[ICPSR] [OR-Announce] Announcement: Scientific Data Repositories Issue Call for Change on Funding Models for Data Archives

[Mark Thompson-Kolar]

For Immediate Release
September 16, 2013
Contact: Mark Thompson-Kolar, 734-615-7904
mdmtk at umich.edu


*Headline: *Scientific Data Repositories Issue Call for Change on Funding
Models for Data Archives


(Ann Arbor, MI) — Representatives of 25 organizations that archive
scientific data today released a Call for Action urging the creation of
sustainable funding streams for domain repositories — data archives with
close ties to scientific communities.

The document was developed after a meeting of data repositories across the
social and natural sciences June 24-25, 2013, in Ann Arbor. The meeting was
organized by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social
Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan and supported by the Alfred
P. Sloan Foundation to discuss challenges facing domain repositories,
particularly in light of the February 2013 memorandum from the U.S.
Government’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) requiring
public access to federally funded data.

Domain repositories in the natural and social sciences are built upon close
relationships to the scientific communities that they service. By
leveraging in-depth knowledge of the subject matter, domain repositories
add value to the stored data beyond merely preserving the bits. As a
result, repositories contribute to scientific discovery while ensuring that
data curation methods keep pace as science evolves. “However, the systems
currently in place for funding repositories in the US are inadequate for
these tasks,” the document states.

The Call for Action argues that “Domain repositories must be funded as the
essential piece of the US research infrastructure that they are,”
emphasizing the importance of:

•    Ensuring funding streams that are long-term, uninterrupted and flexible
•    Creating systems that promote good scientific practice
•    Assuring equity in participation and access

The document expresses concerns regarding current and future funding models
in consideration of the OSTP rules. “The push toward open access, while
creating more equity of access for the community of users, creates more of
a burden for domain repositories because it narrows their funding
possibilities.”

“We are memory institutions,” ICPSR Director George Alter said. “One of our
missions is to ensure data will be available for a long time, yet we’re
being funded by short-term grants. There is a mismatch between our mission
and the way we are funded. Widening access to data is a good thing.
Everyone agrees on that. But it has to be done in a way that provides
sustainable funding to the organizations that preserve and distribute the
data.”

Repositories may require varied funding models, based on their scientific
domain, the document states. “But in every case, creating sustainable
funding streams will require the coordinated response of multiple
stakeholders in the scientific, archival, academic, funding, and policy
communities.”

The statement is endorsed by 30 domain repository representatives. It can
be viewed on the ICPSR’s website at http://tinyurl.com/dataarchives.



The *Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social
Research*(ICPSR), based in Ann Arbor, MI, is the largest archive of
behavioral and
social science research data in the world. It advances research by
acquiring, curating, preserving, and distributing original research
data. www.icpsr.umich.edu


The *Alfred P. Sloan Foundation* is a philanthropic, not-for-profit
grantmaking institution based in New York. Established in 1934, the
Foundation makes grants in support of original research and education in
science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economic performance.
www.sloan.org
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