It is widely accepted that data created and used by scientists should be managed, curated, and archived in trustworthy data repositories to ensure that science is verifiable and reproducible while preserving the initial investment in collecting the data. The stakeholders involved in research—researchers, funders, librarians, publishers—must also be able to ascertain the trustworthiness of data repositories they use to ensure that the data remain useful and meaningful into the future. The need for trustworthy data repositories is therefore recognised as a prerequisite for efficient scientific research and data sharing.

The Core Trustworthy Data Repository Requirements are a set of universal requirements for certification of data repositories at the core level. They were recently announced (see: https://goo.gl/PYsygW) by the ICSU World Data System (WDS: www.icsu-wds.org) and the Data Seal of Approval (DSA: www.datasealofapproval.org)—the two authoritative organizations responsible for the development and implementation of the standard. Core certification of data repositories involves a minimally intensive process whereby repositories supply evidence that they are sustainable and trustworthy. Repositories conduct a self-assessment which is then reviewed by community peers. Based on this review core certification is granted by the certification authority. Certification helps data communities—producers, repositories, and consumers—to improve the quality and transparency of their processes, and to increase awareness of and compliance with established standards. The certification requirements will be presented to and discussed with interested EGU conference participants.

We encourage EGU participants, researchers interested in data stewardship, data practitioners, and representatives of data repositories, to join us for this town hall meeting and learn more about the benefits of certification of data repositories against the Core Trustworthy Data Repositories Requirements and discuss ways to improve the contribution of certified repositories to sustain open data for scientific research.