Data Governance and Open Science

1. Alignment with Horizon Europe Requirements

The Digital Humanities Institute (DHI) embeds data governance, Open Science, and Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI) principles within all research infrastructure and methodological development. Our governance model aligns explicitly with Horizon Europe expectations under the Excellence, Impact, and Implementation evaluation criteria, particularly regarding:

  • FAIR data compliance
  • Open Science practices
  • Data Management Planning (DMP)
  • Responsible AI integration
  • Sustainability and long-term accessibility of outputs

Governance considerations are integrated at proposal stage and embedded within technical architecture and work package design.

2. Data Protection, Ethics and Legal Compliance

DHI operates within institutional data protection and research ethics frameworks and works closely with University-level Data Protection Officers and IT services to ensure compliance with:

  • GDPR and UK GDPR
  • Data minimisation and lawful processing principles
  • Consent management and data subject rights
  • Access control, authentication, and auditability
  • Documentation of data processing activities

For projects involving sensitive, personal, or culturally sensitive materials (including heritage, community, or colonial-era datasets), governance mechanisms are developed collaboratively with partners and stakeholders.

We support consortia in preparing governance sections and data protection components within Horizon proposals.

3. Data Management and FAIR Implementation

DHI contributes directly to the development and implementation of Data Management Plans (DMPs) required under Horizon Europe. We support:

  • Standards-based metadata design and documentation
  • Persistent identifier integration
  • Data provenance tracking
  • Interoperable formats and schema design
  • Controlled vocabularies and semantic modelling
  • API-enabled interoperability

Our infrastructure is designed to ensure that project outputs are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) and capable of integration within broader European and international research infrastructures.

4. Open Science and Reproducibility

DHI integrates Open Science principles throughout research workflows by:

  • Using version-controlled development environments
  • Documenting data transformation and analytical pipelines
  • Supporting open licensing strategies where appropriate
  • Providing structured repositories and sustainable hosting
  • Ensuring transparency of computational methodologies

Where openness must be balanced with ethical or legal constraints, we implement proportionate access controls and governance frameworks.

5. Responsible and Trustworthy AI

Where artificial intelligence and machine learning methods are employed, DHI aligns with emerging European guidance on trustworthy AI. Our approach includes:

  • Transparent documentation of models and training data
  • Consideration of bias, representativeness, and interpretability
  • Reproducible computational workflows
  • Clear articulation of methodological limitations
  • Ethical evaluation of AI use in cultural and societal contexts

AI integration is embedded within governance and accountability structures, not treated as a standalone technical feature.

6. Sustainability and Long-Term Stewardship

DHI incorporates sustainability planning as part of Horizon Europe’s Implementation and Impact criteria. We contribute to:

  • Long-term hosting and infrastructure continuity
  • Governance planning beyond project lifetime
  • Modular and extensible system design
  • Documentation to support reuse and exploitation
  • Preservation strategies for digital research outputs

Our model ensures that digital infrastructures developed within Horizon projects remain usable and extensible beyond funding periods.

7. Consortium Support

DHI supports coordinators and partners by:

  • Contributing to governance and ethics sections in proposals
  • Developing DMPs and Open Science strategies
  • Embedding governance within technical work packages
  • Supporting compliance across distributed, transnational consortia

We welcome early-stage discussions to integrate governance and Open Science planning into project architecture.