Building a pilot demonstrator service for the visual arts

The following blog post is adapted from the Conclusion and Recommendations section of the Technical Analysis report (PDF):

The KAPTUR Technical Manager investigated 17 different types of software which were compared to the requirements of the four partner institutions (details and appendices in the report). The next stage of the research reduced the choice of software to five options: DataFlow, DSpace, EPrints, Fedora, Figshare. These were all found to be suitable for managing research data in the visual arts; through a further selection process EPrints, Figshare, and DataFlow were identified as the strongest contenders.

[…] it is recommended that two pilots occur side by side: an integration of EPrints with Figshare and a separate piece of work linking DataFlow’s DataStage with EPrints. By integrating EPrints with Figshare, the project can take advantage of a system which has been built with, and for, researchers to handle research data specifically, and has a user-friendly visual interface (which is constantly evolving and enhanced by Figshare directly). […]By integrating DataStage with EPrints the research data storage and software will be hosted within each institution, providing them with better control over the type of data that can be stored, published and managed. The integration will also enable content uploaded in DataStage to be securely backed up by the institution and accessible from anywhere in the world. A ‘Dropbox’-like tool is featured in the latest beta version, providing a user-friendly interface which will benefit visual arts researchers. EPrints will effectively provide the role of DataFlow’s DataBank.