D1.2 Interim Data Management Plan

D1.2 Interim Data Management Plan WP1: Management 30 June 2025 / v1.0 About this document Title D1.2 Interim Data Management Plan Work Package WP1 Management Task 1.3 Data Management architecture and IT solutions for the projects’ tasks Subtask 1.3.1 Data management plan Lead Partner Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon GMBH Lead Author (Org) Antonio Novellino (+ATLANTIC, ETT) Contributing Author(s) Kelli Johnson (Hereon), Joanna Staneva (Hereon), Lorinc Meszaros (Deltares), Antonio Novellino (+Atlantic, ETT), Emma Reyes (SOCIB), Kai H. Christensen (MET.NO), Isabel Garcia Hermosa (MOI) Reviewers Kelli Johnson (HEREON), Joanna Staneva (Hereon) Type of Document Report Due Date 30.06.2025 Submission Date 26.06.2025 Version 1.0 Dissemination Level X PU: Public PP: Restricted to other programme participants (including the Commission) RE: Restricted to a group specified by the consortium (including the Commission) CO: Confidential, only for members of the consortium (including the Commission) FOCCUS: Forecasting and observing the open-to-coastal ocean for Copernicus users is a Research and Innovation action (RIA) funded by the Horizon Europe Work programme topics addressed: HORIZON-CL4-2023-SPACE-01: Strategic autonomy in developing, deploying and using global space based infrastructures, services, applications and data 2023. Start date: 01 January 2024. End date: 31 December 2026. Funded by the European Union (Grant Agreement No. 101133911). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents.................................................................................................................................4 1. Executive Summary..........................................................................................................................6 2. Scope of the Document....................................................................................................................6 3. Data Summary................................................................................................................................. 8 3.1 Purpose of Data Generation/Reuse....................................................................................................... 9 3.2 FOCCUS In Situ Data, EO Observations, and Model Data....................................................................10 3.3 Data in Coastal Systems Inventory.......................................................................................................17 3.4 Data Types and Data Formats.............................................................................................................. 17 3.5 Data Storage and Data Access..............................................................................................................18 3.6 Data Quality......................................................................................................................................... 20 3.6.1 Data Quality Principles......................................................................................................................21 3.6.1.1 Academic Excellence......................................................................................................................21 3.6.1.2 Honesty..........................................................................................................................................21 3.6.1.3 Accountability................................................................................................................................ 21 3.6.1.4 Care and Respect........................................................................................................................... 21 3.6.2 Data Traceability............................................................................................................................... 21 3.7 Data Collected from Stakeholders....................................................................................................... 22 3.8 Data Utility Outside the Project........................................................................................................... 22 3.9 Data - Risk Management......................................................................................................................23 3.9.1. Data Loss or Corruption................................................................................................................... 23 3.9.2. Incomplete Metadata or Documentation........................................................................................ 24 3.9.3. GDPR and Ethical Non-compliance.................................................................................................. 24 3.9.4. Interoperability and Compatibility Failures......................................................................................24 3.9.5. Limited Data Reusability or Visibility............................................................................................... 24 4. FAIR Data....................................................................................................................................... 27 4.1 Data Licence Statement....................................................................................................................... 29 4.2 Other Actions to Make FOCCUS Data/Products FAIR...........................................................................30 4.3 Assessing FAIR-ness............................................................................................................................. 30 5. Impact............................................................................................................................................32 5.1. Contribution to the Project Objectives............................................................................................... 32 5.2. Contribution to the Expected Outcomes............................................................................................ 32 5.3. Policy Relevance..................................................................................................................................32 5.4. Communication, Dissemination, and Publications..............................................................................33 6. Other Research Outputs.................................................................................................................33 7. Allocation of Resources.................................................................................................................. 33 7.1. Costs Before Making Data or Other Research Outputs FAIR...............................................................33 7.2. Responsible for Data Management.................................................................................................... 33 7.3. Long Term Preservation...................................................................................................................... 