RIGSARKIVET

Their core work

Rigsarkivet is the Danish National Archives, responsible for preserving and providing access to Denmark's historical and governmental records. Within H2020, they contribute expertise in data archiving, long-term data management, and FAIR data practices — particularly for social sciences and humanities. Their more recent work extends into the history of science and science diplomacy, studying how research data has been negotiated and managed across geopolitical boundaries.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 involvement (2015–2019) centered on strengthening European social science data archives and building SSH research infrastructure aligned with ESFRI and FAIR principles. From 2019 onward, they broadened into general EOSC data services and repository management. Most recently (2022), they pivoted toward a distinctly academic direction — studying the geopolitics and history of international research data management, including Cold War-era science diplomacy.

Moving from technical data infrastructure work toward scholarly research on how global research data systems are shaped by politics and diplomacy — signaling a shift from service provider to research contributor.

How they like to work

Rigsarkivet operates exclusively as a supporting partner — never as coordinator, and half their projects are as a third party. They join large, multi-partner consortia (94 unique partners across 30 countries), contributing specialized archival and data management expertise rather than driving project direction. This makes them a reliable, low-overhead contributor to bring into large infrastructure or humanities consortia.

Through four projects they have connected with 94 partners across 30 countries, almost entirely through large pan-European research infrastructure consortia. Their network is broad but consortium-inherited rather than self-built.

What sets them apart

As a national archive, Rigsarkivet brings a rare combination of centuries-long institutional memory in record-keeping with modern FAIR data and EOSC expertise. Their NEWORLDatA involvement gives them a unique perspective on the politics and history of research data governance — a niche almost no other technical data infrastructure partner occupies. For consortia needing credible archival authority alongside data management practice, they are a distinctive Danish partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NEWORLDatA
  Unusually interdisciplinary — an ERC Advanced Grant studying science diplomacy and Cold War-era data governance, a major departure from their infrastructure work.
• EOSC-Nordic
  Their only funded project (EUR 18,252), focused on onboarding Nordic and Baltic countries into the European Open Science Cloud.
• SSHOC
  Large SSH infrastructure project building the Social Sciences & Humanities Open Cloud, directly aligned with their core archival mission.