Current needs and challenges on data retention, appraisal, and reappraisal across stakeholders and communities

This paper is one of the deliverable reports from the EOSC Association’s Long-Term Data Retention Task Force, focusing on the current needs and challenges related to long-term data retention. It provides an overview of the main issues faced by a wide range of stakeholders and communities regarding data retention, appraisal, and reappraisal, along with proposed solutions or recommendations addressing each identified challenge. In total, nine key challenges are described in this report, based on the discussions and efforts of the Task Force. Several potential solutions or recommendations are provided for each identified challenge, encouraging relevant stakeholders and communities to consider them in their future practices. We also observed cross-links between challenges, as some challenges may contribute to issues described in others, and certain solutions may apply to multiple challenge areas. While we acknowledge that additional challenges may exist beyond the scope of this document, we hope that this report will serve as a valuable resource for data curators, data managers, and other interested stakeholders. Several topics remain crucial to long-term data retention, and we aim to continue improving this document in an updated version, so that we can further support ongoing efforts to strengthen the sustainability and preservation of research data within EOSC and beyond. The target audience includes professionals working in data curation, retention, and long-term preservation, across research, education, government, and industry sectors.