34 8. Data Security..................................................................................................................................34 FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 3 9. Ethics and GDPR.............................................................................................................................34 10. Updates of the DMP.....................................................................................................................35 Annex................................................................................................................................................ 36 References.........................................................................................................................................39 FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 4 1. Executive Summary FOCCUS provides products to both internal and external users. The data workflow is based on a chain of individual operational components, each contributing either to data production or user interaction functions. The infrastructure implements open and free of charge data access, it adopts international standards, follows European regulations such as INSPIRE, it is accessible under the FOCCUS web domain (https://foccus-project.eu/) and offers up-to-date means of data and data products dissemination and interaction tools. Nevertheless, the developed system cannot be considered finally closed, and for the entire duration of the project, the following evolution principles have to be considered and applied: ● The service shall be state-of-the-art in its scope, and it shall be user-driven. This means that all service capabilities are defined, allocated and implemented with sound and state-of-the-art technical and scientific justifications and address FOCCUS internal and external user needs. If new needs pop up, it is important to try and match (whenever possible) these new needs. Providing international level state-of-the-art tools means a constant monitoring and application of most appropriate methodologies at a given time to meet requirements for service quality in data processing, validation, etc. ● Common standards are adopted and applied throughout the different elements of the system. This means that standards are identified, adopted and applied. If, during the lifetime of the project, rising ocean best practices (OBP) become standards, the project has to try and include (as much as possible) these new OBP. This also means that the system evolves constantly in response to service requirements, scientific and technical requirements, marine environment products requirements, and stakeholders’ requirements. ● Quality of the methodology of workflow has to follow and apply well-established engineering methodologies derived from industry (es. ISO9001:2015, ISO15288, etc.) and drive the definition of an adapted approach. This means that data management also adopts good practices and methodologies to ensure system monitoring, fixing and reporting. Within this framework, FOCCUS poses itself as up-to-date in terms of data infrastructure, adopts the latest interoperability best practices, and enables data products FAIRness to maximise the FOCCUS data value chain from production to its consumption. FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 5 2. Scope of the Document This document presents the interim version of the Forecasting and observing the open-to-coastal ocean for Copernicus users (FOCCUS) Data Management Plan (DMP) and it is based on the Horizon Europe Data Management Plan (DMP) template. FOCCUS moves beyond open access in implementing open science practices while following Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability (FAIR) principles. It applies to research data collected and produced during the project, as well as to publications. All observational data and derived products are made freely available via EU public data repositories, and a data management strategy is implemented (WP1) for providing immediate and free access to collected data. Besides adopting open data management software tools and supporting INSPIRE themes (e.g. European harmonised and controlled vocabularies), FOCCUS contributes to the development of needed extensions and shares these outcomes via open repositories (e.g. Zenodo, GitHub, StackOverflow, Open Science Framework (OSF)) and repositories of partner institutes. Project developed data management software tools are made freely available under creative commons/open data commons licensing. The document recalls the scope of the FOCCUS project and describes the FOCCUS framework for the research data management according to the requirements of article 17 and analysed in the Annotated Grant Agreement, article 17. These include: description of data (data summary), approach to FAIRness, research outputs, allocation of resources, security and ethics. Document Disclaimers: This document is based on the Horizon Europe Data Management Plan Template [V1.0 May 2021] and adapted to provide the FOCCUS partners and FOCCUS stakeholders a living guide for the project Data Management Plan. The Community is not responsible for any use that might be made of the content of this publication 3. Data Summary The coastal zones are the most heavily used and impacted areas of the global ocean, as a consequence of large concentration of the human population inhabiting coastal areas, high number of human activities, and diverse array of resulting human pressures and anthropogenic stressors (e.g., pollution, eutrophication, poor water quality, degradation of coastal ecosystems and habitats). Copernicus Marine Service is already providing key data and information on the coastal zone, however the use of Earth Observation (EO) data for coastal monitoring and forecasting is not explored enough, thereby the objective of FOCCUS is to address and enhance the coastal extension of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) to FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 6 better serve coastal users and Member States (MS), and to develop advanced and seamless coastal monitoring and forecasting systems. This is essential and timely so that the existing CMEMS can evolve as a key coastal data and information service for Europe, working in collaboration with the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) to ensure optimised and interoperable in situ data provision, to provide the high quality, trusted, marine knowledge needed for evidence-based management and protection of the coastal zones. Lately, Copernicus launched the Copernicus Coastal Hub (https://www.coastal.hub.copernicus.eu/) with the aim of offering a single shop hub that provides coastal data and information to support evidence-based decision-making and promote sustainable management practices for coastal ecosystems. The Copernicus Coastal Hub includes all the services that draw from satellite Earth Observation and in-situ (non-space) data, and FOCCUS is aiming at being a pillar in the development of such a service. In this framework, timely, free and unrestricted exchange of marine and coastal observational data is essential for empowering decision makers with evidence-based information for sustainable management of the very dynamic and complex coastal environment. Moreover, considering that coastal zone monitoring and processes are coupled with clear policy drivers that require MS to