UK Data Standards Authority (DSA)

Abstract

The UK Data Standards Authority (DSA) supports a wide range of standards and practices that align with open science and FAIR principles. From metadata standards like DCAT to persistent identifiers like DOIs and ORCIDs, and FAIR-aligned infrastructures, the DSA ensures that research data from public funding is discoverable, reusable, and interoperable. This work makes the DSA a key contributor to the advancement of open science and FAIR data management in the UK.

The Technology Code of Practice (TCoP) is a set of cross-government criteria to help design, build and buy technology. When planning data projects, the DSA recommends paying particular attention to certain parts of the TCoP:

- make use of open data standards to build technology that’s easier to expand, upgrade and use with other technologies

- plan and design projects that meet data security requirements

- protect citizens’ rights by integrating data privacy regulations (GDPR) into projects

- make better use of data by improving technology, infrastructure and processes

- manage data for access, reuse and independent maintenance outside specific technologies or services

The UK DSA supports technical standards, including:

1. Metadata Standards (Dublin Core Metadata Standard (DCMI)for metadata that supports interoperability and reusability, Data Catalog Vocabulary (DCAT) for describing datasets in data catalogs, enabling discoverability and alignment with FAIR principles.)

2. Persistent Identifiers (Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for permanent references to datasets and research outputs, ORCID Identifiers for researchers, ensuring attribution and linkage to datasets and publications, URNs and Handles as alternative systems for long-term persistence of data objects.)

3. open, non-proprietary data formats (CSV (Comma-Separated Values), JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), RDF (Resource Description Framework), XML (eXtensible Markup Language))

4. FAIR-Aligned Repository Standards (CoreTrustSeal Certification)

5. Linked Data Standards (OWL (Web Ontology Language), SPARQL (SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language))

6. open licensing (Creative Commons Licenses (CC), Open Government License (OGL))

Overview

Country	United Kingdom
Start date	2020
Annual Budget	n/a
Responsible organisation(s)	Higher/Cabinet level coordination
Target group(s)	Public sector bodies, data managers, and IT professionals
Policy instrument type	technical standards & guidelines

Background

The DSA works with experts across the public sector, private sector, and academia to identify, improve, and implement data standards that meet user needs. The Data Standards Authority (DSA) was launched in April 2020, with its involvement in Open Science standards taking shape by late 2020 in response to the National Data Strategy.

Objective(s)

To create a consistent framework for managing data and ensuring that it could be shared and reused effectively across organizations.

To actively support and promote standards that align with open science principles, including the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles for research data management.

Public access URL

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/data-standards-authority

All tags

• Technical Standards & Practices
• United Kingdom
• 2020
• Higher Cabinet level coordination
• Civil society
• Established researchers
• Firms
• Higher education institutes
• International entity
• National government
• Private R&D
• Public research institutes
• Subnational government
• Standards and certification for technology development and adoption
• Open technical standards

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