Sustainable infrastructures

Article VII of the Recommendation recommends that

"Adherents take necessary measures to support development and maintenance of sustainable infrastructures to support the findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of research data and other research-relevant digital objects from public funding free of charge at the point of use.” 

To ensure sustainable research data infrastructures, policymakers should prioritise publicly funded, open-license software-based systems that enhance transparency, accessibility, and long-term control. Investment in infrastructure and human resources is essential, along with cross-institutional funding models to maintain repositories and prevent duplication.

A multi-stakeholder advisory body should guide preservation priorities, while tiered data preservation frameworks based on scientific relevance and societal impact can optimise resource allocation. Federated institutional storage networks should be developed for interoperability, with support for emerging technologies like AI and High-Performance Computing (HPCs) to enhance data accessibility.

To attract private investment while safeguarding openness and public benefit, policymakers should establish Public-Private Research Data Collaboratives, co-financing models, and tax incentives for companies contributing to open research data infrastructure.

Framework agreements should ensure that private-sector contributions do not restrict public access, while mandates for open-source software and interoperability prevent vendor lock-in.

Encouraging corporate social responsibility initiatives, open data investment grants, and training programs for data stewardship will further strengthen infrastructure sustainability.

Sustainable research data infrastructures face significant challenges in prioritisation, funding, interoperability, and long-term preservation.

• Determining which datasets warrant long-term storage is difficult, as disciplines have varying needs, and limited resources require trade-offs.

• Research repositories often rely on short-term, project-based funding, leading to data loss when funding ends, while unclear cost-sharing responsibilities between institutions, governments, and private entities create gaps in long-term support.

• Rapid technological changes risk making archived data obsolete, and institutional closures can leave datasets without preservation strategies.

• Attracting private investment is further complicated by short funding cycles, unclear business models, and tensions between proprietary data management and open science priorities.

• Vendor lock-in, limited data portability, and a lack of synergy between academia and industry deter private sector engagement, while a shortage of skilled data professionals increases operational costs and threatens data integrity.

Addressing these challenges requires sustained investment, clear governance, and incentives for cross-sector collaboration.

Sustainable Infrastructure pillar can be broken down into the following provisions. 

Develop strategies, roadmaps, funding plans, and business models to support the preservation of research data and digital objects, prioritised according to time horizon; support efforts to improve interoperability among global research infrastructures; safeguard high value research data and other research-relevant digital objects in the long term, including through provision for maintenance and support in order to ensure long-term sustainability; and ensure an appropriate match between funding instruments, review criteria regarding the need for long term preservation of datasets and other research-relevant digital objects, and the expected longevity of needed infrastructure.

Encourage private investment in research data infrastructures with investment in the skills needed to manage and use them, while taking measures to facilitate their openness, reliability and integrity, and to protect the public interest over the long term by avoiding vendor lock in and ensuring data portability.