monitor and assess, manage and protect their national waters in order to meet important EU policies (e.g., MSFD, WFD, MSPD, CFP) and wider policy initiatives (e.g., the European Green Deal) and the Horizon Europe Mission: Restore our Ocean and Waters, an open and free data policy and support for data interoperability are mandatory actions. Notably, interoperability of data systems has become a priority with the development of FAIR principles (2014) (https://www.force11.org/group/fairgroup/fairprinciples), a set of guiding principles for scientific data management and stewardship (Wilkinson et al., 2016) was developed to make data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable. The availability and accessibility of coastal data is not always easy and often the sources are lacking compliance to international standards, such as using different formats, wide diversity of datasets, and disparate data management structures, among others (Tanhua et al., 2019 described this issue for oceanographic data but it applies well to coastal zones too). With this background in mind, this document describes the FOCCUS Data Management Plan (DMP). More specifically it describes how the research data collected during the project will be managed to move beyond the FAIR concepts and how users would be able to have immediate and free access to collected data. 3.1 Purpose of Data Generation/Reuse The objective of FOCCUS is to address and enhance the coastal extension of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) to better serve coastal users and Member States (MS), and to develop advanced and seamless coastal monitoring and forecasting FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 7 systems. FOCCUS uses a combination of remote sensing and in situ data, and numerical models, each improved using AI methods. More specifically FOCCUS sets out three pillars to pursue this innovative vision: ● to support the exploitation of next generation coastal INS and R/S data and link to hydrology ● to develop the first end-to-end pan-European operational coastal models ● to set the foundation of fully integrated Copernicus and MS coastal systems (MSCS) These pillars strongly deal with digital data, more specifically they set some “data” goals: ● Physical (PHYS) and biogeochemistry (BGC) essential ocean variables (EOVs) in coastal areas are yet poorly represented in CMEMS ● Real-time or forecast river discharges are not sufficiently used in the model forcing ● Estuarine Box Model (EBMs) are not fully exploited by CMEMS and MSCS to resolve estuary dynamics and to connect to hydrological models ● MSCS are not yet making optimal use of CMEMS data (e.g., satellite data, models), or sufficiently include new modelling technologies More specifically FOCCUS is going to reuse available data (Copernicus Marine Service and EMODnet), will facilitate the discovery of new in situ data to be linked in and included in both CMEMS and EMODnet in situ (coastal) data collections, will improve the interoperability and the methodology to process these data, will develop/improve models to serve MSCSs users. FOCCUS is not deploying new sensors or platforms and it is not generating new in situ data. FOCUS is developing new models that are going to be included in the CMEMS catalogue and new virtual in situ data (from the EBMs) that will be openly available as soon as possible, as soon as they have been scientifically validated, Figure 1 shows the FOCCUS structure and addressed goals. Figure 1. FOCCUS project Work Package structure FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 8 Each WP is organised in tasks and each task is either producing, assessing or developing a data/product. In particular, WP2 to WP9 are the data and product generators. 3.2 FOCCUS In Situ Data, EO Observations, and Model Data As anticipated in the previous section, FOCCUS is organised in WPs and tasks, each (WP2-WP9) task is consuming or producing data products being in one of these three main categories: 1. in situ (INS) observational data 2. satellite derived Earth Observational (EO) products, both new data production and consumption of existing data 3. numerical models (NMO) The following table summarises this planning: INS EO (producer) EO (consumer) NMO WP2, WP3 x x x WP4, WP5 x x x WP6, WP7 x x x WP8, WP9 x x x Table 1. Data use details, per WP and expanded below. In terms of data interoperability & machine-readability, this D1.2 document sets the general framework and recommendations, while details can be found in the various documents linked and referenced below that are specific to each WP and their use of data. In WP2 “New insight of high-resolution coastal observations” and WP3 “Validation and Implementation of high-resolution coastal observations”, FOCCUS aims to improve pan-European innovative coastal observations in response to society and EU policy needs in the context of climate change. The improvement of the pan-European innovative coastal observations will then be assessed. Details are given in the table below: WP 2 and 3 Partner HEREON, CLS, SOCIB, CNR, NERSC, MET.NO, +ATLANTIC, MHD, BC, DMI, Ifremer, SSBE Contact person and email Emma Reyes (ere[email protected]) and Antonio Bonaduce (ant[email protected] ) FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 9 ● The inventory can be found in the shared project folder here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JxFKYBhboVHDFwAgmMikijJ_9N2UFUu6x NmFOAGB21M/edit?usp=sharing (see Annex) ● The roadmaps can be found in the shared project folder here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tlmc7NZxheF69ls86eIyiv3eLRsgggPH?usp=d rive_link (see Annex) 3.4 Data Types and Data Formats As anticipated, FOCCUS is developing new tools to enhance the coastal extension of Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) to better serve coastal users and Member States (MS), thereby FOCCUS adopts the CMEMS data types and formats. CMEMS is a key element for developing the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EDITO), which extends the CMEMS and EMODnet data format to have prompt virtual high-resolution, multi-dimensional, near-real-time representation of the physical, chemical, biological and socio-economic dimensions of the ocean. The vast majority of Copernicus Marine products are produced in NetCDF format (.nc). With the entry into service of the new CMEMS Marine Data Store, the infrastructure also supports cloud based formats such as Zarr. Other important file formats for the FOCCUS scope are GeoTIFF and Shapefile data. The NetCDF (Network Common Data Form) format is a self-describing, platform-independent binary data format commonly used for storing and sharing scientific data, particularly in fields such as climate science, meteorology, oceanography, and geophysics. NetCDF files are designed to be flexible, efficient, and portable, making them suitable for handling large volumes of multidimensional data. As described above, all Copernicus Marine products are delivered in NetCDF-4 format by default. Notably, NetCDF is also the recommended data format for the in situ observational data by both CMEMS INSTAC and EMODnet. The Zarr format is a Python library and file format designed for