Deposit Data

Deposit Data

All research data arising from the non-private use of the Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) equipment and facilities must be deposited in a trusted digital repository and made available for re-use. 

The HSDS is the default repository, and there will be no charge for deposit with HSDS of any data arising from the use of RICHeS-funded Facilities and Collections, where such usage: 

  • takes place before 31 August 2029;
  • is non-commercial; and
  • has been awarded through the RICHeS Access Fund.

All other data deposition in HSDS will incur a charge. This includes, but is not limited to the deposition of data arising from the use of RICHeS-funded Facilities and Collections where such usage arises from:

  • Other UKRI-funded (including AHRC-funded) projects. In such instances, the deposition fee should be included in the project budget.
  • Other funded projects (e.g. EU-funded, charity-funded). In such instances, the deposition fee should be included in the project budget.
  • Any unfunded projects (e.g. internal or external staff usage).
  • Commercial use of RICHeS-funded Facilities and Collections.

To discuss the costs relating to deposition with the HSDS, please email our Collections Development Manager ([email protected]).

For some specialist data types, where there are established secure disciplinary alternatives this must be approved in advance via a Data Management Plan (DMP) submitted via the researcher as part of their application to use RICHeS facilities. (The RICHeS HQ and programme board are working with the HSDS to provide guidance on suitable secure repositories.) In these cases it is still a requirement that a metadata catalogue record is supplied to the HSDS, containing information about the place of deposit.

Researchers (and/or service providers according to their agreements with users) will retain copyright and IPR in all research data deposited with the HSDS, but will be required to sign a deposit agreement that gives the HSDS a non-exclusive licence to take whatever steps are needed to ensure preservation of the datasets and make them available for reuse. This will be under an appropriate open licence. The default HSDS data licence is a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 but alternatives, including CC-0, CC-BY-NC, and OGL (Open Government Licence) are available on request.

Research data must normally be deposited within three months of completion of the research. However, to allow researchers to publish their findings, the release of datasets may be embargoed for a set period, as agreed via the DMP.

Commercial and private usage of RICHeS equipment and facilities is permissible but facilities are encouraged to ensure that such data is also offered to the HSDS  (unless commercially sensitive). In these cases there will be a deposit charge to cover long term storage and preservation as noted above.

It is also expected that data arising from Heritage Science or Conservation Research  funded via UKRI research grants will be deposited with the HSDS. Costs relating to data deposition may be included within AHRC research grant proposal budgets as an eligible cost (for other research councils, please see the individual funding guidance).