Version 2 (2022) – This is the most recent version
The COAR Community Framework provides a global, multidimensional framework for good practices in repositories that can be applied to different types of repositories (publication, institutional, data, etc.) and in different geographical and thematic contexts.
The framework enables repositories to evaluate and improve their current operations based on a set of applicable and achievable good practices.
About
There are a number of existing frameworks and evaluation criteria for repositories that have been developed over the years to assist repositories in improving various facets of their operations (such as discovery, access, preservation, and so on), but these were often developed for a specific type of repository (e.g. data repository), domain, or for assessing a single aspect of repository operations. There is a need to have a more comprehensive and general set of good practice criteria that could be used and adapted by different repositories around the world.
The framework is updated on a regular basis by the COAR Repository Assessment Working Group and was developed with significant community input. The initial framework brought together existing criteria from a variety of sources, which were supplemented and reviewed by the COAR Repository Assessment Working Group based on their feasibility, ease of implementation, and gaps.
The Framework
The framework contains 54 criteria organized according to eight facets of repository operations: discovery, access, reuse, integrity and authenticity, quality assurance, preservation, sustainability and governance, and other.
Each section has a list of essential and desirable characteristics and links to helpful guidance resources
- Discoverability
- Access
- Reuse
- Integrity and authenticity
- Quality assurance
- Preservation
- Sustainability and governance
- Other
Good Practices Self Assessment
Want to see how well your repository complies with the good practices? Try our Self-Assessment!
Big thanks to our colleagues from Su Nee Goh from Nanyang Technological University and Masashi Kawai from the NII for creating this self assessment
Translations
| We welcome members of the repository community to translate the framework into their local languages. Please contact us if you have a translated version you would like us to link to it here | Catalan Chinese German Japanese Spanish |
Version 1 and translations (2020)
Other COAR Good Practice Documents
COAR Recommendations for supporting multilingual and non-English content in repositories contains 15 recommendations for repositories to support multilingual and non-English content in repositories.
Recommended Practices for Managing Preprints in Generalist and Institutional Repositories details 10 recommended practices for managing preprints in generalist and institutional repositories across three areas: linking, discovery, and editorial processes.
Common Descriptive Attributes for Repositories The “RDA Common Descriptive Attributes of Research Data Repositories” contains a list of 17 high-level attributes that describe a research data repository.
Licence
The COAR Community Framework can be reused and shared according to the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Related News
- COAR Launches the International Repository Directory
- Action Plan for Open Repositories in Europe: IMPACT-REPO
- Ten Recommended Practices for Managing Preprints in Generalist and Institutional Repositories
- CCSD and COAR announce the launch of a preprint directory
- COAR Releases Community Framework for Good Practices in Repositories, Version 2
