Digital Curation Centre (DCC), UK
Scientists, researchers and scholars across the UK generate increasingly vast amounts of digital data, with further investment in digitisation and purchase of digital content and information. The scientific record and the documentary heritage created in digital form are at risk from technology obsolescence, from the fragility of digital media, and from lack of the basics of good practice, such as adequate documentation for the data. Working with other practitioners, the Digital Curation Centre will support UK institutions who store, manage and preserve these data to help ensure their enhancement and their continuing long-term use.
What is digital curation? Digital curation is maintaining and adding value to a trusted body of digital information for current and future use; specifically, we mean the active management and appraisal of data over the life-cycle of scholarly and scientific materials.
Our vision is to be the:
Centre of excellence in digital curation and preservation in the UK
Authoritative source of advocacy and expert advice and guidance to the community;
Key facilitator of an informed research community with established collaborative networks of digital curators;
Service provider of a wide range of resources, software, tools and support services;
This is acknowledged as an ambitious vision but one which is built on the strong foundations achieved during the first phase, and which will enable the DCC to act as an agent of transformational change to facilitate digital curation best practice within the rapidly changing environment of e-Research.
Our objectives for Phase 2 are to:
Provide strategic leadership in digital curation and preservation for the UK research community, with particular emphasis on science data;
Influence and inform national and international policy;
Provide advocacy and expert advice and guidance to practitioners and funding bodies;
Create, manage and develop an outstanding suite of resources and tools;
Raise the level of awareness and expertise amongst data creators and curators, and other individuals with a curation role;
Strengthen community curation networks and collaborative partnerships
Continue our strong association with our research programme.
View the website for Digital Curation Centre (DCC)