Costs, Policy, and Benefits in Long-term Digital Preservation

1. Costs, Policy, and Benefits in Long-term Digital Preservation Neil Beagrie Keepit Training Course Southampton Feb 2010

2. Agenda • Costs – Keeping Research Data Safe 1 • Policy – Digital Preservation Policies Study • Benefits – Keeping Research Data Safe 2 • Conclusions • Introduction to Group Exercise

3. Keeping Research Data Safe1JISC Research Data Digital Preservation Costs Study(co-authors Brian Lavoie, Julia Chruszcz,+institutions)

4. Overview • KRDS1 Aim – investigate costs, develop model and recommendations • Method – detailed analysis of 4 models: LIFE1/2 & NASA CET in combination with OAIS and UK Research TRAC; • Plus literature review;12 interviews; 4 detailed case studies.

5. What was Produced? • A cost framework consisting of: • activity model in 3 parts: pre-archive, archive, support services • Key cost variables divided into economic adjustments and service adjustments • Resources template for Transparent Costing (TRAC) • 4 detailed case studies (ADS, Cambridge, KCL, Southampton) • Data from other services.

6. Putting it all together • Activity model helps identify cost allocations across preservation process • Service adjustments helps identify and adjust costs to specific requirements • Economic adjustments help spread these costs appropriately over time • Resource framework: pulls all of it together into a TRAC-friendly costing model

7. Findings

8. Findings • Timing. costs c. 333 euros for the creation of a batch of 1000 records. Once 10 years have passed since creation it may cost 10,000 euros to ‘repair’ a batch of 1000 records with badly created metadata (Digitale Bewaring Project) • Efficiency Curve effects – start-up to operational • Economy of scale effects – Accession rates of 10 or 60 collections - 600% increase in accessions will only increase costs by 325% (ULCC) • “First mover innovation” – costs of being first to solve a problem and how to finance this.

9. Findings • National subject repositories costs (UKDA)

10. Findings • ADS projection of long-term preservation costs • Preservation interventions (file format migrations) • Long-term storage costs • Assumptions of archive growth (economies of scale) • Assumptions on “first mover innovation”

11. Findings • Staff costs most significant factor (c 70%) • Unit costs – examples in Case studies for Archaeology, Chemistry, Humanities • However costs depend on the adjustments (key cost variables) • Like restaurant meals – final bill and unit costs depend on the choices and volume

12. What was New? • FEC and TRAC friendly– not in or partial in other models but • Requirement for HEIs • Absence of FEC (a) distorts business cases e.g. for automation (b) cannot accurately compare in-house or out-source costs • Included pre-archive phases – not solely archive centric • Not an implementation- customisable - application neutral – can cost for in-house archive, full or partial shared service(s), national/subject data centre archive charges • Tailored for research data: different collection levels, products from data, etc • Whole of Service costing/Seeing “Big Picture”

13. Questions?

14. The JISC Digital Preservation Policies Study(co-authors Najla Rettberg and Peter Williams)

15. Overview • The Challenge – too few digital preservation policies in institutions • Study Aim – to support institutions wishing to create digital preservation policies and enhance their impact • For UK HE/FE but of much wider relevance and interest

16. The Model Policy • Eight generic clauses • Mapped principle strategic themes in HEIs • Exemplars, useful references, quotes • Separate section for Guidance and Implementation • Annotated bibliography

17. Conclusions • A major business driver in all institutions has been harnessing digital content and electronic services for access • Long-term access and future benefit will be heavily dependent on relevant digital preservation policies being put in place... • ....and underpinned by implementation procedures.

18. Questions?

19. Keeping Research Data Safe2JISC Research Data Digital Preservation Costs Study(co-authors Brian Lavoie, Matthew Woollard,+ partner institutions)

20. Aims • Review and re-format KRDS1 Activity Model (KRDS2 models now available) • Identify/Survey Sources of Cost Information (KRDS2 survey now available) • New in Depth Cost Studies (Oxford, ADS, ULCC, UKDA) • Analysis and Framework of Benefits • Benefits studies (UKDA, Soton, Oxford)

21. Benefits Framework

22. Benefits Framework • Some benefits can be costed (direct or counter-factual) • Some benefits can be measured in other ways • Some benefits only have qualitative metrics

23. Concluding Thoughts... • Cost framework helpful for planning and analysis (both internally and cross-project) • “Off-the-shelf” but flexible cost framework facilitates implementation across very different disciplines • “What does it cost?” = “It depends” • Evidenced by service adjustments • Choices shape preservation strategy, which determines overall cost • Cost Framework not just for internal budgeting purposes • Outsourcing: need to map requirements to costs • More work needed on “non-centralised” research data • More work needed on identifying and expressing benefits

24. Concluding Thoughts... • Costs and benefits umbilically linked • Cost/Benefit Analysis behind business cases and has links to policy • KRDS1/Policies/KRDS2 provide a set of tools and guidance • Other Tools out there – how does this fit in?

25. Conclusions LIFE1 LIFE2 LIFE3 KRDS1 KRDS2 ........................NASA CET........................ ...........................OAIS.................................. .........................UK TRAC.............................

26. Further Information “Keeping Research Data Safe” (KRDS1)Final report and Executive Summary at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/publications/keepingresearchdatasafe.aspx “Digital Preservation Policies Study” Final Report and Appendices at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/publications/jiscpolicyfinalreport.aspx Keeping Research Data Safe2 (KRDS2) webpage at www.beagrie.com/jisc.php

27. Questions?

28. Group Exercise • Agree a spokesperson and “recorder” • Using KRDS2 Benefits Taxonomy: • Q1 Identify which benefits can be costed? • Q2 Select 3 Key benefits (include costed and uncosted) • Q3 Identify the information you might need for measuring them • Report back at 12.10 !