efficient storage and manipulation of multi-dimensional array data. Zarr is particularly well-suited for handling large-scale scientific datasets, especially in the context of parallel and distributed computing. This is a key data format to facilitate uninhibited flow of data to the EU Digital Twin Ocean initiative (EU DTO) - EDITO data lake (https://www.edito.eu/). The GeoTIFF format, short for Georeferenced Tagged Image File Format, is a type of raster image file that contains spatially referenced information, making it suitable for use in Geographic Information System (GIS) applications and remote sensing analysis. The Shapefile format is a popular geospatial vector data format developed by Esri (Environmental Systems Research Institute) for storing and exchanging geographic data in a simple, non-topological format. FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 16 EDITO adds the GRIB (GRIdded Binary) that is a widely used data format for meteorological and ocean forecast, HD5 (Hierarchical Data Format) largely used for complex hierarchical data structures, including satellite data, Parquet which is designed for cloud-native and big data environments for improving performance, scalability, and integration with modern cloud analytics. 3.5 Data Storage and Data Access Project documents such as deliverables, Periodic Reports, and other documents related to the project activities are stored and managed in the dedicated project Google Drive. These are worked collaboratively using the project’s dedicated Google Drive framework, and saved on the shared folders before being also submitted as PDF documents in the EU Portal website. Additionally, all project deliverables which are public are also submitted on the project’s Zenodo repository, under the FOCCUS Community (see dedicated WP sections below for details): https://zenodo.org/communities/foccus-project/records?q=&l=list&p=1&s=10. This ensures: Long-term preservation, DOI assignment for citation, version control, and usage tracking. Zenodo was selected for its alignment with open science practices and its integration with the FOCCUS data infrastructure. The repository includes NetCDF, CSV, and SHP formats (as well as compressed formats e.g. zip). Access is open unless otherwise stated; restricted datasets are available to FOCCUS partners upon request. WP Specific data storage and access considerations WP1 Access to the project Google Drive is maintained by invitation from the Project Management team, with only project Consortium members able to access the documents before they are published publicly on Zenodo and submitted to the EU Commission for review. WP2/3 The access details for the data products developed within WP2 are provided in deliverable D2.2, which includes a comprehensive Table 1 listing each dataset, its coverage, format, version, and the corresponding data access link (DOI). WP4/5 WP4 datasets are provided in the deliverable D4.1, consisting of preliminary historical model outputs from the E-HYPE and LISFLOOD models. Data can be accessed via the following links using the Open Science Framework platform: FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 17 E-HYPE: URL: https://osf.io/pr9xh/?view_only=0a7d818627824f15954307eb2cd2d1 58 ACCESS: Available at OSF storage using the link, however the link itself is not to be shared publicly. LISFLOOD: GREEN: URL: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QGBycR2wB8UCkiug3R6h-yd SeMq8ueUO?usp=drive_link ACCESS: Sharing of GREEN nutrient data is limited to project members. The full dataset will be published open-access in JRC Data Catalogue (Water Pressure Indicators collection) at this URL: https://data.jrc.ec.europa.eu/collection/wpi - expected release date September 2025. LISLOOD river discharge data are available in the Copernicus data repository: https://ewds.climate.copernicus.eu/datasets/efas-historical?tab=dow nload The detailed description of the both models’ structure, set up, used data, calibration approach and particularities are provided in the deliverable D4.2. The datasets are given in NetCDF (.nc), CSV (.csv) format, text file (.txt) and shapefile formats, and are stored on both the shared project Google Drive and the shared project folder on the Open Science Framework (OSF) platform. Metadata files are also stored in addition to the datasets, and metadata are described in this document in detail. Updated and finalized datasets will be provided further during WP5. WP6/7 There are two main types of output from these WPs: software (processing scripts etc.) and model output data. The first category is central to D6.2 (see Annex), M6.2 (see Annex), and M6.3 (see Annex), and although software will at least partially be available through open repositories elsewhere, a copy of all software will be stored in the project Zenodo repository, which is planned to be integrated with GitHub. A separate short D6.2 report is simultaneously in preparation, which will contain a complete list of software and data as well as access links. Model output data will as a rule be hosted at the producing institutes. In general, model output data produced as part of the WP6/7 activities are not of interest to others than the producing institutions, FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 18 and hence it is primarily data produced for the demonstrators in WP8/9 that will be relevant to share openly. WP8/9 During the development, demonstration and validation phase, the numerical model outputs produced by the coastal applications are hosted at the producing institutes (WP8/9 partners). Currently, the commonly used storage solutions are internal project drives. The final outcome of these applications will be made accessible within the European Digital Twin Ocean (EDITO) that is designed to integrate ocean numerical models into the EU public infrastructure of the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EDITO-Infra) and providing access to focus applications and simulations of what-if scenarios for the sustainable management of marine environments. The developed scenarios will be included in the EDITO catalogue after their internal validation: the final validated coastal application data outputs will be produced between Month 32-36, in line with D9.1 (see Annex), D9.2 (see Annex), and will be made available by Month 36 as described in Milestone MS9.3 (see Annex) - Demonstration assessment (means of verification: “Files available on project workspace”). For each of the model output a describing item will be listed in the project Zenodo catalogue. Inclusion of the coastal application outcomes in the EDITO catalogue also means that users can directly visualize them in the advanced EDITO viewer. WP10/11 This WP includes additional maintenance of the project website, which is detailed in deliverable D10.1. 