About DANS

DANS is the Dutch national centre of expertise and repository for research data. We help researchers make their data available for reuse. This allows researchers to use the data for new research and makes published research verifiable and reproducible. With more than 300,000 datasets and a staff of 60, DANS is one of the leading repositories in Europe.

“It is our mission to enhance the reusability of research data and thus the quality of scientific research.”

Today, DANS is a centre of expertise and a leading training hub for data professionals as it supports researchers and repository managers with training, workshops, and practical guidelines. Participation in national and European projects facilitates the sharing of new knowledge, enabling us to advance the development of policy, standards, and innovative applications of research data. Our data repository infrastructure ensures sustainable archiving and encourages the reusability of research data. By fostering this combination of infrastructure and expertise, DANS strengthens both the facilities and the skills needed for the growth of safe and responsible data use.

We will continue to interpret this mission in the coming years, all in line with the latest developments in research, technological capabilities, and developments in the data landscape. Read more on our strategy 2026-2028.

See all staff

Our services

Data Stations

In a Data Station, researchers and research teams can create, manage and share their own data collection in an environment that is dedicated and connected to their own disciplines and research infrastructures.

Data Vault

A secure, reliable, and certified long-term preservation repository. It contains all datasets that have been entrusted to DANS, including the Data Stations, EASY and DataverseNL.

DataverseNL

DataverseNL is a shared service provided by participating institutes and DANS. DataverseNL uses the Dataverse software developed by Harvard University, which is used worldwide.

Data expertise

DANS shares expertise built up in national and European projects with researchers, research institutions, research funders, data professionals and other archives, to help with (background information on) the sustainable storage and sharing of data.

EASY

EASY is an online archiving system for depositing and reusing research data. EASY contains datasets from the humanities, health sciences, social and behavioural sciences, oral history and spatial sciences.

DANS is an institute of KNAW and NWO

KNAW

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1808 as an advisory body to the Dutch Government – a role that it continues to play today. The Academy derives its authority from the quality of its members, who represent the full spectrum of scientific and scholarly endeavour and are selected on the basis of their achievements. It is also responsible for fourteen internationally renowned institutes whose research and collections put them in the vanguard of Dutch science and scholarship.

NWO

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) funds top researchers, steers the course of Dutch science by means of research programmes and by managing the national knowledge infrastructure.