This project, funded under the JISC Managing Research Data 2 Programme, will pilot a research data management infrastructure for the University of Essex. It will build on the Archive's existing work with JISC and ESRC on managing and sharing data.

The project will draft an institutional data management policy, policy implementation plans, guidance and advocacy and, through close working with a selection of research-rich departments, ingest samples of representative data into a new test-bed repository.

It will provide a university-wide support hub and capacity building programme for good data management and will work with three pilot departments to undertake a data audit and implement data management support tools and bespoke training for each department, and examine tools currently used for handling local data storage and access.

The technical strand will set up a test infrastructure which will install an EPrints instance for data, trial existing deposit and ingest tools including Simple Web-service Offering Repository Deposit Phase 2 (SWORD2) protocol, prepare top-level metadata and ingest a selection of diverse yet representative data from the pilot departments. EPrints has been chosen as it was selected as the most appropriate tool for the University's recent Institutional Repository project for research published outputs.

The timing of this project is ideal in terms of harnessing current local activities covering repository development, high-level university buy-in, advocacy strategies and engagement with academics.

Based on the requirements' specifications gathered from the work packages, the project will present a business case for sustainability with associated costing information, a longer-term plan for advocacy and a strategy for policy compliance, selection criteria, storage capacity and preservation, and access control.

Dates: 10 October 2011 - 31 March 2013