FIDELIS

Establishing A European Network of Trustworthy Digital Repositories

The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) aims to develop a web of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data and services for science in Europe. Achieving a sustainable EOSC requires Trustworthy Digital Repositories (TDRs) that provide long-term preservation services. Addressing this need, the FIDELIS project aims to establish a self-sustaining network of TDRs that will foster a supportive open science environment and guarantee FAIR data sharing also in the future.

FIDELIS will set up, develop, and operate a European network of trustworthy repositories to support the development and growth of TDRs within the EOSC ecosystem. The project will also foster harmonisation and interoperability across repositories to enable an EOSC federation of TDRs. In addition, FIDELIS will focus on strengthening the upskilling of repositories and expansion of the network through an active training and support programme.

As highlighted by the European repository community, “TDRs are a critical element in the research ecosystem, providing a key infrastructural component in the research data lifecycle. TDRs provide secure and sustained access to digital research objects, enabling researchers to both share research outputs with their communities and the public, as well as access, potentially reuse and refer to the outputs of other researchers.”

CSC leads the coordination of the FIDELIS project, ensuring project administration, quality assurance and effective work coordination. The FIDELIS project and its consortium are designed to deliver significant impact including strengthening the EOSC ecosystem. Its primary influence on the scientific community will stem from mobilizing and upskilling repositories through targeted open calls and peer-support initiatives while also driving the expansion of the TDR network through focused activities.