Instruct-ERIC Data Management Policy
Date: 05 January 2026
Version: 2.2
Author: Jose Maria Carazo
1. Introduction
The purpose of this policy is to provide Users conducting Instruct-ERIC Access projects with information and guidance on Experimental Data ownership, storage, access and management and to ensure that Experimental Data is managed and used in ways that maximises public benefit following FAIR principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability). This policy should be read in conjunction with the Instruct-ERIC Statutes (2017/C 230/01).
The Structural Biology community has had a historical commitment to make the processed data and the structural models available to the public via the PDB, the oldest biological data archive. In a continuation of this tradition, and in line with perspective of the European Commission that data from publicly funded research projects is public data [COM(2011) 882 final], Instruct-ERIC encourages experimental data sharing and reuse.
2. Policy applicability
This policy applies to Users of facilities at Instruct-ERIC Centres, which conduct Instruct-ERIC Access projects and produce Experimental Data. Experimental Data arising from Proprietary Research is not covered by this policy and is subject to separate contractual arrangements.
3. Policy responsibility
The Instruct-ERIC Council has overall responsibility for this policy. Any queries or suggestions relating to this policy should be sent to the Instruct-ERIC-ERIC Director.
4. Definitions
Terms and phrases in this policy shall have the meanings ascribed to them below.
“Access Proposal (or Access project)”: A research proposal describing a limited work programme that requests access to one or more Instruct-ERIC infrastructure facilities through Instruct-ERIC. Access is granted on approval of the proposal via peer review.
“Analysed Data”: All data resulting from the manual or automated evaluation of Raw Data and Metadata through analytical and logical reasoning.
“Embargo Period”: means the period during which the data remains confidential and reserved for the relevant Users and their home Institution, beginning on the date on which the relevant data is acquired in the course of the Instruct-ERIC Access project and ending on the earlier of:
(i) one year after publication of the results; or
(ii) five years after the visit.
"Facility Output Data”: Data arising from use of Instruct-ERIC Centre facilities. This includes Raw Data, Analysed Data, Structural Data.
“Instruct-ERIC”:a structural biology distributed infrastructure and member of the ESFRI Roadmap.
“Instruct-ERIC Centre”: an Institution recognised as a Centre by Instruct-ERIC providing Users with access to its experimental facilities, scientific skills and/or online resources in the context of an Access project
“Instruct-ERIC facilities”: All facilities made available at Instruct-ERIC Centres
“Metadata”: Information pertaining to Facility Output Data collected as a result of use of Instruct-ERIC Centre facilities and shall include (but shall not be limited to) the context of the experiment, the experimental team, experimental conditions and other logistical information.
“Proprietary Research”: Commercially confidential research using Instruct-ERIC Centre facilities and for which there is no obligation to publish the Results.
“Raw Data”: Data produced as a result of use of Instruct-ERIC Centre facilities, excluding Analysed Data and Metadata.
“Results”: Any inventions, designs, information, know-how, specifications, formulae, Facility Output Data, processes, methods, techniques and other technology arising out of peer reviewed research or activities.
“Structural data”: We refer to experimentally-derived data such as, structure factors, structural maps, list of atomic coordinates, or information on interacting protein residues and inter-atomic distances, among many others;
“Users”: Users shall include the following persons making use of Instruct-ERIC Centres through Instruct-ERIC access procedures: scientists and engineers from academia, research councils and charitable institutions, researchers from commercial and non-commercial organisations.
5. Data to which this policy applies
This policy applies to Facility Output Data.
6. Data ownership
6.1 Instruct Facilities will not claim any usage or IP rights on the Facility Output Data that they produce, for user access projects subject to the exceptions in 6.3 and 6.4.
6.2 Subject to pre-existing obligations including to various grant funding agencies or other third parties, and as a general rule, the Institution(s) to which the user belong while conducting Instruct-ERIC Access projects will have the exclusive use of the Facility Output data acquired in the course of the project during the embargo period. Intellectual property protection for these Institutions and users will be their sole responsibility.
6.3 If the Facility Output Data reveals problems or flaws in the technology used to acquire it, in the data processing procedures, or indicates that improved service and quality of service could be obtained, then, subject to agreement with the Instruct-ERIC Facility user, the data may be used for the sole purpose of correcting these problems or flaws, or to improve the service.
6.4 In those cases in which the delivery of User Access requires a significant change or adaptation of otherwise standard Facility procedures, demanding substantial involvement of Facility staff, data ownership and IP will be shared between Users’ Institutions and Facility. The details of this sharing should be discussed at the time the modified Access protocols were designed, and the Facility will present the User’s Institution a concrete proposal for discussion.
7. Data archiving
7.1 Subject to the pre-existing obligations above, storage of Facility Output Data is the responsibility of the User/Institution to whom it belongs. Unless the Instruct-ERIC Facility explicitly offers a data archive service, Users are responsible for copying and making arrangements for the long term storage of their data. In this latter case the facility will collect and maintain an accountable proof of the transfer of the data to the user, for verification purposes.
7.2 Subject to future developments in the context of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and of the approval of the appropriate Instruct-ERIC internal protocols of actions, and if in the future the EOSC initiative will provide the opportunity to store all, or a subset, of the Facility Output Data acquired at Instruct-ERIC Facilities in the course of Instruct-ERIC Access projects, then Instruct-ERIC will implement the necessary actions to take full advantage of such an opportunity. These data will be appropriately labelled using, for instance, Digital Object Identifiers (DOI).
8. Data sharing
8.1 It is the responsibility of the user to ensure that structural data and models obtained in the course of the research conducted within an Instruct-ERIC Access project are deposited in an appropriate public database. In particular, Structural Data must be either deposited in PDB/EMDB or, as an exception, to be made otherwise available by the end of the embargo period.
8.2 It is the responsibility of the user to ensure that Facility Output Data is deposited in a public database or, in the absence of an appropriate such database, made otherwise available by the end of the embargo period.
8.3 In any deposition of Facility Output Data, the use of Instruct-ERIC facilities must be acknowledged using an appropriate acknowledgement statement (see Acknowledging Instruct)
8.4 The User must inform Instruct-ERIC of any depositions or publications that they have made, arising from Instruct-supported projects, including relevant identifiers (e.g. DOI, PDB ID) of such depositions or publications. This should be done in the ARIA system connected to the appropriate proposal.
9. Data confidentiality
Instruct-ERIC, and Instruct-ERIC Facilities, shall have procedures/guidelines in place to ensure confidentiality, both internally & externally, of Facility Output Data during the embargo period, as well as to use these procedures to ensure that access to Facility Output Data will be restricted to the Users of Instruct-ERIC Access projects to which the Data relates and the appropriate Instruct-ERIC support staff. Users of Instruct-ERIC facilities are responsible for meeting any third party data management or transfer obligations that may be applicable.
