The UK Polar Data Centre (UK PDC) is committed to managing data effectively to provide the services required for delivering the NERC data policy and to ensure maximum exploitation and integrity of polar data.
The NERC EDS Data Preservation and Withdrawal Policy covers the digital data resources, and associated metadata, accepted and held within the NERC EDS. The aim of this policy is to ensure the longevity of the digital data held by the EDS. It demonstrates awareness of the need to comply with relevant standards to ensure the requirements of its designated user community and other stakeholders are fulfilled. It also establishes the principles by which data may be removed from direct public access and/or disposed of.
NERC data policy requires that all environmental data of long-term value generated through NERC-funded activities must be offered to a NERC data repository for long-term management. NERC data centres will facilitate this by working with PIs of NERC-funded projects to create and implement a data management plan. The expectation is that data of long-term value are submitted to a NERC Data Centre (or agreed alternative repository) in a suitable format and accompanied by all necessary metadata. All environmental data made available by the NERC Environmental Data Centres (e.g. UK PDC) will be accompanied by a data licence. To protect the research process NERC will allow those who undertake NERC-funded work a period to work exclusively on, and publish the results of, the data they have collected. This period will normally be a maximum of two years from the end of data collection.
Data are subject to appropriate quality assurance processes before being made available. Data are managed in compliance with the following legal frameworks:
- Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (UK Statutory Instrument SI 2004 No. 3391)
- The Antarctic Treaty 1959
- European Commission INSPIRE Directive (2007)