Data archiving and Networked Services (DANS)

Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) is an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). DANS promotes sustained access to digital research data, and encourages researchers to make their digital research data and related outputs Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR). For this purpose, DANS encourages researchers to archive and reuse data in a sustained manner, e.g. through the online archiving system EASY, the certified Trusted Digital Repository of DANS. Via NARCIS.nl DANS also provides access to thousands of scientific datasets, e-publications and other research information in the Netherlands. In addition, the institute provides training and advice, and performs research into sustained access to digital information. By participating in (inter)national projects, networks and research, DANS contributes to the innovation of the scientific data-infrastructure worldwide. As part of its mission, DANS supports the Open Access principle, while being aware of the fact that not all data can be freely available and without limitations at all times. Therefore, DANS applies the principle ‘Open if possible, protected if necessary’.

In line with its mission, DANS promotes the use, community uptake and integration of persistent identifiers. The institute has a long track-record of taking part in national and international projects involving PIDs, and is a member of DataCite. PIDs are a key element for the functioning and advancement of the information systems DANS manages: NARCIS, the national gateway to scholarly information in the Netherlands (www.narcis.nl); the long-term and certified data repository EASY (www.easy.dans.knaw.nl) and the virtual research environment Dataverse (http://dataverse.nl). Furthermore, DANS contributes to the development of Open Science quality standards and policies in European projects and e-infrastructures such as EOSC-pilot and RDA, including certification standards (Data Seal of Approval) of Trusted Digital Repositories, which promotes the implementation of universal PIDs for data and other information.