Common Di ec ions
in Resea ch Da a Policy
In associa ion wi h:
BRIEFING PAPER
Augus 2016 Digi al Cu a ion Cen e
Angus Why e and Ma in Donnelly
2
Con en s
01 In oduc ion
01 A global policy en i onmen
02 RCUK guidelines and conco da on open esea ch da a
03 Who pays?
04 Whe e nex o UK esea ch da a policy?
05 Taking da a policy u he in you ins i u ion
08 Conclusion
01
In oduc ion
This b ie ing akes s ock o ecen de elopmen s in esea ch unde s’ da a
policies and expec a ions. The ocus is on de elopmen s mos di ec ly a ec ing
UK Highe Educa ion ins i u ions and esea ch ins i u es, including he Conco da
on Open Resea ch Da a, and ecen changes in Cance Resea ch UK policy.
The b ie ing will be o pa icula in e es o hose wi hin Highe Educa ion
esponsible o he managemen o go e nance o esea ch da a. I assumes
he eade al eady has some amilia i y wi h unde policies in his con ex .
1 O ganisa ion o Economic Co-ope a ion and De elopmen , 2007. ‘OECD p inciples and guidelines o access o esea ch da a om public unding’, Pa is, F ance: OECD.
2 Boul on, G. e al., 2012. ‘Science as an open en e p ise’. The Royal Socie y. A ailable a : h ps:// oyalsocie y.o g/ opics-policy/p ojec s/science-public-en e p ise/ epo /
3 See o example OECD, 2004. ‘Science, Technology and Inno a ion o he 21s Cen u y. Mee ing o he OECD Commi ee o Scien i ic and Technological Policy a Minis e ial
Le el, 29-30 Janua y 2004 - Final Communique’. A ailable a : h p://www.oecd.o g/science/sci- ech/science echnologyandinno a ion o he21s cen u ymee ingo heoecdcom
mi ee o scien i icand echnologicalpolicya minis e ialle el29-30janua y2004- inalcommunique.h m
4 Depa men o Business, Inno a ion & Skills, 2014. ‘Open da a s a egy’.
A ailable a : h ps://www.go .uk/go e nmen /uploads/sys em/uploads/a achmen _da a/ ile/330382/bis-14-946-open-da a-s a egy-2014-2016.pd
5 Eu opean Commission. 19 Ap il 2016. ‘Eu opean Cloud Ini ia i e o gi e Eu ope a global lead in he da a-d i en economy’. P ess elease.
A ailable a : h p://eu opa.eu/ apid/p ess- elease_IP-16-1408_en.h m
6 Eu opean Commission High Le el Expe G oup on he Eu opean Open Science Cloud, 2016. ‘A Cloud on he 2020 Ho izon. Realising he Eu opean Open Science Cloud:
i s epo and ecommenda ions’. A ailable a : h p://ec.eu opa.eu/ esea ch/openscience/index.c m?pg=open-science-cloud
7 G8 science minis e s s a emen : London, 12 June 2013. A ailable a : h ps://www.go .uk/go e nmen /publica ions/g8-science-minis e s-s a emen -london-12-june-2013
A Global Policy En i onmen
Resea ch da a policies seeking o open up esea ch
da a ha e been p ominen o mo e han a decade now,
d i en by a consis en se o key conce ns:
• inc easing he e iciency o esea ch spending1
• suppo ing he ‘sel -co ec ion’ mechanisms in
science and schola ship ha p o ide esea ch
anspa ency and in eg i y2
• p o iding a ca alys o inno a ion and
economic g ow h3
The p omise o da a science has enewed he igou o
policy e o s o ca alyse inno a ion, as seen o example
in he UK Go e nmen ’s open da a s a egy.4 In Eu opean
policy i is e lec ed in he Eu opean Cloud Ini ia i e, and
he Eu opean Commission’s decla a ion ha i would
be “opening up by de aul all scien i ic da a p oduced
by u u e p ojec s unde he Ho izon 2020 esea ch
and inno a ion p og amme” om 2017.5
The Eu opean Commission’s oadmap owa ds a
suppo ing en i onmen o Open Science; he Eu opean
Open Cloud o Science (EOSC) has a s ong emphasis
on “immedia e, a i ma i e policy ac ion… in close
conce wi h Membe S a es… o ealise he i s phase
o a ede a ed, globally accessible en i onmen whe e
esea che s, inno a o s, companies and ci izens can
publish, ind and e-use each o he ’s da a and ools o
esea ch, inno a ion and educa ional pu poses”.6
Funding body policy is a esponse o Go e nmen
policy, whe he di ec ly o h ough collec i e bodies
such as he OECD, EU, o he G7/G8. Resea ch da a
policy has also had a signi ican place in ecen
G8 Science Minis e s’ s a emen s, o example in
he ollowing p inciples a he 2013 G8 summi :
• To he g ea es ex en and wi h he ewes
cons ain s possible, publicly unded scien i ic
esea ch da a should be open, while a he same
ime espec ing conce ns in ela ion o p i acy,
sa e y, secu i y and comme cial in e es s, whils
acknowledging he legi ima e conce ns o
p i a e pa ne s.
