS will address the sustainability of what researchers need and it’s not just about storage

• Many building blocks are already in place• There are also significant gaps to be filled• UKRDS will embrace rather than replace existing

facilities, providing a coherent framework and exploiting existing investment

• It’s about leverage of more research value and a higher global research profile for the UK