After a year into the project, FIDELIS partners gathered in The Hague for the latest FIDELIS Consortium Meeting, a two-day intensive session focused on the strategic evolution of the Trustworthy Digital Repository (TDR) Network and other timely project work on the FIDELIS Transparent, Trustworthy Repository Attributes Matrix (TTRAM), and the FIDELIS Support and Training Programme.
As the project moves toward its next phase, the discussions centered on one core question: How can FIDELIS position itself towards European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and how to channel its know-how on trustworthy repositories in the best way for the benefit of both the evolving EOSC Federation and European repositories, while ensuring its own long-term sustainability?
Strategic Value: supporting the EOSC Federation
At the center of the EOSC vision is the objective to develop a ‘Web of FAIR Data and Services’ for science in Europe. The EOSC Federation brings together already existing infrastructures via EOSC Nodes and federates them into a larger pan-European entity that makes it possible to share and manage research outputs to facilitate interdisciplinary research across borders.
The FIDELIS TDR Network is looking to support the EOSC Federation by acting as a bridge to the wide expertise of its 70+ member repositories. The Network could, for example, help define what “high quality data” means within the EOSC Federation, and ensure that data in the Federation is FAIR, adding a layer of trustworthiness that is essential for the Federation's success.
While the FIDELIS project will explore and select best practices, standards, APIs and other solutions to enhance interoperability among repositories and facilitate their federation, the FIDELIS TDR Network is essentially about connecting the people behind the repositories. It is a collaborative network for peer learning and shared solutions. Therefore, it could also play an important social role in the context of EOSC and, for example, help repositories to onboard to EOSC Nodes.
The Road to Sustainability of the FIDELIS TDR Network
The Consortium Meeting also included a workshop to brainstorm different sustainability models to ensure that the TDR Network flourishes beyond the lifetime of the project. The participants considered different revenue and cost options and reflected on the pros and cons of establishing a new legal entity for the network as well as embedding it into an existing organisation.
The most welcomed sustainability model at this point involves a mixed funding and membership-based approach, aligned with the plan to move towards membership-driven governance and its ambition to provide tangible services, including training, organised member engagement, and a shared voice among stakeholders.The conclusion was that the project needs to acquire more information on all the options on the table and present their analysis to the TDR Network members who will ultimately take the decision on the future governance and funding model of the Network.
Key upcoming milestones for the Network begin with the preparation of the Network Strategy, Roadmap and Work Plan, which will be shared for consultation with the Network in mid‑April and published in early May. This will inform discussions at the Network General Assembly meeting in November 2026, where the transition to membership‑driven governance and the endorsement of the sustainability plan are expected to be agreed, with implementation beginning in Q2 2027.
The journey ahead for supporting repositories in becoming more trustworthy
At the Consortium Meeting, partners discussed progress and concrete plans around the Transparent Trustworthy Repository Attributes Matrix (TTRAM) and the project’s training and support work. TTRAM has developed into a practical reference tool for repository trustworthiness, shaped and tested with a wide range of repositories, to help improve alignment and cooperation across the community. At the same time, the FIDELIS training and support programme is entering an active phase, with members awaiting the closure of the FIDELIS call for mentors and preparing to launch the second call to support repositories in adopting solutions to increase their trustworthiness. Cross-project alignment sessions focused on how TTRAM could be better integrated into the FIDELIS TDR Network to support its wider promotion and adoption. Also, training activities were seen as one of the key ways the Network could be supported post-project.
As we look ahead, the focus remains on FIDELIS transitioning a self-sustaining European network of trustworthy digital repositories toward long‑term sustainability, supported by the project outputs like the TTRAM and best practice recommendations, and an active training programme, and contributing to the vision of a European research landscape built on FAIR research data that is sustainably preserved.
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