The European Science Foundation is a founding partner in the “Alliance for Permanent Access to the Digital Records of Science”.

The Alliance aims at establishing a wide consensus on framework (‘infrastructure’) for Long term preservation and access to the record of science in Europe. It will work closely with European Commission, national governments and a gradually growing number of research organizations and communities on common challenges for permanent access.

The Alliance was initiated in follow up of a European Conference held during the EU Dutch Presidency in den Hague in November 2004. At this conference a broad consensus was reached that the long term storage of the data, the preservation of their integrity and their accessibility to future generations are a shared responsibility among various stakeholders involved in the processes and that many of the related challenges should be tackled at European level.

The Alliance was launched in February 2007 with following organisations as founding partners:

The European Science Foundation (ESF)

The Royal Library of the Netherlands (KB)

The International association scientific, technical, medical and scholarly publishers (STM)

The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)

British Library (BL)

Le groupe Pérennisation des Informations Numériques (PIN)

Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC)

Network of Expertise in Long-Term Storage of Digital Resources (NESTOR)

Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC)

National Archives of Sweden

Dr.Alexis-MichelMugabushakaE-Mail

Science Officer - Corporate Science Policy

Mr.NeilWilliamsE-Mail

Head of CE Unit