CESSDA has released a new brief, “The battle for trust: Advancing the social science data ecosystem”. The brief presents a comprehensive overview of the open data landscape from the perspective of European social science data archives. It emphasises the critical role of trust, transparency, and collaboration in ensuring timely and responsible data sharing.

You can access and read the full brief at zenodo.com.

“This brief is a timely call to action,” said Dr. Bonnie Wolff-Boenisch, CESSDA Director. “By leveraging the TRUST, FAIR, and CARE principles, we can unlock the full potential of long-term data preservation and maximise the societal impact of open data.”

The main discussion points of the brief are community principles for data management and stewardship, including FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), TRUST (Transparency, Responsibility, User Focus, Sustainability, Technology), and CARE (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, Ethics). It highlights the importance of trustworthy repositories, the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Federation, other EU initiatives, as well as CESSDA’s contribution to advancing open science. 

“This brief brings together knowledge gained through years of monitoring and collaboration by the Trust and Landscape Working Group,” said Mari Kleemola, Chair of the CESSDA Trust and Landscape Working Group and Development Manager at the Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD).

The brief underscores the value of performance assessments in enhancing transparency and accountability. “By tracking key performance indicators and conducting FAIR assessments, we can strengthen trust, improve interoperability, and support responsible data archiving,” said Lorraine Wong, CESSDA Senior Science Officer.

The brief concludes with actionable insights for funders, research infrastructures, data repositories, and researchers, emphasising the need for collective action to advance a trustworthy open data ecosystem.

For more information, please contact Mari Kleemola, Chair of the CESSDA Trust and Landscape Working Group and Development Manager at FSD.