NFDI4Microbiota invites you to a workshop on life science data preservation with the scope of FAIRness of valuable data over the long-term. We want to discuss the following questions: Which data is preserved where, what types of research data do we want to keep, how do we make sure the data is safe as well as re-usable and who is in charge at the different steps? We want to discuss these topics among infrastructure providers, researchers and research data management staff.

Research outputs are highly valuable to both the researchers who produce them and those who re-use them. Additionally they support replicability and transparency, also over the long-term. Unfortunately, digital data is also easily lost, accidentally deleted, or may only be available in obsolete file formats. At the same time, huge amounts of new data are constantly being generated, straining the resources of database providers, repositories and data centers. Transparent and well-defined criteria for the selection of data to be published and preserved can reduce the pressure on institutional resources. Once data is published, keeping it reusable for an indefinite period of time also tends to prove challenging (Open Archival Information System 2012, ISO 14721). A collaborative approach, in which different institutions define their responsibilities for preserving data types, would support long-term re-usability according to the FAIR data principles as well as the dedicated use of institutional resources.

NFDI4Microbiota will conduct a workshop (remotely) to start the discussion on two topics:

• Possible selection criteria for publication and archiving, with the intention of producing at least a first draft of such criteria.
• Discussion of the institutions involved (their plans for digital preservation, their preservation policies and intended data retention periods) as well as any gaps, barriers and data types not covered by preservation.

Agenda:
- Welcome address
- Introduction and status quo in digital preservation (~15min)
- Perspective presentation by EBI ( ww.ebi.ac.uk ) (~30min)
- Brief stance on preservation at other NFDIs (~5min each)
- 2 interactive discussion sessions: (~1h)
- What to preserve? Possible selection criteria for publication and archiving
- Who preserves how? Institutional plans for digital preservation, policies and data retention periods. Gaps, barriers and problematic data types.