Building Resilience of Data Repositories During Periods of Crisis

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What would happen if the data you rely on tomorrow simply disappeared today? Data repositories are more fragile than we think

For many researchers, emergency managers, policymakers, and community organizations, that question is no longer hypothetical. Over the past year, growing concerns about funding cuts, workforce reductions, cyber threats, and the removal of public datasets have highlighted a troubling reality: the repositories that preserve and provide access to critical data are increasingly vulnerable.

To better understand these risks, the project, Building Resilience of Data Repositories During Periods of Crisis, brought together repository administrators, technical staff, data users, and citizen archivists from around the world. Through focus groups, surveys, and use of the Repository Crisis Scorecards (RCS), the project examined how repositories experience disruption, what happens when systems fail, and what can be done to strengthen resilience.

Today, we are excited to share two new resources from this work: a white paper, Repository Resilience in Practice: Findings and Strategies from a Community in Crisis, and the updated Repository Crisis Scorecards (RCS) Version 2.0. Together, these resources offer both a deeper look at what we learned and a practical tool for assessing and strengthening repository resilience."