Building Trust: CESSDA Self-Assessment Project
CESSDA is currently shifting into a new organisation known as CESSDA European Research Infrastructure Consortium (CESSDA-ERIC). All the Service Providers in the Consortium need to meet the requirements of this new organisation. The Service Providers should work to the same standards to ensure maximum interoperability and efficient cross-national cooperation.
The collaboration is largely based on trust that different Service Providers have the same understanding of certain activities. During 2013, CESSDA will carry out a self-evaluation project of the member archives to provide information on how the CESSDA members meet the requirements of the CESSDA-ERIC Statutes, and which organisations need advice and support on various parts of the activities.
The first CESSDA Trust Workshop was held in Bergen in February 2013. Participants from fifteen CESSDA member organisations discussed the CESSDA-ERIC requirements and agreed upon using the Data Seal of Approval (DSA) guidelines as a tool to gain information on the level of their conformance with the DSA and the CESSDA-ERIC requirements.
Each CESSDA member will carry out a DSA self-assessment, which will then be reviewed by another CESSDA member. A core group was established which will receive all of the reviewed self-assessments and prepare a gap analysis. A second CESSDA Trust workshop will take place in June to discuss the outcomes of the assessment process. Any comments on the DSA guidelines and associated guidance will be passed on to the DSA Board.