Rigorous evaluation of Open Science compliance
Commissioned by the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA), a study was conducted between September 2023 and September 2024 to assess the extent to which research data and literature repositories comply with the Open Science requirements of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement (HE MGA). A total of 241 repositories were analysed, of which 186 were classified as ‘trusted’.
The study introduced three classifications to evaluate repositories based on their suitability for Open Science compliance: Exemplary, Essential, and Close to Essential Readiness. Data Station Archaeology is among the few repositories that have achieved Essential status, meeting all mandatory metadata requirements for both research data and scientific literature.
Significance of the classification
The recognition as an ‘Essential repository’ underlines the importance of specialised platforms that comply with the strict Open Science requirements. Data Station Archaeology enables researchers to deposit and explore archaeological datasets in a secure and sustainable digital environment. With nearly 160,000 datasets, it is one of the largest archaeological data archives worldwide.