• Open scien i ic esea ch da a should be easily
disco e able, accessible, assessable, in elligible,
useable, and whe e e possible in e ope able o
speci ic quali y s anda ds.
• To ensu e success ul adop ion by scien i ic
communi ies, open scien i ic esea ch da a p inciples
will need o be unde pinned by an app op ia e policy
en i onmen , including ecogni ion o esea che s
ul illing hese p inciples, and app op ia e digi al
in as uc u e.7
This s a emen signalled a s eng hening o esea ch
unde s’ commi men o an ‘open by de aul ’ posi ion
on da a, and o esou cing he in as uc u e, bo h
echnological and o ganisa ional, needed o p o ide
ha . The emphasis on mechanisms o p o ide ewa d
and ecogni ion o da a sha ing is also likely o in luence
he UK Go e nmen ’s successo o he Resea ch
Excellence F amewo k.
02
8 Eu opa. 29 June 2016. ‘P o ec ion o Pe sonal Da a’. A ailable a : h p://ec.eu opa.eu/jus ice/da a-p o ec ion/
9 FAIR P inciples: see o example Wilkinson, M. D. e al. 2016. ‘The FAIR Guiding P inciples o scien i ic da a managemen and s ewa dship’.
Sci. Da a 3:160018 doi: 10.1038/sda a.2016.18 h p://www.na u e.com/a icles/sda a201618
10 Economic and Social Resea ch Council, 2015. ‘Resea ch Da a Policy’. A ailable a : h p://www.na u e.com/a icles/sda a201618
11 RCUK, 2011. ‘Common P inciples o Da a Policy’. A ailable a : www. cuk.ac.uk/ esea ch/da apolicy/
12 RCUK, 2015. ‘Guidance on bes p ac ice in he managemen o esea ch da a’. A ailable a : www. cuk.ac.uk/documen s/documen s/ cukcommonp inciplesonda apolicy-pd /
13 RCUK, 2015. ‘Conco da on Open Resea ch Da a launched’. P ess elease. A ailable a : www. cuk.ac.uk/media/news/160728
14 Uni e si ies UK, 2012. Conco da o Suppo Resea ch In eg i y also add essed da a s ewa dship alongside o he issues.
The policy emphasis on opening da a up o encou age
inno a ion is coupled wi h i me egula ion on da a
p o ec ion, which all o ganisa ions doing business wi h
he EU will need o apply om May 2018.8 This will place
a g ea e onus on esea ch o ganisa ions o ensu e
he ade-o s be ween openness and secu i y, as
exp essed in he G8 Science Minis e s’ i s p inciple,
a e p ope ly managed.
Recognising he po en ial o con usion a ound how
esea ch da a p oduce s should apply he concep o
‘openness’, he e ha e been some mo es by unde s
and o he s o simpli y common p inciples. One example
is he FAIR p inciples,9 which eme ged om he FORCE11
ini ia i e and a e s ongly in luenced by academic
publishe s. FAIR simply s a es ha da a should be
Findable, Accessible, In e ope able and Reusable.
