Cross-Repository Interoperability

Connecting research repositories to EOSC Node Germany

This use case develops the technical framework and practical guidelines for integrating research repositories from Germany into the national infrastructure of EOSC Node Germany. The goal is to establish standardized procedures that enable seamless interoperability between different repositories while ensuring connectivity to both national and European infrastructures.

The use case follows five steps:

Domain-specific standards are made compatible with generic schemas such as DataCite. Harmonized curation workflows ensure high-quality data and metadata.
Protocols and implementation recommendations show how to link diverse repository frameworks such as InvenioRDM, DSpace, SciCat and Dataverse.
Repositories are linked to the Resource Catalog of EOSC Node Germany, which makes their data discoverable nationwide.
Systems follow the guidelines of the EOSC Federation and connect to discovery graphs such as OpenAIRE.
Pilot repositories within EOSC Node Germany serve as reference implementations. They demonstrate how discipline-specific data models can be mapped to universal standards.

Added value for European research

Findable across Europe:

Researchers anywhere in Europe can find and reuse German research data.

Repositories are connected to the Resource Catalog of EOSC Node Germany and to discovery graphs such as OpenAIRE, so their data appears where researchers actually search. Until now, finding it often meant knowing the right repository in advance. Harmonized metadata and curation workflows make sure that the data is well described and reliable, also across disciplinary boundaries.

Less effort for operators:

One shared technical playbook replaces custom integrations built from scratch.

Operators receive a comprehensive manual that details how to implement the standardized interfaces for metadata harvesting and cross-platform data visibility at the national level. It includes implementation recommendations for common repository frameworks such as InvenioRDM, DSpace, SciCat and Dataverse. Pilot repositories serve as reference implementations that show how the integration works in practice.



A federated infrastructure:

A concrete building block towards one European research infrastructure.

By aligning German repositories with the guidelines of the EOSC Federation, the use case makes EOSC Node Germany a scalable, well-documented and interoperable part of the European research data ecosystem. This brings Europe closer to a connected infrastructure, where today many national systems still operate side by side.

Milestones:

Deliverables: What will the use case produce?

The use case produces a comprehensive manual for German repository providers. It builds on the technical framework and practical guidelines developed in the use case and is validated using pilot repositories within EOSC Node Germany, which serve as reference implementations.