3.6 Data Quality The platform data.europa.eu (i.e. the official portal for European Union (EU) data) has recently published the data quality guidelines for delivering high-quality open data. These recommendations are directed at data providers to support them in preparing their data, developing their data strategy and ensuring data quality. FOCCUS is adopting these recommendations and in particular is applying measures for making data FAIR, using, as described in this document, well known and standardised data models and formats, using common vocabularies and standards (ISO and community defined dictionaries), adopting easy data access and data download tools. Moreover, all data collected and produced in FOCCUS will refer/document the applied (scientific) methodology (citation of references). The following data quality principles will be applied: 3.6.1 Data Quality Principles FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 19 The principles aim to encourage all involved in research to maintain, and to respond adequately to possible threats or violations of research integrity. FOCCUS researchers should be guided by these principles at each stage of the project work and in particular they have to ensure: 3.6.1.1 Academic Excellence Researchers have to apply sound methodology, suitable methods, standard procedures and documented protocols where appropriate, to ensure the highest quality of work, its dissemination and replicability. 3.6.1.2 Honesty Researchers must acknowledge the direct and indirect contributions of colleagues, collaborators and others. The basic principle of any scientific activity is the need for researchers to be honest in respect of their own actions and in their responses to the actions of other scientists. 3.6.1.3 Accountability Researchers should recognise their responsibility to the general public, and should take all reasonable measures to ensure that their research complies with any agreement, related policies and professional bodies’ guidance; and allows for proper governance and transparency. 3.6.1.4 Care and Respect Researchers should avoid any unreasonable risk or harm to research subjects and researchers themselves. 3.6.2 Data Traceability In line with the above described principles, FOCCUS is adopting all necessary measures to ensure data traceability, and approaches this by using the combination of Zenodo and ORCID. In all aspects of research, substantive contributions of formal collaborators and all others who directly assist or indirectly support the research must be properly acknowledged. This applies to any circumstances in which statements about the research are made, including provision of information about the nature and process of the research, and in publishing the outcome. Failure to acknowledge the contributions of others is regarded as unethical conduct. For facilitating the traceability of the authors, FOCCUS encourages the use of ORCID (https://orcid.org/). This also applies to data and data products that are going to be (re)used in the project and is achieved by documenting the sources and the methods (references, DOI, or any other identifier whenever available/applicable). The use of a Zenodo repository also enables data traceability. Each of the FOCCUS products will be registered in the FOCCUS catalogue (FOCCUS Zenodo community) that permits to associate the product to a unique id. Sources, processing methodologies, other pre-existing rights will be listed in the product FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 20 description/quality document (the CMEMS products already apply similar strategy by offering QUID and PUM for each of the product)1 It also applies data products that are collected and produced by FOCCUS by properly documenting and by assigning a DOI to each of them. Updates are considered updated versions of the document and/or data. The integration of DOIs further ensures that the project output and all methodology is documented and organized throughout the course of the project and beyond. 3.7 Data Collected from Stakeholders In FOCCUS, responses from different stakeholder surveys will be used and additional surveys could be developed to co-design FOCCUS R&I and to gather needs from stakeholders (WP10-WP11). These data will be handled following the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 3.8 Data Utility Outside the Project FOCCUS (Forecasting and Observing the Open-to-Coastal Ocean for Copernicus Users) is part of the 2023 Horizon Europe calls for Space supervised by HaDEA, the Health and Digital Executive Agency, and aims at enhancing the Copernicus Marine Service’s existing capabilities and developing innovative coastal monitoring and forecasting products. This includes changes in the use of new space and in situ coastal observations, innovations in data fusion, data processing and visualisation, together with seamless numerical forecasting from regional models of the Copernicus Marine Service covering the EU regional seas, to Member States coastal forecasting systems Coastal zones have large social, economic and environmental values. They are more densely populated than the hinterland and concentrate large economic assets, critical infrastructures and human activities such as tourism, fisheries, navigation. Furthermore, the coastal ocean is home to a wealth of living marine resources and very productive ecosystems. Yet, coastal zones are exposed to various natural and anthropogenic hazards, such as pollution, eutrophication, and habitat degradation. Natural hazards can be exacerbated by climate change and induced ocean warming, acidification, deoxygenation, sea level rise, increases in harmful algae blooms and invasive species. While Europe has a robust capability for ocean monitoring, particularly through the Copernicus Marine Service, the use of Earth observation (EO) data for coastal monitoring is not fully explored. The FOCCUS project aims to enhance the Copernicus Marine Service’s coastal dimension by fostering collaboration between European Research and Innovation 1e.g. https://documentation.marine.copernicus.eu/QUID/CMEMS-GLO-QUID-001-024.pdf, https://documentation.marine.copernicus.eu/PUM/CMEMS-GLO-PUM-001-024.pdf FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 21 entities (R&I), public authorities (including coastal services) and industry stakeholders. This involves producing coastal information through the creation of new computational models utilising data from both MSCS and the Copernicus Marine Service for improved monitoring and forecasting of coastal zones. The initiative aligns with EU policies, including the European Green Deal, and contributes to global efforts such as the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Regarding user training and guidance on how to use FOCCUS data products, these are to be taken into consideration in the second phase of the project to ensure adequate user engagement and uptake. 3.9 Data - Risk Management In line with the FOCCUS project's commitment to open science and FAIR data principles, risk management for data-related issues is a critical aspect of ensuring the reliability, integrity, and continuity of data handling throughout the project lifecycle. The following categories outline key risks and corresponding mitigation strategies identified within the scope of FOCCUS data management activities: 3.9.1. Data Loss or Corruption Risk: Accidental loss or corruption of datasets due to system failures, human error, or cyberattacks. Mitigation: data storage is performed across multiple services, including partners’ infrastructure and Zenodo. Partners data servers do backup periodically according to internal policies. 