These p inciples a e helping shape de elopmen o
he Eu opean Open Science Cloud, and a e also being
applied by UK unde s. Fo example in i s ecen ly e ised
da a policy he Economic and Social Resea ch Council
ecommended FAIR as guidance on bes p ac ice in da a
s ewa dship, whe he o da a deposi ed in he UK Da a
Se ice o elsewhe e.10
RCUK Guidelines and Conco da on
Open Resea ch Da a
Resea ch Councils UK (RCUK) has since 2011 p o ided
Common P inciples on Da a Policy. The se en indi idual
Councils ha e o ien ed hei discipline-speci ic policies
a ound ha s a emen .11 In July 2015, RCUK eleased
u he Guidance on bes p ac ice in he managemen
o esea ch da a,12 o e ing unded esea ch ins i u ions
and in es iga o s explana o y ex on each o he se en
‘common p inciples’. This guidance was in ended o
in o m he RCUK consul a ion on a d a Conco da
on Open Resea ch Da a.13
The Conco da on Open Resea ch Da a is he wo k
o a b oad coali ion o UK unde s unde he aegis o
he UK Open Resea ch Da a Fo um. This includes RCUK,
HEFCE, Uni e si ies UK, Jisc, and Wellcome T us ; plus
a b oad ange o in e es ed bodies including DCC.14
The Conco da se s ou he wo king g oup’s sha ed
unde s anding o di e en esponsibili ies o esea che s,
hei employe s, and unde s o esea ch. The documen
complemen s exis ing amewo ks, g an condi ions and
guidelines. Ra he han p o iding u he manda es,
i aims o ame expec a ions o good p ac ice, and
es ablish open esea ch da a as he desi ed posi ion
o publicly- unded esea ch o e he long- e m.
The Conco da e-i e a es he se en RCUK p inciples,
albei in a di e en o m and wi h a numbe o addi ional
poin s, highligh ing esea ch o ganisa ions’ sha ed
esponsibili y o:
• P o ide suppo wi h da a managemen o publicly
unded esea ch, and e iew p og ess in making
esea ch da a openly accessible
• Ensu e da a is cu a ed o make i disco e able
and useable
• Mee se ice and in as uc u e cos s in p opo ion
o ealisable bene i s
• Cla i y when es ic ions a e accep able and he
necessi y o jus i y hem
• Obse e legal, e hical and egula o y amewo ks
• Make he da a unde lying publica ions accessible
and ci eable
• Suppo da a skills de elopmen
FAIR da a p inciples 9
Sou ce: illus a ion CC-BY Scien i ic Da a, Na u e Publishing G oup
03
The public consul a ion on he d a conco da led o
80 esponses om uni e si ies, esea ch g oups,
indi iduals and o ganisa ions ac oss he sec o , many
in o med by in e nal consul a ions wi h esea che s, o
expe iences o p o iding suppo in esea ch-in ensi e
en i onmen s. These included, o example, a public join
esponse om he uni e si ies o B is ol, Camb idge,
Manches e , No ingham, and Ox o d.15
The esponses we e b oadly suppo i e, and highligh ed
some common poin s ha a e ecu ing issues o hose
implemen ing da a policy. These include a need o policy
o help ins i u ions add ess a numbe o issues, including
he needs o:
• A oid bias in policy e minology owa ds STEM16
subjec a eas, and ecognise he di e en
me hodologies and nomencla u e used in he A s
and Humani ies.
• Recognise he challenges in delinea ing bounda ies
be ween esea ch a icles, code, and da a; and
be ween digi al and non-digi al da a.
• Recognise ha esea che s need o make in o med
decisions, and jus i y hem, on he ade-o s be ween
he isk and bene i s o sha ing da a, pa icula ly
in heal h and social science esea ch.
• Recognise ha while public-p i a e esea ch
collabo a ions need o make he da a hey p oduce
openly a ailable wi hou undue es ic ions, o he
mechanisms like IP sha ing may apply o de i a i e
da a p oduc s ha add alue o ha da a.
• Recognise and ewa d he e o o manage da a
du ing he esea ch cycle, as well as end-o -cycle
da a sha ing ac i i y.
• Help ins i u ions deal wi h cos s o p o iding se ices
and in as uc u e, by p o iding be e de ined
amewo ks o eco e ing cos s om unde s,
‘ esponsible me ics’ ha incen i ise sha ing by
measu ing he e u ns om open da a.17
The consul a ion esponses sugges policy will be
ahead o esea ch o ganisa ions’ p ac ice o some
ime. Fu he suppo o sha ed eposi o ies o a oid
duplica ion was called o . The ques ion o ‘who pays’
emains a majo ba ie o ansi ioning be ween
pilo p ojec s and ‘business as usual’ se ices.
15 Uni e si y o Camb idge O ice o Schola ly Communica ion ‘Unlocking Resea ch’ Blog pos , 1s Oc . 2015. Join esponse on he d a UK Conco da on Open Resea ch Da a.
A ailable a : h ps://unlocking esea ch.blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=285
16 STEM is an ac onym o Science, Technology, Enginee ing and Ma hema ics, which eme ged om educa ion policy deba es in he US, see Wikipedia en y a :
h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/Science,_ echnology,_enginee ing,_and_ma hema ics
17 ‘Responsible me ics’ means well-designed e alua ion c i e ia, e.g. as desc ibed in Wilsdon, J. 2015. ‘The Me ic Tide: Repo o he Independen Re iew o he Role o Me ics
in Resea ch Assessmen and Managemen ’ DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4929.1363 A ailable a : h ps:// esponsibleme ics.o g/ he-me ic- ide/
18 Ben Ryan ‘Suppo ing esea ch da a managemen cos s h ough g an unding’ Resea ch Councils UK Blog pos . July 9, 2013
A ailable a : h p://blogs. cuk.ac.uk/2013/07/09/suppo ing- esea ch-da a-managemen -cos s- h ough-g an - unding/
19 QR o Quali y Rela ed unding is alloca ed o ins i u ions by Funding Councils based on hei esea ch assessmen pe o mance, and is pa o he so-called ‘dual suppo ’
adminis a ion o esea ch unding in he UK. Fo u he de ails, see: h p://www.he ce.ac.uk/ s ch/ unding/
20 Resea ch Councils UK, n.d. ‘E iciency 2011-15: Ensu ing Excellence wi h Impac ’. A ailable a : h p://www. cuk.ac.uk/ esea ch/e iciency/e iciency2011/
21 Cance esea ch UK, 2015. Da a Sha ing FAQs. A ailable a : h p://www.cance esea chuk.o g/ unding- o - esea che s/applying- o - unding/policies- ha -a ec -you -g an /
submission-o -a-da a-sha ing-and-p ese a ion-s a egy/da a-sha ing- aqs
Who pays?
The cos s o esea ch da a suppo and in as uc u e
a e likely o emain a keenly el ‘pain poin ’ o some
ime. In p inciple all UK Resea ch Councils endo se he
‘e icien and cos -e ec i e’ use o public unds o suppo
he managemen and sha ing o publicly- unded esea ch
da a. RCUK p o ided subs an ial guidance on his in a
2013 blog pos , which esponded o ques ions aised a
a Resea ch Da a Managemen Fo um ‘mee he unde s’
e en .18 Ne e heless a clea consensus has ye o
eme ge abou exac ly which public unds an ins i u ion
should d aw om, in o de o esou ce an RDM se ice
i.e. whe he o cha ge ou cos s o esea ch g an s as
di ec cos s, eco e hem h ough indi ec cos s, and/o
ely on o he sou ces such as QR19 income om
unding councils.
Among he mo e challenging aspec s o policy
implemen a ion is he p essu e by Go e nmen and
Resea ch Councils, ollowing he Wakeham Re iew, o
educe indi ec cos s.20 In sho , ins i u ions a e expec ed
o mee many o he cos s o es ablishing ins i u ional
RDM se ices while a he same economising on cen al
se ices. Fu he mo e, Resea ch Councils do no pe mi
cos s o be cha ged o g an s o pos -p ojec spending, o
o se ices ha a e p o ided ee o cha ge o non-RCUK
unded esea che s, such as hose inanced by cha i ies.
Adding o he inancial challenge, cha i ies ha e
his o ically no seen i as hei ole o und he o e heads
o esea ch ins i u ions. This may be changing howe e .
Fo example, in 2015 Cance Resea ch UK changed i s
app oach so ha “app op ia ely jus i ied” cos s can be
included in g an p oposals. Speci ically, applican s can
now include “p opo iona e, ele an da a managemen
sha ing ac i i ies and esou ces as a unning cos in
applica ions.”21 This may co e , o example, da a
manage s’ sala y cos s, and/o a chi ing and eposi o y
cos s, bu no Open Access a icle p ocessing cha ges
which a e deal wi h sepa a ely.
04
Whe e nex o UK Resea ch Da a Policy?
UK unding body da a policies ha e unde gone some
consolida ion o e he las i e yea s, and he e may be
u he mo es owa ds a ha monised laye o RCUK da a
policy, and pe haps mo e joined-up in es men in da a
in as uc u e a a na ional le el.
The ‘di ec ion o a el’ owa ds g ea e openness
is unlikely o change. And gi en he impo ance o
Eu opean esea ch ne wo ks o UK esea che s, EU da a
policy is likely o con inue o in luence UK unde policies.
A key de elopmen he e is he Eu opean Open Science
Cloud, which is desc ibed as he “EU con ibu ion o an
In e ne o FAIR Da a and Se ices unde pinned wi h
open p o ocols” and which “ope a es unde well-de ined
and us ed condi ions”.22
Funde s ecognise ha change in da a sha ing cul u e
happens nei he painlessly no o e nigh . S eps o
moni o policy implemen a ion a e pe haps mo e likely
in he sho e m han majo changes in emphasis.
Those s eps will likely include s onge compliance
checks. I ook some yea s om he in oduc ion o Open
Access policies o he ou ine moni o ing o compliance,
al hough i ook some unde s ewe yea s han o he s.23
We can disce n a numbe o u he ends ha a e
likely o e he nex 2-3 yea s.
Moni o ing o da a managemen plans
Resea ch unde s ha e begun, albei spo adically, o e iew
he quali y o da a managemen plans hey ecei e.24
We can expec o see ea ly s eps owa ds pee e iew
o DMPs o be ollowed h ough wi h moni o ing o he
ex en o which plans ha e led o deposi ion o da a in
a public eposi o y.
Pos -awa d da a managemen plans
All unded H2020 p ojec s a e now equi ed o submi
a Da a Managemen Plan six mon hs pos -awa d.25
The DMP is hen upda ed la e in he p ojec , a policy
p ocess wi h some simila i ies o NERC‘s pos -awa d
DMP, which is p oduced by p incipal in es iga o s in
collabo a ion wi h he ele an NERC da a cen e.26
I is possible ha o he UK unde s will ake u he s eps
in he di ec ion o equi ing g an holde s o upda e DMPs
o success ul p ojec bids, o i m up hei in en ions o
make da a esul ing da a openly accessible and eusable.
Ins i u ional audi s
Resea ch Councils’ ou ine audi s o he ins i u ions hey
und a e likely o include RDM suppo p o ision among
hei c i e ia, as i s moo ed by he EPSRC in ela ion
o i s 2015 policy manda e.27
Ou pu moni o ing
The EPSRC began s eps in his di ec ion wi h ‘dips ick
es ing’ o a icles o check he a ailabili y o unde lying
da a. The in as uc u e o au oma ically acking and
co ela ing iden i ie s o esea che s, a icles and
da ase s is now becoming well es ablished, and will
almos ce ainly be used o moni o da a policy impac s.
Rewa ds o da a managemen suppo
The ecen Resea ch Excellence F amewo k (REF)
e iew by S e n highligh s esea ch da a managemen
as an example o he kinds o esea ch acili y ha
should coun s owa ds assessmen o he ‘Ins i u ional
En i onmen ’, and u u e unding se lemen s.28 While
plans o he nex REF ha e ye o be es ablished he e
a e s ong indica ions ha i will “ ewa d esea ch
en i onmen s ha deli e open access o wide se
o ou pu s han jus jou nal a icles and con e ence
pape s”.29 Fu he incen i es o a ac submissions o
da ase s o e iew by subjec panels seem likely, gi en
hei almos comple e absence in pas REF exe cises.
Conside ing he likely enhanced ole o me ics in
assessmen , da a sha ing me ics may also ha e a ole
and esul s o he Eu opean Commission’s consul a ion
on “ esponsible me ics and e alua ion o open science”
will be in luen ial on UK policy.30
22 Eu opean Commission, 2016. ‘A Cloud on he 2020 Ho izon’. Realising he Eu opean Open Science Cloud: i s epo and ecommenda ions o High Le el Expe G oup
A ailable a : h p://ec.eu opa.eu/ esea ch/openscience/index.c m?pg=open-science-cloud
23 Fo example, he Eu opean Commission’s pilo o Open Access o publica ions mo ed om a pilo in 2008 o ce ain a eas o F amewo k 7 o obliga o y
deposi o Ho izon 2020 wi h OpenAi e in 2015.
24 See o example Economic and Social Resea ch Council, n.d. ‘Da a Managemen Plans – Guidance o Pee Re iewe s’.
A ailable a : h p://www.es c.ac.uk/ unding/guidance- o -g an -holde s/ esea ch-da a-policy/
25 See o example OpenAi e Newsle e , 30 May 2016. ‘EC announces Open Science Cloud and open esea ch da a by de aul ’.
A ailable a : h ps://www.openai e.eu/ec-announces-open-science-cloud-and-open- esea ch-da a-by-de aul
26 NERC, n.d. ‘Da a managemen planning’. A ailable a : h p://www.ne c.ac.uk/ esea ch/si es/da a/dmp/
27 Ryan, Ben. 13 Feb 2015. ‘The EPSRC Policy F amewo k’. Slides p esen ed a he DCC Resea ch Da a Managemen Readiness Wo kshop.
A ailable a : h p://www.dcc.ac.uk/e en s/o he -dcc-e en s/RDM- eadiness
28 Depa men o Business, Ene gy & Indus ial S a egy. 2016. ‘Building on Success and Lea ning om Expe ience: An Independen Re iew o he Resea ch Excellence
F amewo k’. A ailable a : h ps://www.go .uk/go e nmen /publica ions/ esea ch-excellence- amewo k- e iew
29 Johnson, Ben. HEFCE Blog A icle. 1 Sep 2015. ‘Opening up esea ch da a’. A ailable a : h p://blog.he ce.ac.uk/2015/09/01/opening-up- esea ch-da a/
30 Eu opa. 2016. ‘Nex -gene a ion al me ics: esponsible me ics and e alua ion o open scienceCall o e idence’. Expe G oup on Al me ics.
A ailable a : h p://ec.eu opa.eu/ esea ch/openscience/index.c m?pg=al me ics_eg
05
Taking da a policy u he in you ins i u ion
You ins i u ion may al eady ha e o mula ed a policy
on esea ch da a and i s managemen . I no , guidance is
a ailable om he DCC,31 and he EU p ojec RECODE.32
Highe Educa ion ins i u ions in he UK ha e been wo ld-
leading in hei de elopmen o policy, bu will need
o ensu e hei da a policies e lec he changing
en i onmen . Below we ecommend poin s o conside .
Keep da a open o mining
Ins i u ions will likely be keene o coun hei esea ch
da a as a ue inancial asse when hey ind ha inno a i e
da a p oduc s and esea ch in elligence can be ob ained
om mining i . Publishe s and o he hi d-pa ies will
wan o mine esea ch da a p oduced om you
ins i u ion, inding pa e ns in he connec ions be ween
da a p oduce s, hei da a, domains, and ins i u ional
a ilia ions. Ins i u ions should esis any lu e o hand o e
ex and da a mining igh s o any hi d-pa y who would
limi he abili y o o he s o c ea e de i a i e p oduc s, o
example by limi ing access o speci ic APIs o by using
licenses ha close o u he comme cial euse.
Keeping ex and da a mining open will mean you
ins i u ion’s esea ch da a will ha e a be e chance
o s imula ing inno a ion and bene i ing socie y. I may
also help he ins i u ion ob ain compe i i e ad an age.
