Who We Are

The DaSCH - Swiss National Data and Service Center for the Humanities was initiated by the Digital Humanities Lab (DHLab, University of Basel) and the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (SAGW) as part of a pilot project anchored in the ERI (Education, Research and Innovation) Dispatch 2013–2016, after a consortium by the universities of Basel, Bern and Lausanne – led by the Digital Humanities Lab at the University of Basel – won a public tender by SAGW. During the pilot phase, a feasibility study for the chosen technical solution was successfully conducted using various data sets.

In 2017, DaSCH was established as a national facility operated by SAGW with a mandate set out in the ERI Dispatch 2017–2020.

Since 2021, DaSCH has operated as a national research data infrastructure primarily funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Our quality goals are rooted in our belief in Open Data. Data stored with us is accessible by the FAIR-Principle. FAIR stands for Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability. DaSCH strives for a continuing improvement in user friendliness while maintaining the base principle of FAIR Data.

What Makes DaSCH Unique?

DaSCH is among only a handful of FAIR-compliant data repositories that ensure the long-term preservation of humanities research data and at the same time offer the following benefits on its platform:

1. Direct accessibility - We keep your database alive, meaning that your data remain editable, visible, directly accessible and searchable within our web application in the long term.

2. Persistent identifier - Each object within your database receives its own permanent identifier, which enables precise citation in publications.

3. Generic virtual research environment - We offer you a generic virtual research environment that you can use during the lifetime of your project. This means that there's no need to re-model, clean and import the data at the end!

Governance

DaSCH - Swiss National Data and Service Center for the Humanities

The DaSCH - Swiss National Data and Service Center for the Humanities is an association, accommodating all relevant stakeholders as members and acting independently of any single Higher Education Institution. This set-up guarantees a truly national orientation of the association, and requires only few administrative formalities which results in an effective and efficient governance of our research infrastructure. Membership is open to:

• all Swiss Institutions of Higher Education as defined by the HFKG
• the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences
• other Swiss research Infrastructures
• national institutions with a high relevance for humanities research

Institutions can apply for membership by sending their application to the Board of the Association. All members are represented in the Assembly of Delegates.

The association has the following bodies:

• Assembly of Delegates
• Board of the Association
• Scientific Advisory Board
• Executive Board

Assembly of Delegates

Each member institution nominates a delegate to the Assembly of Delegates. The Assembly of Delegates is the highest deciding body of the association. Among others it elects the Board of the Association, decides on the statutes and approves the annual accounts and reports.

Board of the Association

The Board of the Association is the governing body of the association. It decides on the strategic planning and the budget that the Executive Board proposes. Currently, the Board of the Association is composed as follows:

• One representative appointed by the University of Basel (host university)
• One representative appointed by the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences
• One representative appointed by FORS
• Three representatives from Swiss Institutions of Higher Education

More members such as representatives from other Swiss Institutions of Higher Education can be elected once they have become official members of the association. The Board of the Association meets regularly with the Executive Board.

Current members of the Board of the Association are:

• Prof. Dr. Martin Lengwiler, President, University of Basel
• Prof. Dr. Anita Auer, University of Lausanne
• Prof. Dr. Christian Schwarzenegger, University of Zurich
• Prof. Dr. Elena Spadini, University of Bern
• Dr. Beat Immenhauser, SAGW
• Prof. Dr. Stephanie Steinmetz, FORS

Scientific Advisory Board

The Scientific Advisory Board supports the Board of the Association on scientific matters connected with the development of the infrastructure. It is composed of leading international experts and national stakeholders from different fields of the Humanities. The members of the Scientific Advisory Board are elected by the Board of the Association. They meet at least once a year.

Current members of the Scientific Advisory Board are:

• Dr. Kevin Ashley, Director of the Digital Curation Centre, University of Edinburgh
• Prof. Dr. Sonja Hildebrand, Università della Svizzera italiana
• Prof. Dr. Panos Constantopoulos, Athens University of Economics and Business
• Prof. Dr. Davide Giuriato, University of Zurich
• Dr. Ronald Haynes, University of Cambridge
• Prof. Dr. Tobias Hodel, University of Bern
• Prof. Dr. Elena Pierazzo, University of Tours

Executive Board

The Executive Board ensures the functioning of all operations of DaSCH. The team will decide on all operative business, such as appointment of employees, finances within the approved budget, technology prospection and implementation, relations to users and other infrastructures or education of users.

The DaSCH Executive Board currently consists of:

• Prof. Dr. Rita Gautschy, Director (Repository Services, DARIAH-CH, Office Management)
• Dr. Ivan Subotic, Deputy Director (Engineering)

Host University

The University of Basel as a hosting University provides substantial contributions such as the office infrastructure within the Innovation Center in Allschwil/BL, 1 FTE staff position, hosting of the IT-infrastructure by the IT-Services, as well as of HR and accounting services by the University administration.

Basel, Alte Universität (Bild: Mark Niedermann, © Universität Basel)

Funding

DaSCH is a national digital infrastructure (DIS) funded primarily by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The services to be provided are detailed in an agreement with the SNSF for 2021 to 2024. The mandate covers the services of DaSCH and the Coordination Office of DARIAH-CH. Moreover, the University of Basel as a hosting University provides substantial in-kind contributions. Further financial resources, i.e. by third-parties or user contributions allow the extension of services to the community or to specific users.