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FAS RC Research Data Retention and Deletion Policy
Purpose:
This policy defines FAS RC standards and procedures for the retention and deletion of research data, outputs, temporary files, and associated digital resources managed by the FAS RC in support of research activities.
Scope:
This policy applies to all research data stored, processed, or managed on servers, workstations, cloud resources, storage systems, or backup media provisioned by the FAS Research Computing Service Group.
Data Retention:
Following the departure of faculty from the University, the associated primary department will assume responsibility for the maintenance, storage, and cost of housing the remaining research data.
Home Directories:
Aligning with the University Research Data Security Policy and the Retention and Maintenance of Research Records and Data Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”), home directories will be retained for no more than 7 years following a researcher’s departure from the University or the deactivation of their FASRC account. The researcher’s last login to their FASRC account will be used to track compliance.
Project Data:
Principal Investigators (PIs) should notify FAS RC 60 days prior to their departure from the University including the duration of any appointments (courtesy or associate), with instructions and next steps for remaining datasets.
For research data associated with completed or inactive research projects and/or departed faculty where no notice has been given to FAS RC as to where the research data should be stored:
- The PIs Harvard affiliated primary department becomes responsible for the storage and cost of the research data. Closure of the PIs group and project in FAS RC will be used to track compliance.
- The research data will be retained in the source storage directory for 2 years following project completion or inactivity. Completion of a project occurs after:
- final reporting to the research sponsor
- final financial close-out of a sponsored research award segment
- final publication of research results
- cessation of academic or scientific activity on a specific activity on a specific research project, regardless of whether its results are published, whichever is later.
- Following 2 years of inactivity, data will be migrated to FASRC Long-Term Storage. The data will be retained for an additional 5 years to meet the University Data Retention guidelines. Following the completion of 5 years, the data can be deleted. Departments will be notified via email prior to the deletion.
Temporary and Scratch Storage:
Data stored in scratch or temporary directories may be deleted after 90 days without notice to maximize available resources.
Deletion Procedures:
- Faculty and/or departments will be notified in advance of research data being deleted, per the timelines above. If PIs or Faculty are no longer associated with the University, the relevant department leadership will be notified via email.
- Data will be deleted using secure erasure methods in accordance with institutional IT security standards.
- Requests for retention extension can be made in writing and are subject to approval by FASRC and the department; individuals requesting the extension will be responsible for all associated storage costs.
Ownership and Roles:
- University: Harvard University owns all research data generated through projects conducted under its authority or using its resources. While PIs and researchers manage and safeguard the data, the University is ultimately responsible for compliance with legal and sponsor requirements, ensuring confidentiality and security.
- Principal Investigators: Principal Investigators (PIs) are stewards of research data. If PIs choose to delegate responsibility within their research groups, the PI remains accountable to the University for stewardship of the data. Principal Investigators are responsible for ensuring proper data management, storage, and accessibility, meeting all University, legal, and sponsor requirements. This involves setting up procedures for data retention, confidentiality, and sharing while respecting data use agreements.
- Departments: In the case that a PI has left the University without delegating responsibility for data, the associated primary department of the departed PI takes on the role of steward.
- Researchers: Harvard community members who assist with management of data created, analyzed, and stored on FAS RC systems.
- FAS RC: Responsible for executing deletions as outlined, maintaining logs of deletion actions, and responding to extension or exception requests.
Policy Review:
This policy will be reviewed and updated annually or as required by regulatory or operational changes.
Last modification date: 2025-12-02