3.9.2. Incomplete Metadata or Documentation Risk: Datasets may be rendered less useful or non-reusable due to missing metadata or poor documentation. Mitigation: Adoption of ISO 19115 and other community metadata standards as described in deliverable D2.1. Implementation of metadata validation and pre-submission quality checks at WP level. 3.9.3. GDPR and Ethical Non-compliance Risk: Mishandling of personal data from stakeholder surveys or non-compliance with GDPR could result in legal issues. FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 22 Mitigation: All stakeholder-related data are anonymised and processed in compliance with the FOCCUS GDPR framework (Milestone MS1.1, see Annex). Consent forms, risk registers, and audit trails are maintained and reviewed periodically. 3.9.4. Interoperability and Compatibility Failures Risk: Data formats or standards used within FOCCUS may be incompatible with external platforms or stakeholders’ needs. Mitigation: Standardisation of data formats (NetCDF, Zarr, GeoTIFF, etc.) and controlled vocabularies (CF conventions, GCMD keywords, etc) as described in deliverable D2.1. Engagement with Copernicus Marine Service, EMODnet, EDITO, and OceanPrediction DCC ensures compatibility alignment. 3.9.5. Limited Data Reusability or Visibility Risk: FOCCUS datasets may not be effectively reused if they are difficult to discover or lack sufficient dissemination. Mitigation: All datasets are deposited in searchable repositories with assigned DOIs. Active dissemination through FOCCUS portal, Zenodo, and integration into CMEMS services and catalogues (e.g. Copernicus Coastal Hub). Clear documentation and citation guidance are provided with each dataset. Moreover the FOCCUS project designed and is managing a risk table where the Likelihood (low, medium, high) and Severity (low, medium, high) define the Risk Index (ranging from 1-9), where RI = L*S Description of risk WPs Proposed risk-mitigation measures R-Index Partners leave, long-term illness of key staff, change of roles or poor partner performance and conflicts. Likelihood: Low Severity: Medium ALL Partners will notify the issue and/or the conflict, to be solved as defined in the Consortium Agreement. Close monitoring of all activities will mitigate the risk. PC and WP co-leaders are tenured staff. All partners have qualified personnel. 2 Project personnel leave, team composition change, barriers to effective teamwork. Likelihood: Low Severity: Low ALL Comprehensive and updated documentation since the very beginning of the project would help to reduce risks in the project development. 1 Delay in the recruitment of the personnel. Likelihood: Low Severity: Medium ALL Internationally open, efficient, transparent recruitment strategy and worldwide advertising will speed the hiring process. 2 FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 23 Management difficulties due to the large consortia, problems lead to delay of deliverables or project activities. Likelihood: Low Severity: Medium WP1 FOCCUS R has clear management structure and procedure. s, WP co-leaders, SCT and ExC members have long-standing experience in EU programs of comparable size. The project management platform will ensure effective management 2 Short/long-time breakdown of satellite data or poor data quality. Likelihood: Low Severity: Low WP2 Work with similar observations and or simulated observations. 1 Significant reduction in the observation spatio-temporal coverage due to upstream processing chain failure. Likelihood: Low Severity: Medium WP2 WP3 Inform in case of degradation of the product quality. Strategic European coastal areas will be selected based on critical pre-observed coastal patterns and data availability. 2 Delay in the delivery of the first sample files needed for other WPs. Likelihood: Low Severity: Medium WP2 - WP7 Similar data products will be proposed to start the other WPs work. Regular meetings with the downstream/upstream WPs will be held to check the progress and the needs. 2 Failure to calibrate E-HYPE with added nutrient and sediment routines. Likelihood: Medium Severity: Low WP4 WP5 Because the proposed E-HYPE development work takes an incremental approach based on a well-developed base model, we can adapt calibration targets as the project develops and thereby minimize the risk of unsuccessful calibration. 2 Failure to perform the LISFLOOD calibration and set up and calibrate LISFLOOD with added nutrient and sediment routines. Likelihood: Low Severity: Medium WP4 WP5 The proposed LISFLOOD development will be performed by CMCC and JRC (external collaboration); the planned work will be executed by CMCC scientists including visits at JRC and joint meetings and workshops. The work is based on the well developed LISFLOOD open source model. CMCC in collaboration with JRC will be able to adapt to upcoming challenges and to implement model improvements successfully. 2 Scarce availability of river runoff, PHYS (salinity, temperature), nutrients and sediments in-situ data in the estuary coastal areas for testing purposes. Likelihood: Medium Severity: Medium WP3WP5 Strategic European coastal areas have been selected based on critical pre-observed data availability. Unstructured grid models will be used to estimate PHYS variables in the estuary and calibrate the EBM model. 4 Collaboration with JRC being external to the project will not work as expected. Likelihood:Low Severity:High WP4 WP[1] 5 CMCC/JRC meetings have been carried out before the submission to plan activities. CMCC will notify any issue to the PC and ExC to discuss the mitigation measures. 3 Issues with technical implementation of interfaces CMEMS/MSCS. Likelihood: Low WP6 WP7 MSCSs already have well-established data streams and production chains. Tight coordination will be used to ensure progress to meet planned deliveries. 2 FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 24 Severity: Medium Issues with delivery of observation data. Likelihood: Medium Severity: High WP6 WP7 Divert the task efforts to another observation type from WP2-3 (surface currents). No consequence for demonstrations. 6 Technical problems with MSCSs preventing completion of planned tests. Likelihood: Medium Severity: Low WP6 WP7 Tests will be done at TRL 5-6 and do not require 24/7 operational capacity, hence providing more flexibility w.r.t. execution. 4 Insufficient feedback from Member States and reference user communities. Likelihood: Low Severity: Medium WP8 WP9 Early and regular engagement of Member states and reference user communities. 2 Requirements of Member States and reference user communities are not completely fulfilled. Likelihood: Medium Severity: Medium WP9, WP8 Establishment and active engagement with the National Marine Stakeholder Forum to iteratively validate requirements. 4 Delay in the implementation of applications, Likelihood: Medium Severity: Medium WP8 WP9 Defining a milestone (MS9.1) for the prototypes well ahead of the final versions. 