Survey on the Appraisal and Selection of Data for Digital Preservation

EOSC EDEN is a EU Horizon Europe project (2025-2027) coordinated by CSC, with a total of 16 organisations. It aims to Enhance Digital preservation strategies in European and National level.

In the project we are keen to understand the existing frameworks, guidelines and practices for identification, selection and appraisal of data for digital preservation – and what “long-term” in digital preservation means. Take part in a short (5-7 min) open survey by 30th June, 2025.

It is important that we also receive answers from Finnish organisations comprehensively. Identifying, selecting and evaluating data is a challenging topic, and Digital Preservation Services also get questions about these from time to time. With the answers and in the project in general, we hope to create guidelines on these questions.

The survey can be freely shared. Thank you for participating.

Below you can find some more information as well as contact details related to the survey.

In EOSC EDEN, we are interested in how digital preservation professionals across the globe currently work, and we need input from your organisation. We are keen to understand the existing frameworks, guidelines and practices for identification, selection and appraisal of data for “long-term” preservation – and what “long term” means in different organisational and professional settings. This is an important area where sharing knowledge can make a meaningful impact as digital preservation continues to grow as a diverse field and community.

To that end, we're running an inquiry to gather, compare and evaluate current knowledge and practice. We need your help to gain a more comprehensive picture of these frameworks, guidelines and practices in the field. Written from the perspective of digital preservationists working within the sector, we have created a short and focused survey which should take no more than about five to seven minutes to complete.

Please can you share this request with the person or people in your organisation responsible for digital preservation activity?

Whether you work in research, cultural heritage, industry, or another sector, and whether you are part of a large organisation or a small team, we would like to hear from you. The survey is suitable for members of staff at any level in the organisation and does not ask for any sensitive information. Multiple responses from the same organisation are welcome. We hope that, as colleagues across the digital preservation world, you will take a few minutes to share information with us about your current practices, and the guidelines and frameworks that inform your decisions. 

The survey is open until 30 June 2025. Please take part now at: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/EOSC-EDEN-T1survey2025

For any questions about the survey or the work of EDEN WP1, please contact WP Lead, Micky Lindlar at Micky.Lindlar@tib.eu or Task Lead Laura Molloy at laura@codata.org. 

Thank you for sharing your expertise – your contribution is incredibly valuable!