The JISC and the eScience Core Programme have announced funding of some £1.3m a year for a Digital Curation Centre, based on collaboration between the Universities and the Research Councils.

Scientists and researchers across the UK generate increasingly vast amounts of digital data, with further investment in digitisation and purchase of digital content and information. The scientific record and the documentary heritage created in digital form are at risk, by technology obsolescence and by the fragility of digital media. Working with other practioners, the Curation Centre will support UK institutions to store, manage and preserve these data to ensure their enhancement and their continuing long-term use. The aim of the Centre is to provide a national focus for research into curation issues and to promote expertise and good practice, both national and international, for the management of all research outputs in digital format.

Led by the University of Edinburgh, the Digital Curation Centre will be run by a consortium of four partner institutions: the University of Edinburgh (Informatics, Law, Information Services and leading research institutes) and the University of Glasgow (HATII and Information Services), which together host the National eScience Centre; UKOLN, at the University of Bath; the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC - which operates the Rutherford and Daresbury Laboratories).

Professor Tim O'Shea, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, said: "I'm delighted that the University has the opportunity to make a leading contribution to the critical task of ensuring the long-term preservation of information, knowledge and cultural artefacts in digital form. This partnership brings together a unique range of expertise in the field."

Dr Malcolm Read, Executive Secretary of JISC, said: “A strong research base is vital for UK education and for its economy. The Digital Curation centre will provide a much-needed focus for the management and use of research outputs in the UK, ensuring that our research community is given the very best advice and support.”

Professor Malcolm Atkinson, Director of the National eScience Centre, welcomed the decision, saying: “At NeSC we view our role in having provided the platform for the Digital Curation Centre as a major success in itself, though both the challenge and potential pay-off for eScience are immense.”