DIGILAB.be deliverable D.1.2.1 A standardised metadata schema for heritage science datasets

The DIGILAB.be project requires a robust metadata framework to harmonise heritage science data across various Belgian institutions. This deliverable defines a standardised metadata schema designed to ensure that research data is documented consistently and remains findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. The schema is built upon the Cordra repository software and the previous work of the H-SEARCH project, which established a digital object-based workflow for KIK-IRPA.

The central component of this schema is the ResearchActivity model. This model acts as a container for all assets related to a specific scientific intervention, such as analytical datasets, imaging, and reports. To ensure international compatibility, the model is closely aligned with the DataCite Metadata Schema 4.6. This alignment allows DIGILAB.be to aggregate metadata from federated repositories including Zenodo and Dataverse. By interlinking these activities with shared models for actors and heritage objects, the project provides a unified search experience through the BALaT+ platform.