What Happens to Your Data When a Project Ends?
Each year, universities and research centers around the world generate massive amounts of data: datasets, publications, images, interviews, videos, code, reports, administrative documents, and more. This scientific output is the result of years of work, significant funding, and institutional collaboration. However, once a project comes to an end, many institutions lack a clear strategy for safeguarding and maintaining that knowledge.
So what happens to all this data? In many cases, it’s stored in a decentralized, inconsistent manner: on personal hard drives, cloud folders, or shared drives—often without version control, access policies, or any long-term preservation guarantees. And what isn’t actively preserved is often silently lost.
Bridging the Gap Between Research and Preservation
Academia has become increasingly familiar with concepts like “data management,” “open science,” and FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). However, there’s still a clear gap between the research phase and the preservation phase. Data is created and used… and often forgotten.
Digital preservation is the process that ensures digital assets—documents, datasets, images, videos, etc. Remain accessible, authentic, and usable over the long term, even as technologies, formats, and staff change.
Without a solution specifically designed for this purpose, the risk of data loss is not just theoretical—it’s real, and it’s common.
Why Digital Preservation Matters in Academia
Academic institutions are not simply generating data—they are building intellectual heritage. Preserving that heritage is a responsibility. Digital preservation:
- Prevents the loss of valuable research data, often funded with public or private resources.
- Ensures compliance with funding agency requirements, such as those from the European Commission or national research programs.
- Supports open science and open access, allowing for reuse and interoperability.
- Increases the impact and visibility of institutional research outputs.
- Reinforces the institution’s reputation as a steward of knowledge and data responsibility.
In an increasingly competitive research environment, being able to preserve and demonstrate the traceability of research results is a strategic advantage.
But We Already Use the Cloud or an Institutional Repository…
A common assumption among academic organizations is that existing tools like Google Drive, SharePoint, DSpace, or similar platforms are sufficient for preservation. The reality? Not entirely.
These platforms are excellent for storage and access, but they do not provide active digital preservation capabilities. They fail to protect against risks such as:
- Technological obsolescence (of formats or metadata structures).
- File corruption or bit rot.
- Human error or cyberattacks.
- Infrastructure or software changes over time.
That’s why you need a dedicated digital preservation platform—one that offers continuous monitoring, automated integrity checks, migration of outdated formats, and proper policy-based controls aligned with standards like OAIS and ISO 16363.
What Should a Modern Academic Preservation Platform Look Like?
For an academic institution to protect its scientific output effectively, the platform it uses should offer:
- Scalability – to support anything from a single project to institution-wide repositories.
- Interoperability – integrations with systems like DSpace, CONTENTdm, SharePoint, CRIS, etc.
- Standards compliance – following OAIS, ISO 14721, ISO 16363, and others.
- Active preservation – continuous auditing, automatic format migration, integrity checks.
- Policy management – customizable rules based on content type, department, or project.
- Access and visibility – the ability to publish preserved content via platforms like Libsafe OpenAccess.
👉 We’ve summarized all these features and best practices in a free downloadable resource:
📥 Download the PDF: Characteristics of a Modern Preservation Platform
The Research Lifecycle Doesn’t End with Publication
One of the biggest misconceptions in academia is that the responsibility for data ends once the article is published or the final report is submitted. In fact, that’s when a new phase begins: preserving and enabling future access and reuse of the knowledge created.
Ask yourself:
- What if someone needs to reuse your data in five years?
- What if another research team wants to replicate your results?
- What if you need to prove authorship or the integrity of your data?
Without a clear preservation strategy and the right infrastructure, these questions can turn into major roadblocks—affecting transparency, credibility, and long-term impact.
Many universities and research institutions still lack a comprehensive digital preservation strategy. Others have started to address it with general-purpose tools that don’t fully meet the requirements of preservation.
At Libnova, we help academic institutions build and implement tailored preservation solutions based on:
- Ongoing support and training for your teams—IT, archives, and research offices.
- Advanced platforms like Libsafe and OpenAccess.
- International standards compliance.
- Custom integrations with your existing systems.
Preserving research data is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. Investing in digital preservation protects your institution’s knowledge legacy, reinforces your research mission, and supports the responsible management of data well beyond the life of a project.
If you work in a university, research office, or academic IT department, and want to take your data strategy one step further, talk to us. We’ll help you design a solution that fits your goals, your infrastructure, and your community.
👉 Contact us and we’ll show you how Libsafe Advanced can help you guarantee the long-term integrity of your digital files.