4 Diverging or overly demanding needs collected during the co-design thematic workshops. Likelihood: Low Severity: Medium WP10 MOi will assist all co-design workshops and work to translate user needs into achievable specifications for the technical WPs. 2 Lack of participation in workshop events. Likelihood: Low Severity:Low WP10 WP11 All workshops will be online enabling an inclusive participation and to maximise attendance. In addition there can be flexibility in re-scheduling the workshop, if required. 1 Lack of wider stakeholder awareness about the project and/or failure of the planned communication and dissemination activities. Likelihood: Low Severity: Medium WP10 WP11 There will be a clear, step-wise and multi-channelled communication and dissemination plan, that will deliver fit-for-use public tools e.g., website and outputs e.g., brochure, video to engage the key stakeholder groups of the project. The status of stakeholder engagement will be assessed to finetune and optimise further stakeholder onboarding and engagement. 2 Low uptake in Copernicus Marine and Member States services. Likelihood: Low Severity: Medium WP11 The uptake into the Copernicus Marine Service will be carefully planned, organized and (D11.2). MOi, EE by the EC for the implementation of CMEMS, will oversee the strategic alignment and the transferability of FOCCUS’ outcomes to CMEMS. 2 These risks and measures are reviewed whenever needed and integrated in the next version of the DMP. FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 25 principles are further cornerstones of this process and should be encouraged as a EU policy for research projects. 5.4. Communication, Dissemination, and Publications Communication, Dissemination and Publication are reported in the non-public facing document: deliverable D10.1 Communication, Dissemination, and Exploitation Plan. 6. Other Research Outputs FOCCUS is an ambitious project and there will be several outputs going from new data and products to deliverables, to publications, to dissemination materials. These outputs are planned and this approach matches the open science practices. This document is describing the approach on data and data-products data management approach, while plans for communication strategy, deliverable quality, document management, web and social communication are addressed in other deliverables. The project’s data and data-products are digital objects and they will be published together with (FAIR) metadata, be assigned a digital object identifier (DOI) and be available/linkable in the FOCCUS web portal or web data infrastructure. 7. Allocation of Resources 7.1. Costs Before Making Data or Other Research Outputs FAIR Besides having a DM team, each partner has some allocated budget to implement fairness according to the principles and recommendations described in this document. 7.2. Responsible for Data Management Data Management is included in a dedicated project work package (WP1), led by Hereon. Responsible for the data management is Kelli Johnson (HEREON), who is the Scientific Project Manager for FOCCUS at Hereon, with a background in oceanography and data science. Considering the complexity of the project, the Data Manager is assisted by a team of experts, with strong background in remote sensing data management, in situ data, and numerical modelling. More specifically, she will be supported by: Joanna Staneva (HEREON),is a Senior Scientist and Head of the Department “Hydrodynamics and Data Assimilation” at Helmholtz Centre Hereon, Germany. She holds a Diploma in Physics and a PhD in Physical Oceanography from the University of Sofia, Bulgaria. Dr. Staneva has expertise in marine research, research management, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her work includes modeling the marine environment, earth system modeling, FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 32 ocean predictability, climate dynamics, and coastal and regional oceanography. She actively contributes to scientific advancement by coordinating the Horizon Europe project FOCCUS and participating in international and national projects. Francisco Campuzano (+ATLANTIC), who has been the leader of the EMODnet physics river node and also of operational numerical models in Portugal. He is member of several EuroGOOS working groups where data and model results standard practices were defined and implemented. Antonio Novellino (ETT, subcontractor of +ATLANTIC), who has long experience in data management and ocean data management and sharing for both Copernicus Marine Service (he was the CMEMS Dissemination Unit deputy), EMODnet (he is the Coordinator of EMODnet Physics, and leader in EMODnet Ingestion operational data ingestion flow), and several H2020 and HEurope marine data and services projects. Whenever a FOCCUS data product is hosted, safekept into any other well known/TRUSTed repository, WP1 will list the proper links. 7.3. Long Term Preservation For the duration of the project, data is going to be hosted by the FOCCUS data management infrastructure. This infrastructure is based on the key European integrating data ocean infrastructures and programs (CMEMS, EMODnet) and FOCCUS outcomes will be directly deposited in these long-term safe keeping systems. FOCCUS outcomes will always be visible and identifiable by means of data-products metadata (and citation statement). 8. Data Security Data security is not a concern for the specific goals of the project: FOCCUS is developing open science and open products that are going to be made available in CC-BY (or equivalent) as soon as possible. Each partner which is running a service or a code is adopting standard procedures to safekeeping the development (e.g. backup). The use of Zenodo as a repository for project digital outcomes represents a second level of security. 9. Ethics and GDPR Ethics and GDPR are covered by the FOCCUS milestone MS1.1: GDPR-compliant project management portal created, including risk register. By M3 of the project, the Coordinator communicated with the Project Officer to establish an approved ethical statement which was then circulated amongst the Consortium members with no issues or rejections to complete milestone MS1.1 (see Annex). FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 33 Furthermore, an Ethics Advisory Committee (EAC) has been established in M16, consisting of the Work Package co-leaders as well as Project Manager and Project Coordinator, serving as representatives from partners involved in each of the Work Packages. This group is committed to discussing bi-monthly ongoing ethics topics, risks, and planning to ensure that ethical standards are adhered to for all aspects of the project. The EAC has agreed upon the establishment of an ethics framework throughout the project per WP, as part of the overall project governance, to ensure compliance with GDPR, data security, and informed consent. Additionally, this applies to interactions with third parties such as stakeholders or data sources to protect the privacy of all involved in project activities. Part of this strategy encompasses the monitoring of ethical standards and obtaining feedback from stakeholders and reviewers to ensure satisfactory compliance. Mitigation strategies are considered to proactively address ethical risks, ensuring transparency and accountability. 