Introducing the DPC Rapid Assessment Model
Jenny Mitcham
<p>The DPC Rapid Assessment Model (RAM) is a digital preservation maturity modelling tool that has been designed to enable rapid benchmarking of an organization&rsquo;s digital preservation capability.</p>

<p>This model aims to be:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Applicable for organizations of any size and in any sector</li>
	<li>Applicable for all content of long-term value</li>
	<li>Preservation strategy and solution agnostic</li>
	<li>Based on existing good practice</li>
	<li>Simple to understand and quick to apply</li>
</ul>

<p>The model used Adrian Brown&#39;s Digital Preservation Maturity Model (published in Practical Digital Preservation: a how-to guide for organizations of any size, 2013) as a starting point and has been developed, tested and refined with input from DPC Members and Supporters. It was created in conjunction with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority as part of a two year collaborative digital preservation project. It was released in September 2019 at the iPRES conference in Amsterdam.</p>

<p>The model is designed to be relatively quick and easy to use for any organization charged with preserving digital information for the long term. Some institutions have applied this model in less than one hour but for others it is a longer process, particularly if wider consultation with a range of colleagues is required.</p>

<p>DPC RAM has continuous improvement at its core. Although it can be applied as a one-off exercise it is recommended that it is revisited on a more regular basis to highlight progress or demonstrate where further resource or effort is required. It has been designed to provide a rapid assessment of current capabilities so it should not be too onerous a task to apply it on a regular schedule.</p>

<p>The poster will draw on some of the highlights of DPC RAM since its release 6 months ago, reflecting on uptake, findings and community feedback collected so far. We are keen to bring DPC RAM to new audiences and discuss with the research data curation community how they could use it internally to discuss digital preservation maturity, highlight gaps and make the case for additional resource.</p>
digital preservation maturity model assessment tool