When you esea che s make hei da a FAIR o o he s
beyond he ins i u ion hey also make i FAIR wi hin you
ins i u ion. Resea che s who a e geog aphically close
will be well placed o wo k oge he , d awing on local
knowledge and expe ise o exploi syne gies om no el
connec ions o he s ind be ween hei da a, domains,
ins umen s and me hods. The mo e people who can
ind and openly publish hose connec ions, he g ea e
you ins i u ion’s oppo uni y o exploi hem locally.
I is he e o e in he ins i u ion’s in e es s o ha e da a
policies ha sa egua d he igh o anyone and e e yone
o euse, and ensu e ha TDM igh s a e no handed
o e o hi d-pa y se ices ha esea che s use.
De elop he cul u e and skill-se s o alue
and exploi esea ch da a
Wha e e cha ging models ins i u ions and unde s
pu in place, senio academics’ willingness o iden i y
hei da a managemen e o in g an p oposals will
depend in pa on hei ecogni ion o da a as a alued
ou pu . Examples o unded p oposals ha cos he ime
esea che s in end spending on p epa ing da a will help
ge he message ac oss ha i is wo hwhile accoun ing
o his ime. Policy wo k a he depa men o esea ch
cen e le el can also encou age his by ansla ing
gene ic esea ch da a policies in o hei con ex s,
especially in e ms o he kinds o da a ha a e no mally
wo h e aining, and wha suppo o sou ces o good
p ac ice a e a ailable in hei own esea ch communi y.
Open Access policies a he sub-ins i u ion le el al eady
make up a ound 10% o Open Access policies wo ldwide.33
RDM Se ices can help ensu e ha academic g oups
a e in o med o policies ela ing o open da a in domains
ele an o hem, including he da a policies o Jou nals
in hese domains.
Funde da a policies play some pa in iden i ying
disciplina y ac o s ha gi e da a alue, bu i is
necessa ily a small one. Fo example he BBSRC iden i ies
a numbe o a eas, such as sys ems biology, whe e he e
is a pa icula ly s ong scien i ic case o da a sha ing.34
Howe e Resea ch Councils a e unlikely o de elop mo e
de ailed guidance on wha da a ypes a e o alue han
hey al eady p o ide. Policy-make s ecognise ha i is
undesi able o hem o di ec esea che s on wha
esea ch da a hey should be collec ing and e aining,
as hese a e bound up wi h esea ch ques ions ha
esea che s need o iden i y o hemsel es.
31 DCC, 2016. ‘Policy Resou ces’. A ailable a : h p://www.dcc.ac.uk/ esou ces/policy-and-legal
32 RECODE, 2014. A ailable a : h p:// ecodep ojec .eu/
33 PASTEUR4OA Da a Visualisa ions, 2016. ‘Open Access Policies Wo ldwide, by Policymake ’. A ailable a : h p://pas eu 4oa-da a iz.ok n.o g/policy-make .h ml
34 BBSRC. 2016. ‘Da a sha ing policy’ e sion 1.2. A ailable a : h p://www.bbs c.ac.uk/abou /policies-s anda ds/da a-sha ing-policy/
06
Ins i u ions also ha e a clea ole in da a science skills
de elopmen . They ha e oles in helping hei esea che s
o exploi da a e ec i ely, in enabling hei p o essional
se ices o o e he da a s ewa dship ha da a science
equi es, and in o e ing he compu ing and s o age
en i onmen o make i happen. Ins i u ional da a policy
has an impo an ole in iden i ying oles and esponsibili ies,
and policy e iew can help signal o p o essional se ices
ha p io i ies and oles do no s and s ill. Fo example,
coo dina ion be ween se ices may be equi ed o
ensu e da a science compe encies a e included in
esea ch ca ee pa hways, ha hese a e ollowed h ough
in skills de elopmen , and ha he compe encies a e
subsequen ly ecognised.35 Simila ly, u he de elopmen
o da a suppo s a oles and esponsibili ies may be
needed o help esea che s ind he da ase s, and apply
da a analy ics and isualisa ion ools o ul il hei
esea ch needs.36
O e policy guidance ha ecognises shades o g ey
Resea ch Councils unde s and ha hei da a policy
p inciples a e no absolu es. Di e en esea ch
communi ies will need o a icula e o hemsel es he
use cases o open da a, e lec ing he cos -bene i s o
making da a FAIR. Decisions on he cos -bene i balance
in ol e ade-o s be ween he policy p inciples.
