Storage and Access for Valuable EuroQol Datasets: The EuroQol SAVED initiative

EuroQol has endorsed the vision of UNESCO [2021] on the transition of scientific research towards Open Science: making scientific knowledge more accessible and reusable, and promoting scientific cooperation and information exchange for the benefit of science and society. This transition demands research data management practices to change accordingly. In an effort to keep facilitating and supporting its researchers and opening up new avenues of research, EuroQol has been working on updating its professional services, facilities, and operational procedures to match the updated technical, legal, and scientific requirements of managing research data. The result is the SAVED initiative: Storage and Access for Valuable EuroQol Datasets [SAVED]. SAVED aims to centrally archive research data to make it available for secondary use under acceptable and fair conditions for all involved.

SAVED-Check and Data Intake

Starting the 16th Joint Call for Proposals by the EuroQol Working Groups in fall 2023, a SAVED-check will be included in the grant application and review process. Researchers will be asked to indicate value for secondary use on the grant application form. Reviewers will be asked to make a similar judgement. Applications that have been accepted for funding by the Executive Committee and that have been judged suitable for secondary use will be given SAVED-status. SAVED-status will be mentioned in the Grant Offer Letter and a Data Transfer Agreement [DTA] will be added as an appendix, making transfer of data a condition of funding. The DTA arranges the transfer of a copy of the data and accompanying documentation and its management to the SAVED Archive. The DTA includes e.g. a list of files that must be transferred to the Archive, a section on embargo and rights of the provider of the research data, and stipulates how the provider of the research data may be involved in requests for secondary data use. As soon as files and accompanying documentation become available they must be transferred to the Archive.

Data Application and Data Outtake

Researchers interested in secondary data use may browse through the data catalog [see below] to see what data is available or will become available. The process of requesting access to data mirrors that of grant applications: data applications can be made via the EuroQol Project Submission Portal, after which they will be reviewed by a Data Access Committee [DAC]. If the DAC approves the application, a Data Transfer Agreement is set up. This DTA arranges the conditions under which this data may be used such as the specific goal, duration of access, and acknowledgement of the provider in deliverables. After the DTA has been signed, the data will be prepared and transferred to the researcher.

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