Level Up - Continuous Improvement

Introduction

This is one of the areas of RAM that it is easiest to progress with. It is slightly self-referential, in that the act of carrying out an assessment using DPC RAM, selecting target levels and devising a plan for moving forward, actually helps you reach a certain level of this section. DPC Members are also able to benefit from the opportunity to benchmark with others on an annual basis.

“Deciding where to start was definitely the biggest challenge with continuous improvement - DPC RAM has helped with prioritizing. It has also demonstrated the value of our work because other people within the library who perhaps don’t know so much about digital preservation can understand numbers that change on a spreadsheet and see where you're progressing. It has made digital preservation a bit more visible for staff in our department and beyond.” - Laura Peaurt, University of Nottingham

Tips

• Consider what other certification or maturity modeling frameworks you might use. DPC RAM is a good place to start but other models (for example the NDSA Levels of Digital Preservation, DLF Levels of Born Digital Access and CoreTrustSeal) may also be used.

• Remember that assessment and benchmarking is best carried out as a continuous process not a one-off exercise. DPC recommends that its Members carry out an annual DPC RAM assessment to check in on progress and reset goals.

• Create a forward plan for improvement and consider what time frame it makes most sense to work to. Moving up the levels of DPC RAM is typically not a quick and easy task so creating a 5 year plan may be more realistic than expecting substantial progress in one year.

• Remember that demonstrable progress with DPC RAM or another framework can be a useful way of showing the value of digital preservation work and encouraging buy-in from colleagues and managers. 

• Recognise that it might not be realistic to work on all sections of RAM at once. Good forward planning should allow you to prioritize and focus on one or two areas. Having an agreed forward plan in place will also give you the authority and backing to explain why you are not moving forward in other lower priority areas.

• DPC Members are encouraged to share a DPC RAM assessment with the DPC annually and can make use of benchmarking information from across the membership. All members are also entitled to help with their RAM assessments from the DPC. Find out more about how the DPC uses RAM with its Members.

• Create a forward plan for improvement and consider what time frame it makes most sense to work to.  A template based on DPC RAM can be used for this purpose. Moving up the levels of DPC RAM is typically not a quick and easy task so creating a 5 year plan may be more realistic than expecting substantial progress in one year.

Helpful resources

• DPC’s Rapid Assessment Model (DPC RAM) - this maturity model from the DPC is a helpful tool for encouraging continuous improvement in all areas of digital preservation.

• NDSA Levels of Digital Preservation - a quick, simple and effective method for measuring digital preservation capabilities. It focuses specifically on the technical aspects of digital preservation.

• DLF Levels of Born Digital Access - a set of actionable recommendations that individual institutions can consider implementing to establish access to born digital collections. 

• CoreTrustSeal - a certification standard for digital preservation. Applications for CoreTrustSeal are peer reviewed. 

• ISO16363:2012 - Space data and information transfer systems — Audit and certification of trustworthy digital repositories - a rigorous certification standard for digital repositories which is based heavily on the OAIS Reference Model. 

• DPC RAM template for a forward plan – the DPC provides a template that can be used to develop a forward plan based on gaps highlighted through a DPC RAM assessment. Use and adapt this template to meet the needs of your organization.

Case studies

• Applying for CoreTrustSeal: Part 1 - Lee Hibberd from the National Library of Scotland describes the first half of their journey to gain CoreTrustSeal certification and some of the benefits they have already seen.

• DPC RAM case studies - there are several case studies on the DPC blog showing how practitioners have used DPC RAM for self assessment and to check in on progress. 

• A long, arduous journey to the starting line The EU Publications Office discusses and celebrates some milestones and talks about improvements that they will make going forward (including plans for ISO16363 certification). 

• Building and Sustaining a Digital Preservation Program at NARA - Elizabeth England and Leslie Johnston describe a gap analysis that was carried out at NARA to establish areas for improvement in their digital preservation program.

• A Decade of Trustworthy Digital Repository Certification: Yet There Was One - this paper from iPres 2022 by Jessica Tieman, David Walls and Lisa LaPlant describes the U.S. Government Publishing Office’s approach to certification, using both ISO16363 and CoreTrustSeal 

• Going for Gold or Good Enough? Observations on three years of benchmarking with DPC RAM - this paper from iPres 2022 by Jenny Mitcham and Paul Wheatley discusses learnings from working with the digital preservation community with the DPC RAM model over the last three years