Community Standards

Standards are at the core of the needs that the community has entrusted to the NFDI4Objects consortium.

“The basic irony of standards is the simple fact that there is no standard way to create a standard, nor is there even a standard definition of ‘standard’.”

The Joy of Standards, The New York Times, 16.2.2019

We understand the development of standards as a participatory process. Together with the community, we seek common solutions that cover different levels of standardization. The concrete results range from suggestions and recommendations to specific proposals and normative guidelines. In NFDI4Objects, these shared results are designed as open standards and developed and maintained through a collaborative and consensus-oriented process. We call these shared standards the NFDI4Objects Commons.

What Are the Commons?

The Commons compile the subject-specific results of NFDI4Objects. Here, we publish recommendations and standards developed through a transparent and collaborative process within the community.

The Commons are designed as “living documents.” This means they are continuously evolved, adapted, and updated. The goal is to provide open and jointly usable solutions for the sustainable management of research data on material cultural heritage.

In doing so, the Commons contribute to improving the quality, comparability, and interoperability of research data in accordance with the FAIR and CARE principles.

Why Shared Standards Are Important

In many disciplines, the handling of research data is still characterized by project- or institution-specific solutions. While this diversity is valuable, it complicates data exchange, comparability, and long-term usability.

The Commons therefore consolidate the knowledge of the specialist community, collect collaboratively developed recommendations, and document best practices. This creates a common reference framework that provides orientation and support, which can be directly integrated into individual practice.

The Commons deliberately understand standards as open and evolvable documents. They range from initial conceptual proposals to concrete recommendations that can be applied and adapted in different contexts.

Our Commons Process

The NFDI4Objects Commons are created through a transparent process in which content is published and further developed.

Contributions to the Commons originate in the Community Clusters, Temporary Working Groups, or within the framework of the Task Areas. On the path to official acceptance as Commons, proposals undergo a participatory and transparent quality assurance process. Drafts are publicly discussed and commented on before being adopted as Commons contributions.

All Commons contributions are published under a CC-BY-4.0 license and are freely accessible. They are discoverable through a central catalog that is readable by both humans and machines and are permanently stored in digital archives with persistent URLs. Additionally, all Commons contributions are published in the NFDI4Objects community on Zenodo.

The Commons can be revised, updated, and further developed at any time if new requirements, technical developments, or academic impulses make this necessary.

The NFDI4Objects newsletter provides information on new publications and ongoing comment periods.

Those who wish to contribute substantively can participate in Community Clusters or Temporary Working Groups, or even found their own group and actively contribute to the further development of the Commons.