The VERSIONS project - funded by JISC and has produced a Toolkit to address the issues and uncertainties relating to versions of academic papers in digital repositories.

This article describes the work currently underway at Monash University to rethink the role of repositories in supporting data management. It first describes the context within which the work has taken place and some of the local factors that have contributed to the inception and continuation of this work. It then introduces the idea of a Data Curation Continuum and describes the various continua that might be applicable in a repository data management context. The article then discusses some of the implications of this approach, before reviewing related work.

The CARMEN Neuroinformatics Project (Code Analysis, Repository and Modelling for e-Neuroscience) is a four-year e-Science pilot project funded by the EPSRC. The objective of the project is to create a virtual laboratory in which data on neuronal activity (electrical and optical measures) can be shared, stored, manipulated and modelled. The project currently involves a consortium of 20 academic investigators from 11 universities as well as commercial and international associates, but will expand to include new core partners over the coming years. CARMEN is supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Report on the project to facilitate data deposits in IRs - Peter Suber's Open Access News highlights the Data Share Project's State-of-the-Art Review

Publication and quality assurance of research data outputs - a RIN/JISC/NERC commissioned report investigating (i) the nature and range of arragements for making research data as widely available as possible and (ii) the role that data outputs currently play alongside or as an alternative to conventional publications in the research communication process. The short project will be completed by Jan. 2008

An ICPSR announcement about a new project to "investigate the extent of research data sharing in the social sciences and assess whether research data sharing is related to other aspects of the scientific process including scientific publication."

The RUBRIC Project recognises that regional and smaller universities have a need to access, manage and disseminate research information in the same way as the large established research universities but often face significant challenges in developing appropriate and sustainable infrastructure. This australian project focuses on the needs of smaller and regional universities by providing a structured framework for partner institutions to evaluate, trial and implement an Institutional Repository solution; to collaborate on the development of better processes and tools; to act collectively and to develop the expertise that will be necessary to respond to emerging needs of the Research Quality and Accessibility Frameworks across universities.

"An innovative tool to analyse and identify computer file formats has won the 2007 Digital Preservation Award. DROID, developed by The National Archives in London, can examine any mystery file and identify its format. The tool works by gathering clues from the internal 'signatures' hidden inside every computer file, as well as more familiar elements such as the filename extension (.jpg, for example), to generate a highly accurate 'guess' about the software that will be needed to read the file."

The EDINA GRADE project deliverables, including a report on Geospatial data sharing behaviour in UKHE, Charlotte Waelde's groundbreaking report on licensing of geospatial databases (this challenged the Ordnance Survey view that their data is covered by copyright rather than simply the EU Database Directive), Pauline Simpson's survey or 'baseline audit' of geospatial data in IRs, and a compendium of derived geospatial data in UKHE.