Repository Resilience

What happens when critical data suddenly disappears?

Due to rising budget cuts, cyber threats, and data removal, this question is no longer hypothetical. The project, Building Resilience of Data Repositories During Periods of Crisis, engaged global experts and used Repository Crisis Scorecards (RCS) to examine how repositories experience disruption and how to strengthen their resilience.

Evaluate your repository’s resilience and explore our findings.

Evaluate Repository Resilience

White Paper

Photo by USGS

About The Project

Building Resilience of Data Repositories During Periods of Crisis

This six-month project, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in October 2025, examined how data repositories prepare for, experience, and recover from disruption.

The project gathered input through the Repository Crisis Scorecards (RCS) tool, surveys, focus groups, and community conversations. Participants included repository administrators, technical staff, data users, and community contributors. This input helped improve the RCS and deepen understanding of data disruption and resilience across the research ecosystem.

The findings and resources shared here are intended to support reflection, planning, and action across the research data community.

Project Resources

Repository Crisis Scorecards (RCS)

The updated Repository Crisis Scorecards provide a practical self-assessment tool for evaluating repository resilience under both routine operations and crisis conditions. The tool supports structured reflection on preparedness, vulnerabilities, strengths, and opportunities for improvement.

Start the RCS Assessment

White Paper: Repository Resilience in Practice

Repository Resilience in Practice: Findings and Strategies from a Community in Crisis synthesizes findings from the project, highlighting the challenges repositories face, the impacts of disruptions, along with practical recommendations for strengthening repository resilience and sustainability.

Download the White Paper

What's Next

Stay Connected

Stewardship of this project will transition over to ESIP’s Sustainable Data Management Cluster. The group currently meets on the first Monday of each month at 4pm eastern time (UTC -4). You can: