The challenges of data lifecycle
management: what gave rise to
the UKRDS?
Jean Sykes
London School of Economics
Outline of presentation
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The challenge
The potential
The project
Aims
Methodology
What did we learn?
Are we in step?
Key messages
The challenge
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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 UKwide 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
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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
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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?
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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