Formalising data
management plans for large
scale multi-disciplinary
projects
Louise Corti and Susan Cadogan
UK Data Archive
IASSIST 2007
Overview
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Introduction
Objectives of large scale Research Programme
Data Management Policy
Operating the Policy (getting tough)
Role of the UKDA
Outputs
Challenges
Rural Economy and Land Use
Programme (RELU)
The Research Programme is a large-scale
unprecedented interdisciplinary collaboration between:
 Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
 Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
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(BBSRC)
National Environment Research Council (NERC)
The programme has a budget of £24 million, with
additional funding provided by government agencies:
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Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(DEFRA)
Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs
Department
Programme Objectives
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Rural areas in the UK are experiencing considerable
change
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The Rural Economy and Land Use Programme (RELU) aims
to advance understanding of the challenges they face
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Interdisciplinary research is being funded 2004-2009 in
order to inform future policy and practice with choices on
how to manage the countryside and rural economies
The Rural Economy and Land Use Programme enables
researchers to work together to investigate the social,
economic, environmental and technological challenges
faced by rural areas
The Programme aims to encourage social and economic
vitality of rural areas and promote the protection and
conservation of the rural environment
Six societal challenges
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public trust in food chains
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tackling animal and plant disease
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sustainable farming in the New Europe
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robust rural economics
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land management techniques to deal with
climate change and invasive species
managing land and water use for sustainable
water catchments
Themes and data
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The Integration of Land and Water Use
The Environmental Basis of Rural Development
Sustainable Food Chains
Economic and Social Interactions with the Rural
Environment
Programme is both using and creating a variety
of data sources
disparate types of data – social and
environmental and biological data
estimate some 80 datasets from Call 1 (8 major
research projects and smaller scoping studies)
RELU data types
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Social data – people based
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Business/company
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Micro (survey)
 Household or individual level attributes, Behaviour,
attitudes and options
Farm level data
Aggregated
 UK Census e.g. small area statistics, Retail statistics,
Health indicators
GIS/spatial data geographically referenced
environmental databases
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Ordnance survey, Road networks, Settlement
RELU data types (cont.)
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water quality, land fill, air quality, emission levels
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soil data, eg mineral composition
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ecological data, animal and bird distributions
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agricultural census
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climate and meteorological data
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river flow data
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biochemical data relating to foods/habitats
RELU Data Management Policy
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Early on data management formally recognised by funders as
critical
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builds on existing ESRC and NERC mandatory data policies
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aims to enhance the capabilities for interdisciplinarity and
thus improves the ability of the research community to:
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apply learning from one field to another
combine different methodological approaches and sources
of information
cross-fertilise ideas and concepts
understand scientific, technological and environmental
problems in their social and economic contexts
www.relu.ac.uk/about/data.htm
Data Management Policy principles
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publicly funded research data are a valuable, long
term resource
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to ensure maximum research exploitation data must be
managed effectively from day-1
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researchers must collect data in such a way as to ensure
longer term sharing
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RELU funds will support data management through
the life of the project
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data must be made available by researchers for
archiving: Research Council supported data centres
provide long-term, post-project data management
RELU Data Support Service
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set up to help oversee and implement the Programme's
Data Management Policy and Data Management Plan
provides a support service for RELU researchers and staff
to gain information and guidance on issues surrounding
longer-term data sharing and preservation
joint support service run by:
 ESRC/JISC supported UK Data Archive at Essex
(UKDA)
 The NERC-supported Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
(CEH)
funded initially for one year supporting one FTE and
outreach activities: 1 Jan 05 – 31 Dec 05. Continuation to
March 2008
Outputs
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Getting wording of DM Plan and guidance right
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Web site to support completing application
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Web site to support completing plan once funded
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Workshops for new Principal Investigators
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Workshops for new researchers
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Best Practice Guide on Data Management
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Third party data information – costs, barriers, licensing
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Database of all data being created
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Acquire data, process and disseminate data
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Advice on data integration
Data Management Plan
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proforma to complete (Section 3 of the Project
Communication and Data Management Plan)
highlighting data management and custody issues
at an early stage
providing a basis for quality assurance within the
Programme
providing a basis from which award holders and
the Programme Director can report and monitor
project and overall RELU Programme progress
Information required from plan
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requirements for access to existing datasets
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details of new and derived datasets to be produced
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quality assurance of data
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formats and standards
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data description and documentation
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ethical, legal issues and IPR resolution
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data back-up procedures, security
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archiving data (for Research Council data archives)
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data management representative
RELU-DSS helps support these areas
RELU awards database
Guidance on Data Management
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Produced glossy brochure
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What is Data Management? Data, metadata etc.
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Data Management strategies
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What is Digital Preservation?
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Making Back-ups
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Format Translation and Choice of Formats
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Security
Our experience
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This degree of formalisation is new to social science
data in the UK
UKDA operate a Datasets Policy for Economic and
Social Research Council (ESRC) but with less
leverage upfront
DMP and DM support ensures potential sharing
issues to be clarified early on and support mid and
end of project
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Greater awareness of data, metadata
documentation, and data sharing….albeit grudgingly
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Integration of data is key for this programme
Other disciplines (UK) Policies
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Natural Environmental Research Council (6% of
each Programme)
Arts and Humanities Research Council ICT
review (AHDS History)
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Biological Sciences Research Council
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Medical Research Council
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NEW!
STILL WAITING!
We hope to see DMPs applied to all major
investment data-rich ESRC programmes
Contacts
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Louise Corti
[email protected]
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Susan Cadogan [email protected]
Acquisitions team
UK Data Archive
University of Essex
Colchester
Essex
www.esds.ac.uk