Establish a Data Contribution Agreement (DCA)

Principal Investigators (PIs) can contribute data to ARCHIMEDES by requesting Data Contribution Permissions. As a first step, organizations must enter into a Data Contribution Agreement (DCA).
If your organization does not yet have a DCA, the ARCHIMEDES team will work with you to establish one. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the ARCHIMEDES team at ARCHIMEDES@ottawaheart.ca

⚠️ No account creation or data submission can occur before the DCA is agreed to.

➡️ Data Contribution Agreement (DCA)

This agreement is established once per organization and will provide contribution permissions to chosen Principal Invetigators (PIs) from that organization. The Data Contribution Agreement (DCA) defines responsibilities, permissions, and governance requirements. Your organization must enter into a DCA before you can contribute data to ARCHIMEDES. If your organization does not yet have a DCA, the ARCHIMEDES team will work with you to establish one. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the ARCHIMEDES team at ARCHIMEDES@ottawaheart.ca

⚠️ No account creation or data submission can occur before the DCA is agreed to.

Once a Data Contribution Agreement (DCA) is in place:

1. Your institution approves designated Principal Investigators (PIs).
2. Approved PIs create an ARCHIMEDES account.
3. Before proceeding, users must agree to the Terms of Use and confirm that all contributed data will be handled and shared in accordance with:
   • Ethical approvals ✅
   • Legal requirements ⚖️
   • ARCHIMEDES governance policies 🏛️

➡️ Data Access Committee (DAC) and Data Access Compliance Office (DACO)

ARCHIMEDES is guided by a clear and trusted committee structure who perform portfolio-specific decision-making and advisory functions. These committees include the ARCHIMEDES Leadership, Joint Liaison, Community Partners, the Data Access Committee (DAC), and the Data Access Compliance Office (DACO).

The Data Access Committee (DAC) oversees requests from prospective Data Users to access Controlled Access data with the administrative support of the Data Access Committee Office (DACO). The ARCHIMEDES Data Access Committee (DAC) Terms of Reference can be found here. The DACO coordinates the DAC review of Data Access Requests and performs select monitoring functions regarding the ongoing commitments of authorized Data Users. For data contribution, the DACO reviews the documentation demonstrating ethical and legal authority, including informed consent materials and ethics approvals, provided by Data Contributors for compatibility with ARCHIMEDES policies before authorizing data contribution. The DACO also reviews requests for Data Contributor and Data User credentials

At this stage, an account creation can only be completed by a Principal Investigator (PI).

More information can be found on the FAQ and the Data Governance Framework.