The UK Data Service has released the latest version of ‘Metadata and Data Services Activities-Functions (MaDSAF)’. Created by Hervé L’Hours, Darren Bell and Oliver Parkes, the working paper identifies 30 common activities and functions that are undertaken across data repositories spanning organisation infrastructure, digital object management, technology, and security.
It was created following a review and crosswalk of characteristics, standards and requirements for repositories and data services from a variety of UK, European and International sources, such as CoreTrustSeal, DPC RAM, the FAIR principles and the TRUST principles. The resulting high-level set of activities and functions is intended to support strategic planning and continuous improvement.
The latest version takes into account feedback received from public consultation during the FIDELIS project and aligns the activities and functions with FIDELIS’ Transparent Trustworthy Repository Attributes Matrix (TTRAM) – a matrix which is structured around MaDSAF’s 30 activities and functions.
The project, which aims to establish a network of Trustworthy Digital Repositories, uses TTRAM to align the activities and functions with information a repository could make transparent, as well as CoreTrustSeal’s Levels of Retention, Curation and Preservation (LoRCAP).
The latest version of MaDSAF is openly available on Zenodo.
FIDELIS has also released the following resources on TTRAM:
- Introduction and overview. An introduction to TTRAM, its intended uses and how it might be developed in the future.
- Matrix. The TTRAM template as a .csv spreadsheet. It includes an Info tab with links to further information and how to deliver feedback, a tab with a completed TTRAM as an example, and a blank template to be filled in.
- Guide. A guide on how to fill in TTRAM, with descriptions of the 30 activities and functions, and suggestions for the information which should be made transparent about each of the activities and functions.
- Design statement. A description of the drivers behind the design, as well as the standards used to create the activities and functions.
- FIDELIS Milestone 12: First version of TTRAM. A high-level document published in September 2025 detailing the development of the TTRAM, how the community was contacted for feedback and plans for future development of the TTRAM (including future mappings).
- D5.1 – Harmonised Matrix of Repository Functions, Activities & Characteristics. A deliverable introducing the TTRAM, highlighting key results from the landscape analysis and providing a harmonised view of TDR characteristics and criteria