Transparent Trustworthy Repository Attributes Matrix (TTRAM)

Names, abbreviations and contact details for the organisation to provide reference
information and context for the rest of the activities and functions.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:

• Organisation Name
• Organisation Alternative Names
• Organisation Identifier(s)
• Catalogue identifiers and locations
• Contact details

Defining the purpose (or mission) of the organisation and the boundaries of activities for which the repository is responsible. Where activities involve partners or outsourced services, the organisation retains ultimate responsibility for the activities, functions and outcomes.

Provides reference information and context for the rest of the activities and functions.
Suggestions for Transparent Information:

• Organisation Mission Statement
• The LoRCAP offered by the repository
• Repository Type
• Designated Community
• Permitted/Restricted Object, Depositor and User Characteristics
• Geographic and linguistic coverage
• Whether a repository is FAIR-enabling or endorses the TRUST or CARE Principles

The stages of the research data lifecycle, before data enters a repository. Working with data or metadata creators and owners can help improve quality and highlight the
benefits of curation, preservation and reuse.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Any information or guidance provided to researchers about how to manage their digital objects' data and metadata during the pre-repository phase.

• Funding Information
• Project Information
• Data Management Plan (DMP)

Accepting custody of digital objects from depositors, transferring responsibility to the
repository. It may also include appraising offered or requested deposits to ensure they meet established criteria for acceptance.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Documentation of compliance criteria applied at the point of deposits, whether
automated or manually applied and the degree to which they are required or optional.

• Collections Development and Appraisal Policy
• Deposit Compliance Criteria
• Deposit Procedures
• Acceptable/Preferred File Formats List
• ReAppraisal Plan, Data Management Plan
• Deposit licence (see also AF15 “Rights”)

Ensuring digital objects reach a defined level of quality and standards compliance
before they are made available for reuse.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Documentation of any initial curation steps taken after deposit to meet defined criteria
for access and reuse and potentially to enable preservation, including any curation
steps like conversions to file formats and any additions to metadata.

• Quality and Standards statements
• Standard operating procedures (SoP, Quality criteria)
• Compliance and Quality assurance policies and procedures

Applying persistent identifiers and descriptive metadata to digital objects to support
resource discovery. Providing discovery systems and making metadata available for
Harvesting.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Persistent identifiers used (ideally chosen from a controlled vocabulary) for objects,
organisations, researchers, software etc, and information about whether all objects are persistently identified. Information about identification at a more granular level (files within objects, questions within surveys, variables within statistics). Links to resource discovery systems that the repository provides or third parties that index metadata harvested from the repository collection.
 

• Persistent Identifier system(s)
• PID Policy
• Discovery metadata and documentation
• Resource discovery catalogues
• Harvesting protocols (e.g. OAI-PMH)

Determining the appropriate method of access—such as direct download or use within a secure remote environment—and facilitating user access accordingly. Access criteria are based on the characteristics of both the digital objects and the users, in alignment with rights management policies (see AF15 "Rights").

Suggestions for Transparent Information:

• Access routes & methods
• Access Management Policy
• Documentation of access routes and methods, including machine harvesting
• Licence and terms of access (see also AF15 “Rights”)

Making and keeping digital objects usable and understandable depends on deposit,
curation, and preservation activities. Facilitating reuse depends on understanding the needs and expectations of users, including—but not limited to—identified ‘designated communities’, through ongoing external engagement (see AF20 "External Engagement").
Repositories may mediate reuse through secure remote access systems, safe rooms, or other tools that keep the digital objects fully or partially under the service provider's Control.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
References to artefacts including file formats, metadata and ontologies (potentially
already mentioned under Deposit or Curation) that are specifically designed to enable reuse. Designated Community definitions, digital object models.

• Terms and Conditions for Use
• Designated Community Consultation information

Processes and activities for managing, changing and maintaining digital objects and their associated data and metadata in line with legal, ethical, policy, and other
standards and operating procedures (see AF23 "Legal & Ethical" and AF14 "Policy &
Standards Management").

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Standard operating procedures, workflow/business process diagrams and documentation related to how the repository approaches digital object management.

Monitoring both the technology landscape (see AF29 "Technical Infrastructure") and the user community (see AF20 "External Engagement") for any changes that could impact the usability or understanding (see AF08 "Reuse") of digital objects. When necessary, preservation actions are taken—such as migrating data formats, updating metadata (e.g., revising ontologies), or emulating the environment in which the digital object is used. These actions help ensure the long-term viability and continued accessibility of the digital object.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Preservation policies, strategies, plans and procedures that define how long artefacts
will be preserved for, how potential preservation actions (emulation, file format updates, updates to semantic artefacts such as controlled vocabularies and ontologies)
are approved and implemented. Preservation interacts with re-appraisal criteria set during Deposit & Appraisal, the changing Technical Infrastructure Landscape over time, and how the ReUse needs of the community are monitored.
 

Providing information about digital objects that details their history (provenance) and
ensures their authenticity. Provenance and authenticity information can be captured at
the point of deposit, generated during curation and preservation processes, and shared with data or metadata users.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Information about the creation, creators and history of the object requested at deposit.
How the repository records information about changes to digital objects and what
information is communicated externally (e.g. to end users).

