Development of a sustainable infrastructure for the long-term archiving of research data
FAIR4ever is establishing a long-term archiving consulting service for the consortia and cross-cutting projects of Germany‘s National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). The goal is to provide researchers with the tools to make long-term archiving and accessibility an integral part of their research data management strategy, to evaluate the current state of digital preservation within their specific disciplines, and to develop or expand long-term archiving solutions.
While the NFDI already houses numerous domain-specific information infrastructures with high potential for interoperability, integrating professional long-term archiving within these structures is essential to ensuring research data remains permanently accessible and reusable. All too often, however, efforts to safeguard research data and software fall short, leading to problems of discoverability and reusability over the long term. Data loss and reproducibility issues have made researchers more aware of the need to make long-term archiving a key component of good scientific practice, ensuring not only long-term storage of digital resources, but also permanent accessibility and usability in accordance with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) standards.
Project highlights
- Establishing a central consulting service for consortia and cross-cutting initiatives of the NFDI basic services
- Documenting best practices, standards, examples and recommendations, and building a knowledge base
- Conducting needs assessments and detailed landscape analyses
- Networking with NFDI consortia and additional stakeholders, such as the specialised information services (FIDs) as well as national and international initiatives
ZB MED’s role in the project
- Survey-based assessment of the needs of NFDI consortia and other stakeholders
- Extended analysis of the existing landscape, including research data and existing research-data services
- Performing gap analyses to identify required measures
Duration
- 1 May 2026 - 30 April 2029
Funding body
- German Research Foundation – Scientific Library Services and Information Systems (DFG-LIS)
Partners
- University and State Library Darmstadt (ULB)
- German National Library (DNB)
