HSDS User Needs Survey

This week, the National Heritage Science Forum are launching a new survey to investigate user needs to inform development of the Heritage Science Data Service.

About the Heritage Science Data Service

The National Heritage Science Forum (NHSF) is undertaking a User Needs consultation on behalf of Heritage Science Data Service (HSDS), as part of the Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) programme. RICHeS was launched in October 2024, when UKRI Arts and Humanities Council (AHRC) unveiled 31 projects to create a distributed infrastructure of heritage science collections and equipment to grow the UK heritage economy and protect cultural heritage for future generations.

The research will test proposed elements of the HSDS during development to gain feedback from a wide range of users. It will explore general requirements for HSDS in terms of functionality and user experience, as well as developmental aspects around high performance computing facilities and Virtual Research Environments.

About the survey

If you create or use heritage science data as an employee, volunteer or student, you are encouraged to complete this survey. Your feedback will help shape and build the HSDS.

The survey asks about your familiarity with heritage science and seeks your input on the development of the HSDS. It provides an opportunity to share how this platform could support your work or interests and will help us understand your expectations for new digital services.

The survey should take no longer than 20 minutes to complete and you can respond as either an organisation or an individual. The survey will remain open until 31 May 2025.

Access the survey here.