10. Updates of the DMP This DMP will be updated in month 36. FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 34 Annex Referenced MS1.1 GDPR compliant project management portal created, including risk register: MS1.1 GDPR compliant project management portal created, including risk register is a milestone which was delivered, following the PO’s request before the start of the FOCCUS Project. After communications to refine the ethics statement with the previous Project Officer in the project communication section of the EU Portal, an email with the agreed-upon statement was circulated to Consortium in March 2025, with the request to reply if there were any objections. Email content was as follows: “Ethics response: In the course of the organization of meetings, the names and email addresses of the participants will be collected. During recruitments, more detailed personal information (e.g., in the form of CVs) will be collected by the respective partners. For all partners in the FOCCUS consortium, the following measures are in place to guarantee data protection: ● Existence of information security and data protection regulations ● Obligation of the employees involved in data processing to maintain confidentiality (Art. 28 Para. 3 Sentence 1 Letter b GDPR, Art. 29 GDPR) as well as issuing information on data protection ● Data protection training for employees ● Instructing employees regarding IT use and information security, data protection and data backup ● Determination of responsibilities and responsibilities for devices and systems ● Exclusive use of authorized company-owned IT systems or external systems tested by information technology before use Regarding the use of AI: The team has not identified any ethical issues surrounding the use of AI in this project, including ethical issues related to human rights and values. The use of AI-based algorithms is for very restricted and clearly defined FOCCUS purposes, namely for improving the quality and to advance coastal observations and models. Therefore, there cannot be any potential discrimination against humans as a result of the system, and the system will not have any potential to lead to negative social or environmental impacts.” This milestone was then recorded as completed in the EU Portal upon the receipt of zero objections. Referenced D3.1 summary: D1.3: Data Quality Assessment is a public report that will be due at M30 as part of WP3, and led by partner CLS. This deliverable will consist of Cal/Val reports of data products identified in WP2. Referenced D6.2 summary: FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 35 D6.2: Software Repository of ML and DA Algorithms is a public report that will be due at M18 as part of WP6, and led by partner MET.NO. This deliverable will consist of a software repository of ML and DA algorithms. Referenced MS6.2 summary: MS6.2: Nested Models Implemented in a Unified Framework is a milestone that will be due at M18 as part of WP6, and led by partner Deltares. This will be considered achieved when the files are available on project workspaces, and included as a part of D6.2 above. Referenced MS6.3 summary: MS6.3: New Observation Operators is a milestone that will be due at M18 as part of WP6, and led by partner MET.NO. To achieve this, the software will be available, with assessment results reported. This will be reported as part of D6.2 above. Referenced D9.1 summary: D9.1: Demonstration of Applications is a public pilot/prototype that will be due at M32 as part of WP9, and led by partner Deltares. This deliverable will consist of a demonstration of the coastal applications by running test cases, documented in interactive handbooks. Referenced D9.2 summary: D9.2: Assessment of Applications is a public report that will be due at M36 as part of WP9, and led by partner CMCC. This deliverable will consist of an assessment of the coastal applications, including benchmarking, validation metrics, recommendations, verification of KPIs and evaluation of TRL. Referenced MS9.3 summary: MS9.3: Demonstration Assessment is a milestone that will be due at M36 as part of WP9, and led by partner Deltares. To achieve this, the software will be available, with assessment results reported. This will be considered achieved when the files are available on project workspaces. Other documents referenced: MSCS Inventory: A preliminary inventory of coastal systems was agreed upon and created by the Consortium during the first year of the project, in order to better organize efforts to achieve the goals laid out in the DoA to improve them. A summary of this document can be found below, as it is not available on the EU Portal or for public dissemination. Additionally, the Commission has the right to request access to this document directly using the project’s shared drive here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JxFKYBhboVHDFwAgmMikijJ_9N2UFUu6xNmFOA GB21M/edit?usp=sharing FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 36 This inventory includes a list of project partners, their relevant WPs and regions of interest, in addition to details about their coastal systems which are being used and developed in this project per the DoA. This includes the name of the systems, objectives for improvement, models used, current observations and forcing data, and how these systems interface with Copernicus Marine. Additionally, cross-WP connections for each coastal system are listed here, specifically how each has links to hydrology. Links to initial performance metrics for each coastal system are included here, in addition to roadmaps for improving each system’s interfacing with Copernicus (detailed further below). Roadmaps for Improved Interfacing with CMEMS: As part of milestone MS6.1: Interfaces Roadmap, roadmaps for improving each coastal system’s interfacing with Copernicus was created in M6 of the project. A summary of this milestone can be found below, as it is not available on the EU Portal or for public dissemination. Additionally, the Commission has the right to request access to the documents that make up this milestone directly using the project’s shared drive here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tlmc7NZxheF69ls86eIyiv3eLRsgggPH?usp=drive_lin k These roadmaps include a summary of each member state coastal system, the Copernicus Marine model products used, as well as a description of the existing nesting method used. Crucially, these roadmaps detail for each coastal system the proposed improvements in this nesting, and will be used for the work outlined in the DoA in WP6/7. FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 37 References Tanhua, T., McCurdy, A., Fischer, A., Appeltans, W., Bax, N., Currie, K., DeYoung, B., Dunn, D., Heslop, E., Glover, L. K., Gunn, J., Hill, K., Ishii, M., Legler, D., Lindstrom, E., Miloslavich, P., Moltmann, T., Nolan, G., Palacz, A., … Wilkin, J. (2019). What We Have Learned From the Framework for Ocean Observing: Evolution of the Global Ocean Observing System. Frontiers in Marine Science – Ocean Observation, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00471 Quimbert Erwann, Fichaut Michele, Maudire Gilbert (2022). Guide principles FAIR. Principes FAIR dans le contexte du pôle ODATIS. https://doi.org/10.13155/87107 FOCCUS | D1.1 Data Management plan 38