Angela Puggioni is DPC's Community Engagement Manager
As December continues, our DPC Festive Knowledge Wrap turns to another gift that sits at the heart of the Coalition: good practice. Not as something fixed or prescribed, but as something that is shared, tested, refined, and strengthened through the work and insight of our community.
Throughout the year, knowledge is shaped through the combined experience of the DPC community and the work that happens across the Coalition. The guidance, tools, and services that emerge are grounded in real-world practice and continue to evolve over time. This December, we’re unwrapping some of that knowledge and making it visible for all to explore.
DPC Technology Watch Publications
One way this knowledge is shared is through the DPC’s TechWatch publications. These series bring together practical perspectives from across the membership on tools, methods, and emerging issues. This month, DPC members had a preview of our latest Guidance Note, Coordinating an Interdepartmental Rapid Assessment Model, authored by Kari May of the University of Pittsburgh Library System, which will be released publicly on 5 January 2026. It’s a good example of how shared experience turns into guidance others can use!
DPC Consultancy
Launched earlier this year, DPC Consultancy offers hands-on support to both members and non-members working through digital preservation questions in their own contexts, from policy and planning to maturity modelling. For Full Members, five days of direct support from DPC staff are already included as part of their membership, so it’s simply there when you need it.
R&D Fund for Full Members
The new Research & Development Fund gives our Full Members space to try things out. It supports small, practical projects that explore new ideas or approaches, with the aim of sharing what’s learned back with the wider community. Have you heard that the Call for Proposals is now open with three grants of up to £10,000 available, and that joint project proposals (i.e. with DPC Associate Members and non-Members) are very welcome provided a Full Member is the lead applicant?
I hope this offers a small glimpse into how good practice takes shape at the DPC, shaped through the knowledge, experience, and collaboration of both our members and the DPC team. Thank you to everyone who contributes ideas, questions, and insights along the way. And if you’re not yet part of the Digital Preservation Coalition but are curious about joining a community where people work together to shape and share good practice, you can find out more about becoming a member. We’d be delighted to welcome you.
Next week, we’ll unwrap our final December Knowledge Wrap and turn our focus to advocacy - how the digital preservation community makes its work visible, valued, and understood. Stay tuned!
This blog is part of the DPC December Knowledge Wrap: a four-week series where we unwrap helpful resources, small insights, and end-of-year highlights from across the Coalition. You can also catch up on Week 1: The Community Gift and Week 2: The Workforce Development Gift.