From Emergency To Infrastructure: Building A Data Rescue Toolkit

Created in early 2025, the Data Rescue Project (DRP) serves as a clearinghouse for data rescue-related efforts and provides access to backed-up copies of public U.S. governmental data that is currently at risk. As the Project continues into its second year, the DRP Steering Committee’s focus is shifting towards sustainability and lasting infrastructure. We are developing a toolkit and best-practice templates for others to utilize when large-scale data rescue efforts are needed once more, whether in the United States or elsewhere.

In this Block session, members of the Data Rescue Project Steering Committee will introduce the IASSIST community to the DRP’s work and principles and then walk participants through the toolkit framework. We will give background on the reasons for beginning this effort, discuss past global efforts that have served as inspiration, and more. The majority of this session will be held via breakout sessions, where participants will contribute to the development and growth of the toolkit via a series of user research and feedback sessions. Our goal is to draw on the expertise of the IASSIST community for developing a rapid response infrastructure for at-risk public data.