FAIR Forever? Accountabilities and responsibilities in the preservation of research data

Within the open science and research data communities, digital preservation has a close alignment to the FAIR principles and is delivered through a complex specialist infrastructure comprising technology, staff and policy. Capacity erodes quickly, establishing a need for ongoing examination and review to ensure that skills, technology, and policy remain fit for changing purpose.

This presentation draws from the DPC 'FAIR Forever' study, commissioned by the EOSC Sustainability Working Group and funded by the EOSC Secretariat Project in 2020, to highlight the study's key findings on the need for clarity on digital preservation in the EOSC vision and for elucidation of roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities to mitigate risks of data loss, reputation, and sustainability.

The nineteen recommendations of the study are presented with discussion on how they might be extended and applied to various research data stakeholders in and outside of EOSC, and ways to bring together research data curation, management, and preservation communities to better ensure FAIRness now and in the long term.