 

Providing guidance and responding to requests from depositors and users around
deposit and appraisal, discovery, access and re-use of data and metadata.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Link to primary location where the repository provides supporting information or offers supporting services to depositors, users and others.

The organisational hierarchies and processes by which the entity's mission is managed and executed.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Management and Decision documentation, organograms, management roles, role of
host organisation, funders etc.
 

The adoption and development of policies, standards and other criteria to guide
practice, aligned with governance structures (see AF13 "Governance") and operational workflows (see AF09 "Workflows"), and in compliance with the applicable legal and ethical framework (see AF23 "Legal and Ethical").

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Procedures for adopting and developing policies and standards, lists of policies and
standards.
 

The management of permissions, prohibitions, and obligations governing how digital
objects are accessed and used by individuals and organisations, both within and outside the repository.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Rights Policy, Licences for deposit, access and reuse, non-compliance policy, sufficient rights to permit LoRCAP, rights related to succession plans.
 

The organisational hierarchies and processes by which the organisational entity's
human and financial resources are obtained and managed. This includes a knowledge
of and an effective deployment of human, financial and energy assets.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Budget and finance strategies, plans, reports and projections.
 

The management of human resources to fulfil the mission. Includes ensuring that
sufficient skills are available, internally or externally (see AF20 “External Engagement”).

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Skills Statement, Skills Development Plan, Staff Roles & Skills List
 

Identifying and managing third-party organisations, hosts, partners, and other actors that are essential to operations, including the delivery of data or metadata services.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Lists of partners, Partnership Statement, Partner Management Plan, Contracts/suppliers mapped to the functions and activities they provide for the organisation (e.g. a storage
provider).
 

Ensuring business continuity by maintaining normal operations and preparing for
disruptions. This includes non-technical processes (for technical, see AF29 “Technical Infrastructure”) related to the organisation, digital object management (see AF09 "Workflows"), and security (see AF30 "Security"). It also covers recovery plans for events like service interruptions and disasters. Continuity includes succession planning for the end of a service.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:

• Business Continuity Plan
• Disaster Recovery Plan
• Succession Plan
   

Organisational interaction with external parties, including individuals, partner
organisations, funders, and other relevant bodies.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Community Skills List, Community Engagement Plan, engagement with policy makers and funders, surveys of depositor and user needs
 

The processes by which the organisation creates, manages, approves, releases, updates and withdraws information artefacts(not deposited digital objects) such as publications, policies, guidelines, and other content related to the repository activities and functions.
It includes publishing information that provides evidence for external assessments (see AF24 "Criteria, Assessment, Improvement") and supports external engagement (see AF20 "External Engagement").

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Records management policy, records retention schedule, publication approval process
 

The protocols and processes by which people, processes, technologies and digital
objects effectively interact with others, both within and across organisational entities.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Interoperability policy, plan, procedures. Links to and documentation of any machine
accessible routes to data and/or metadata, e.g. APIs, OAI-PMH, aligned with Technical
Infrastructure (see AF29 “Technical Infrastructure”). Crosswalks between relevant metadata standards and ontologies
 

The legal and ethical obligations that the organisation must be aware of and adhere to.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Legal and/or ethical compliance statements, policies and procedures, ethical guidance lists, applicable legislation lists.
 

The processes used to assess compliance with standards, policies, and procedures,
along with identifying actions for continuous and targeted improvement.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Change Management procedures, Self-Assessments, Certification
 

The analysis of internal data and external information to verify and demonstrate that
the organisation is effectively fulfilling its mission (see AF02 "Mission & Scope").

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Business information analyses, identification and validation of external impact.
Dashboards or interfaces for metrics and usage information.
 

Leveraging internal expertise to train data and metadata producers, owners, depositors,and users. Training can cover the entire digital object management lifecycle, from the conception of research to the reuse of data and metadata. It also includes training for internal staff, as well as for peer organisations, partners, and third parties.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Link to primary location where the organisation provides training materials and/or
details of training programmes.
 

Projects and other activities outside current operations, routine maintenance and
upgrades. This can include new approaches to data, metadata, business processes,technology, security, and research infrastructure.

Suggestions for Transparent Information:
Documentation of project, specification, development and delivery processes. Links to information about projects the organisation is involved with. How products move from ‘in development’ to ‘in production’
 

The methods used to store and replicate digital objects’ data and metadata, including the validation of replicated copies and the restoration of data from backups in case of errors. 

Suggestions for Transparent Information: 
Storage Documentation, integrity measures used, approach to integrity checking.

The comprehensive provision of hardware, software, and IT service management to support the organisation's entity. Monitoring the user community technical needs and broader technical landscape to update and maintain levels of technical service (see AF08 “ReUse”). 

Suggestions for Transparent Information: 
Technical Infrastructure Statement, Technical Infrastructure Plan, IT Service Management methodologies, ‘Service Catalogues’ (cf: FitSM12 ), repository-related software and source code

Ensuring security across the organisation’s infrastructure, digital object management, and systems. Security also extends to the boundary between the repository and external entities, including users, depositors and dependencies on third parties. 

Suggestions for Transparent Information: 
Information Security Statement, Information Security Plan, related certifications (e.g. ISO27001)