Data curation beyond academia

Funded by the Knowledge Transfer Innovation Fund (KTIF), this project explored opportunities for the UK Data Archive to share its long-standing expertise in curating, managing and preserving digital data to audiences beyond higher education.

Recent cuts in data access services in the public sector are poised to leave gaps for cost-effective, professional data services. These unfortunate circumstances provide an opportunity for data professionals, such as the UK Data Archive, who already undertake these activities as part of their core services.

This project investigated providing government and other non-profit organisations with consultancy, support, and training in managing and curating digital research data. It also explored opportunities to provide data preservation services for non-academic organisations.

The focus was on digital research data rather than digital administrative records. These kinds of data include:

• structured data captured by survey investigations which could be descriptive
• attitudinal and behavioural surveys, such as consumer surveys and structured customer feedback
• less structured data captured by interviews, self reports or diaries

Archive contribution

The project was managed by the UK Data Archive. It focused on 'active' market research and business planning by identifying and contacting relevant organisations and hosting open events to engage with new audiences. It also evaluated training needs as well as demand and cost models for consultancy services for data curation and preservation.

Principal Investigator: Louise Corti
Funder: University of Essex, Knowledge Transfer Innovation Fund (KTIF)
Dates: January 2011 - July 2011
Contact: Louise Corti