(Background information)
Here are the main requirements that a repository with a CoreTrustSeal complies with Italics mark clear connections with the FAIRness of data. These requirements align closely with the FAIR principles and support the European Commission’s objective of ensuring “FAIR data in trustworthy repositories.” Remember: the Commission wants FAIR data in trustworthy repositories. Researchers and trustworthy repositories are partners in Open and FAIR data.
Requirement 1 (R1): The repository maintains all applicable licenses covering data access and use and monitors compliance. This ensures clarity on reuse conditions and supports the Reusability (R) principle of FAIR.
Requirement 2 (R2): The repository has a continuity plan to ensure ongoing access to and preservation of its holdings. This guarantees long-term accessibility and sustainability of research data.
Requirement 3 (R3):The repository ensures, to the extent possible, that data are created, curated, accessed, and used in compliance with disciplinary and ethical norms. This includes compliance with legal and ethical frameworks such as GDPR and community standards.
Requirement 4 (R4):The repository guarantees the integrity and authenticity of the data. This ensures that data remain reliable and trustworthy over time.
Requirement 5 (R5):The repository accepts data and metadata based on defined criteria to ensure the relevance and understandability for data users. This includes requirements for rich, structured metadata and proper documentation.
Requirement 6 (R6):The repository assumes responsibility for the long-term preservation and manages this function in a planned and documented way. This reflects the core role of repositories in ensuring long-term usability of data.
Requirement 7 (R7):The repository has appropriate expertise to address technical data and metadata quality and ensures that sufficient information is available for end users to make quality-related evaluations. This highlights the role of repositories in supporting data quality, metadata standards, and user guidance.
Requirement 8 (R8):The repository enables users to discover the data and refer to them in a persistent way through proper citation. This is typically achieved through the use of Persistent Identifiers (PIDs), supporting the Findability (F) principle.
Requirement 9 (R9):The repository enables reuse of the data over time, ensuring that appropriate metadata are available to support the understanding and use of the data. This directly supports the Reusability (R) principle through licensing, documentation, and metadata.
Did you know? CoreTrustSeal includes 16 core requirements for trustworthy repositories.
These cover areas such as data integrity, access, preservation, governance, and reuse, ensuring alignment with FAIR principles.
(CoreTrustSeal, 2023 – )
Did you know? Certification requirements are closely aligned with FAIR principles.
They ensure that data are findable (through PIDs and metadata), accessible (via clear policies), interoperable (through standards), and reusable (through licences and documentation).
(Wilkinson et al., 2016 – https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18; CoreTrustSeal, 2023)
Did you know? Trustworthy Digital Repositories are essential for EOSC.
They provide the infrastructure needed to ensure that research data remain accessible, usable, and valuable over time, supporting reproducibility and reuse.
(EOSC LTDP Task Force, 2022 – https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7034315)