Effective data governance is critical for ensuring responsible management and sharing of research data. At the University of Leeds Library, we conducted a review of data governance practices for deposit and access requests to our Research Data Repository, aiming to establish a robust and transparent framework for decision-making.
Our goal was to collaborate with key stakeholders across the University - drawing on expertise from Research Ethics, Information Governance, Legal Services, and the Library - to develop a governance framework that supports complex decisions around FAIR data sharing. As part of this process, we created guiding principles to help researchers in navigating key considerations when requesting to deposit data, particularly in cases where participants may not have been fully informed about the future use of their anonymised data, due to contradictory or unclear consent wording.
A significant outcome of this work was the establishment of the Data Access and Retention Group (DARG), a multidisciplinary sub-group of the Information Governance Oversight Group. DARG reviews data deposit and access requests for datasets with higher sensitivities, ensuring decisions are informed by appropriate expertise and governance. To support this, we implemented a three-level access model: open, restricted, and controlled. Access requests for controlled level datasets, which often involve higher sensitivities, are escalated to DARG for formal review and oversight.
This presentation will outline the steps taken to improve data governance, highlight challenges encountered during the process, and evaluate the impact of the new model on promoting responsible and transparent data sharing.
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)