Executive Guide on Digital Preservation for Higher Education and Research

Higher Education and Research Institutions cover a range of remits and digital materials. Within one organization, there is likely to be a requirement to collect and preserve research data, archives and special collections materials, library information and university records. This may sound complex but working collaboratively across all of these departments can amplify the digital preservation message across the entire institution.

You may also want to check Archives and Libraries Specific Risks.

What is Digital Preservation?

Planning and strategizing to sustain access to digital research data for as long as is required,
Preserving continuity as well as functionality for future research,
Ensuring data remains accessible and usable,
Providing staff and users with sufficient digital preservation skills to fulfil their part of the data management process.

What are the Risks of not preserving digital materials?

Risks	Possible Consequences	Key Motivators
Unable to fully capture and represent current events for future generations	Incomplete historical record Future research flawed/unreliable/biased	Corporate/Cultural Memory Enabling Research
Inability to access legal documentation, institutional history and decision-making precedents	Unable to rely on past evidence to inform current decision-making Unable to meet legal/regulatory requirements	Accountability Authenticity Business Continuity
The hardware or software required to interpret, and present digital information is no longer available	Unable to provide access to information required to support organizational processes Disruption of organization’s functions Increased costs now and in the future	Business Continuity Costs Enabling Research Technology
Research data not transferred to the relevant repository for preservation	Data loss Gaps in the cultural/scholarly record Research repeated unnecessarily	Accountability Costs Enabling Research Reputation
Lack of vendor accountability	Unable to place trust in services provided Services not fit for purpose Poor customer service Unable to plan for succession	Accountability Business Continuity Costs
No active preservation carried out on data	Expensive procedures required to access legacy data Lack of documentation	Costs Enabling Research
Data from an experiment that cannot be repeated is not preserved	Data loss Gaps in the cultural/scholarly record Field of research is set back/compromised Loss of reputation	Enabling Research Reputation
Data is inaccessible due to lack of preservation	Inability to answer crucial research questions Gaps in the cultural/scholarly record Field of research is set back/compromised Loss of scientific legacy and the associated research opportunities Research repeated unnecessarily Loss of potential opportunities for collaboration Loss of reputation	Costs Enabling Research Reputation Revenue
Data is not preserved with sufficient context, identifiers and documentation	Unique scientific datasets unknown and potential unrecognised questions Field of research is set back/compromised	Enabling Research
Data rendered usable through a lack of proactive use, updates, and checking	Inability to answer crucial research questions Gaps in the cultural/scholarly record Field of research is set back/compromised Loss of scientific legacy and the associated research opportunities Loss of potential opportunities for collaboration	Enabling Research Revenue
Litigation from consumers if data made available is not reliable and trustworthy	Requirement to pay fines/settlements/compensation Gaps in the cultural/scholarly record Field of research is set back/compromised Loss of reputation	Authenticity Compliance Costs Reputation

What Opportunities do preserved digital materials create?

Digital Preservation can…	Key Motivators
demonstrate, to funders, a commitment to the sustainability of their investment and the cultural record	Accountability Costs Corporate/Cultural Memory
demonstrate compliance with institutional and funder policies on data management policies	Compliance Reputation
create a pathway for smaller organizations to take advantage of enterprise level infrastructure through shared or cloud services	Costs Technology
reduce duplication of infrastructure and effort by sharing services, systems and storage with other institutions	Business Continuity Costs Technology
demonstrate long term vision and planning	Business Continuity Costs Compliance
provide opportunities for raising funds through the reuse of existing data	Revenue Enabling Research Reputation
generate income and new service models through the reuse of existing data	Revenue Enabling Research Reputation
provide opportunities for the reuse of historical research data for purposes not originally anticipated	Enabling Research Corporate/Cultural Memory Reputation
make the right information is available at the right time, by using the most appropriate service	Business Continuity Corporate/Cultural Memory Technology
save on storage costs by enabling documented appraisal, disposal and deletion procedures	Accountability Costs
increase the potential for the re-use of digital material though established IPR	Revenue Enabling Research Reputation
demonstrate greater transparency through documented audit trails	Accountability Compliance
support business continuity through sustained access to key business records	Business Continuity
avoid wasted expenditure and reduce long-term operational costs by considering access and reuse at the stage of data generation, creation and system design.	Costs Technology
inform and educate the public by enabling access to diverse digital data and records	Corporate/Cultural Memory
improve future policy formation by supporting robust strategy, processes and procedures	Business Continuity
demonstrate, to the public purse, a commitment to maintaining the sustainability of the cultural record	Accountability Corporate/Cultural Memory
inspire the trust and understanding of future users, by providing a complete digital record	Authenticity Corporate/Cultural Memory Reputation
improve knowledge transfer during staff turnover and exits by sustaining access to a complete digital record	Business Continuity
enable informed and planned disposal as well as retention which mitigates the continuous increase in the volume of time-series data, as well as the cost of managing it	Costs Technology
remove the need for expensive and time-consuming data rescue and digital archaeology work on legacy data through appropriate planning and initial investment	Business Continuity Costs

What do Higher Education and Research institutions need to enable Digital Preservation?

All organisations require the same things to enable effective digital preservation.

Go to Digital Preservation Needs