Editorial A Quarter of a Century of FSD and Data Archving in Finland

For over 25 years, FSD has fulfilled its national role as a separate unit of Tampere University, witnessing numerous changes in its operational environment and the general attitude towards the management and openness of research data.

Colleagues who have worked at FSD the longest sometimes reminisce about how everything started from scratch in January 1999. A telling example of the situation is that one of the first tasks was to buy a coffee set from the department store. In addition to acquiring some cups, plates, and cutlery, other infrastructure was promptly established. While working as a researcher, I ordered a Eurobarometer dataset for research purposes during FSD's first year of operation. I received it quickly via email.

Progress was possible not only due to the enthusiastic and skilled staff but also thanks to international cooperation among data archives. We could model our activities after pioneers, utilise proven methods, and avoid repeating mistakes. Within a few years, FSD itself became a pioneer and a source of knowledge for colleagues both domestically and internationally.

The most significant changes to FSD's operational models were made about ten years ago. Infrastructure funding from the Research Council of Finland enabled effective development of operations. The Data Portal Aila was launched in May 2014. New practices were created for processing qualitative data. FSD was the first Finnish organization to receive a certification for the reliable curation and long-term preservation of digital data.

Initially, the academic community was at times reluctant to open data, but over 25 years, the community has become supportive or even demanding of openness. At the same time, data protection legislation has changed, increasing awareness of the rights of research subjects.

FSD has been in a suitable stage of development and alert to changes as they have happened. We have been able to support those struggling with data management by offering a comprehensive and up-to-date data management handbook and even personalised advice. Nowadays, we receive a lot of data that has been processed during the active research phase in such a way that archiving it for reuse is quite easy after the primary research.

In addition to traditional data archives, many new players have entered the field. At the same time, cooperation among European social science data archives has strengthened through state memberships within a new organization, CESSDA ERIC. Often, newcomers are not familiar with all existing solutions. CESSDA service providers, FSD's staff, and colleagues from other archives have shared their expertise in opening data to avoid ending up working in separate silos and using incompatible solutions. Cooperation benefits all parties.

Predicting the future is impossible. Looking at the past, one can see what has been permanent and necessary so far. Specialised expertise in managing and processing data and in IT development will certainly be needed in the future. Although AI-based tools may facilitate some stages of data archiving and distribution, the new era will also create new needs. With limited resources, some functions will also have to be abandoned.

In honour of FSD's 25th anniversary, we have brought back the FSD Bulletin (Tietoarkisto-lehti) from retirement. In this special issue, we look back a little at history, provide examples of new and upcoming research data, and highlight cooperation among data experts. Selected articles will be translated into English and published online. Enjoy your reading!