Guest Post: Help Us Better Understand Repository Resilience: An Introduction to the Repository Crisis Scorecards Project
Today's guest post is from Tessera Strategies, in which they describe a recent development in evaluating the sustainability and responsiveness of data repositories during a crisis moment. If you manage a repository, consider participating in this important work.
It was 2am early one morning in late January 2025 when Joseph Gum found himself unable to fall asleep. Recent fears (brought on by a series of Executive Orders leading to the removal of federal repositories and websites sharing critical information) had him restless. To what extent are our data repositories resilient to certain crises, such as a loss of funding or personnel, or a natural disaster? Does a stress test exist (similar to the one used by the Federal Reserve to assess a bank’s resilience to a financial crisis) for the data we use for public decision-making, scientific advancement, and societal well-being?
Having served as a data stewardship coordinator, a software programmer, and a project manager for researchers working with large datasets, Joseph began to think about what would be needed to build a stress test for the types of data he worked with. He then took his idea to the Sustainable Data Management Cluster working group that he chairs through Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP). Through conversations within the group and with other colleagues, the seed of an idea began evolving into an actual tool to measure repository resilience. By April 2025, the Repository Crisis Scorecards (RCS) had been born.
Introducing the Repository Crisis Scorecards
The RCS is designed to help repositories evaluate their resilience under both normal and crisis conditions. It digs into key questions: Can metadata be recovered if systems go down? Is there institutional support to keep repositories alive? What’s the impact to users if a dataset disappears?
The project, now funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, aims to:
- Improve and expand the Repository Crisis Scorecards tool to better assess preparedness and impact
- Gather community insights on data disruptions and resilience strategies through surveys and focus groups
- Publish a white paper with key findings and actionable recommendations to strengthen repository resilience across the research ecosystem
How You Can Help
Data repositories are essential to research, discovery, and community decision-making; but they face increasing risks. By participating in the RCS project, you help address these challenges and strengthen the systems we all rely on. Your involvement supports both your own repository or work and the broader research ecosystem. You can help by:
- Completing the Project Interest Form
The interest form allows you to join the mailing and share exactly how you’d like to engage with the project. By joining the mailing list you will also receive project updates and be the first to receive the final reports and recommendations.
- Sharing Your Experience with Data Disruption & Recovery
You can also share your experiences with data access disruptions and strategies for recovery by completing our survey.
- Spreading the Word
We are seeking broader participation in the project from repository managers, technical experts, researchers, citizen / community archivists, or anyone with an interest in data preservation and resilience. This communications toolkit can help you get the word out to your networks.