You esea che s should be capable o wo king ou
how he gene ic p inciples apply o hei own si ua ions.
One measu e o you ins i u ions e ec i eness in
implemen ing i s own RDM policy is whe he you
esea che s can o e an in o med accoun o hei
decisions ega ding publicly unded esea ch da a.
Figu e 1 is a isual aid ha academic g oups may
ind help ul owa ds o mula ing hei own guidelines,
o applying he RCUK p inciples o da a p oduced om
unded p ojec s. Gi en he o e all ‘open by de aul ’
policy con ex , he p esump ion should be owa ds he
op igh co ne ; owa ds a posi ion on copy igh / IPR
ha a ou s ecogni ion a he han i s use, owa ds
making da a disco e able a he han limi ing access,
and owa ds making i in e ope able and eusable
as a public good, a he han managed as he sha ed
p ope y o a closed club.
On he o he hand, unde s also acknowledge ha
excep ions can be expec ed, and jus i ied. Figu e 1 can
also be used o highligh he ci cums ances in which
unde s would expec he g an holde o make a case
o he posi ion aken owa ds da a p oduced om
a g an , on he h ee dimensions shown:
• The da a i sel : wha easons a e accep ed in you
esea ch communi y o no making publicly unded
esea ch da a o he ypes p oduced by his p ojec
in e ope able and eusable?
• Access: in wha con ex s a e cons ain s accep able
in you communi y ha would o e - ide he public
in e es in gaining access o his da a?
• In ellec ual p ope y: wha is he comme cial case o
gi ing highe p io i y o exploi ing any p ope y igh s
in his da a han o seeking ecogni ion o making i
indable, accessible, in e ope able and eusable?
Fu he ad ice on c i e ia o e aining da a is a ailable
in he DCC guide ‘Fi e S eps o Decide Wha Resea ch
Da a o Keep’.37
Sha e in o ma ion o help he sec o mo e o wa d
Policy implemen a ion ine i ably equi es ins i u ions o
ade-o he desi able agains he easible. This should
become mo e s aigh o wa d as he sec o es ablishes
no ms o RDM se ice p o ision, e lec ing demand om
bo h esea che s and unde s, and cos ing models ha
bo h can suppo . Ins i u ions can help o es ablish no mal
p ac ice by sha ing in o ma ion on he se ices hey ha e
in place and wan o de elop, in esponse o DCC and
JISC su eys and communi y e en s.
35 The Resea ch Da a Alliance wo king g oup on Educa ion and T aining, h ps:// d-alliance.o g/g oups/educa ion-and- aining-handling- esea ch-da a.h ml
add esses skills needs ac oss a b oad spec um including open da a, da a s ewa dship and da a science. This is also a ocus o H2020 and FP7 EU p ojec s
including FOSTER, h ps:// d-alliance.o g/g oups/educa ion-and- aining-handling- esea ch-da a.h ml and he da a science compe ence amewo k
p oduced by he EDISON p ojec a ailable a : h p://edison-p ojec .eu/da a-science-compe ence- amewo k-c -ds
36 See o example Uni e si y o Ox o d ‘Li e Da a P ojec ’ a ailable a h p://blogs.i .ox.ac.uk/aci - s- eam/p ojec s/li e-da a-p ojec /
37 DCC, 2014. ‘Fi e s eps o decide wha da a o keep: a checklis o app aising esea ch da a .1’. Edinbu gh: Digi al Cu a ion Cen e.
A ailable a : h p://www.dcc.ac.uk/ esou ces/how-guides
07
Figu e 1.
Balancing p inciples o open da a
Sou ce: Juan Bica egui, Science & Technlogy Facili ies Council (STFC)38
38 Bica egui, Juan. ‘Building an Open Da a In as uc u e o Resea ch: Tu ning Policy in o P ac ice’ Keyno e p esen a ion a IDCC13, Janua y 2013.
A ailable a : h p://www.dcc.ac.uk/e en s/idcc13/p og amme-p esen a ions
In ellec ual p ope y
Access
The da a i sel
Cons ain s Disco e abili y
Fi s use Recogni ion
Managemen
Public good
