Instructions to onboard Providers and Services to EOSC

Basic Onboarding Process: Onboarding resources by a single provider

The basic onboarding of resources, i.e., the registration of a new Provider and the registration of Resources or Data sources managed by that Provider, has the following main steps:

1. Onboarding a new EOSC Provider. The new provider registers itself in the Service Providers Dashboard, and EPOT reviews this registration before approving the new provider.  This step ensures that each EOSC Provider is organised to provide the type of quality resources expected by EOSC.

2. Onboarding a new Provider’s first resource to the EOSC Catalogue and Marketplace. The new provider registers its first resource, e.g., a service of some kind, in the Service Providers Dashboard, and EPOT reviews this registration before approving the new resource. This step establishes the quality and interoperability of the first resource that the Provider wishes to onboard.  This also establishes that the Provider understands what will be needed to ensure the desired quality and interoperability for additional resources that might be onboarded to EOSC.

3. Onboarding additional resources. Once the first resource has been onboarded, Providers can add additional resources to the EOSC Catalogue and Marketplace on their own.

4. Ongoing Audits of Providers and Resources. EPOT conducts ongoing audits of the collection of resources available through the EOSC Catalogue and Marketplace. This ensures that EOSC continues to offer the quality and interoperability of resources required by researchers.

Step 1a: The Provider’s Representative registers on the EOSC Portal

The Provider’s Representative can follow this link: Add New Provider. S/he will need to log in to the EOSC Portal using existing login credentials, will be asked both to agree with the EOSC Portal Privacy Policy and to confirm that they are the authorised representative of the EOSC Provider. After agreeing, the Provider’s Representative proceeds to onboard the Provider in Step 1b.

Step 1b: The Provider’s Representative onboards the provider

Now the Provider’s Representative can fill in the Provider Profile on the Service Providers Dashboard. Once the information is complete, and initial validation of fields is successful, the Provider's Representative can submit the application for processing by EPOT.  EPOT is notified and an onboarding ticket is opened. EPOT reviews the ticket and updates it with any additional information that is required.

Step 1c: EPOT assesses and approves the provider

EPOT reviews the provider description and, if the description does not comply with the minimum requirements, the provider is contacted by email to act on the requests and resubmit their description. Otherwise, the application to become a Provider is approved, and the Provider’s Representative is notified of the approval.

Once the Provider is approved, it is listed publicly in the EOSC Catalogue and Marketplace (although no resources will be listed for that Provider).  For example, it can access relevant statistics about its listings:

The Provider can then use the Service Providers Dashboard to manage their information and request onboarding of new resources.

Step 2a: The Provider’s Representative onboards resources 

After approval, the Provider’s Representative can onboard their first resource. At this point, there are two options to onboard resources:

a) via the web-based Service Providers Dashboard.

b) via the Portal Application Programming Interface (API).

Each of these options is explained below.

Onboard resources via the web interface

The Provider’s Representative returns to the Service Providers Dashboard, logs in again and goes to ‘My Providers’ using the menu options on the left-hand side.  Select the newly approved EOSC Provider, then select More’ and ‘Go to Dashboard’.

 

On the ‘Dashboard’ page, the Provider’s Representative selects the kind of resource s/he wishes to onboard, and then completes the appropriate profile web form for the selected profile type Once the profile has been completed and passes initial validation checks, it can be submitted for approval.

The onboarding process continues with Step 2b.

Onboard resources via the API

The Provider’s Representative can also submit its first resource for onboarding by using the Portal Open API.

A detailed description of the Portal Open API is available here. 

For the first resource onboarded by a newly approved provider, even if submitted through the API, EPOT will review that submission as described in Step 2b.

The Provider’s Representative needs to use the AAI of the Portal to retrieve a new API token (this is described at the end of the page linked above: here). The Provider’s Representative must determine the type of resource that will be onboarded first. Then, the following steps are required:

• The Provider representative prepares the resource description according to the {resource Type} Profile by calling the API’s POST/{resource type}/validate method. Automatic validations will be performed, including:

  • URL fields should be valid and existing

  • Logo URLs should be valid direct URLs, without any redirects

  • All email fields should be properly formatted as email values

  • All phone fields should comply with phone formatting rules/length

  • Mandatory fields are completed

  • Text fields are filled in with values of specified length

• Upon successful validation, the Provider calls the POST/{resource type} method to add the new resource in the catalogue.

• Upon success posting, the Provider’s Representative receives a new resource ID for each resource submitted via the API, and the new resources are onboarded to the Portal.

The onboarding process continues with Step 2b.

Step 2b: EPOT reviews newly onboarded resources

EPOT examines the metadata quality, in accordance with the resource profile guidelines and recommendations, as well as spelling, accuracy, composition and the format of URLs. If the resource description does not comply with the minimum requirements, the Provider’s Representative may be asked to take action (e.g. amend the description and resubmit, etc.) or join an information/training session to address issues that are preventing approval of the resource. If required changes are not made, EPOT may reject the resource application, and the Provider’s Representative will receive notification of the rejection. EPOT may also perform small corrections on the resource descriptions on the provider’s behalf and will ask the Provider’s Representative for consent before publishing.

If the new resource is a Catalogue:
EPOT will contact the Catalogue Owner Representative to request some additional information, including:

• A statement of compliance with the EOSC Catalogue onboarding agreement
• The description of the catalogue scope (e.g. thematic, type of content)
• The description of the inclusion criteria applied to the records to be transferred and the validation process to include them into their catalogue
• 'End-of-catalogue-life' meaning the intended date the catalogue will be retired

EPOT will also examine the metadata quality of the Catalogue entry, according to guidelines and recommendations for the Catalogue Profile, as it does for other entries onboarded into the EOSC Catalogue.

Step 3: The Provider’s Representative can view onboarded resources and onboard more

Once approved, resource descriptions are listed in the EOSC Catalogue and Marketplace, and the Provider’s Representative can review and check them using the Service Provider Dashboard. Additionally, the dashboard offers statistics on resources as well as a variety of additional functionalities. These include lists of active resources, resources pending approval, messages, as well as information and statistics regarding orders.

Providers are encouraged to signal support for EOSC Interoperability Guidelines by following the process to assign a guideline to a Resource.

The Provider’s Representative can onboard other resources via either the web interface or API via the dashboard, using the process described in Step 2a.

 

Step 4a: The Provider’s Representative keeps resource and provider information updated

The Provider’s Representative must keep their profile and their resources profiles up to date, reviewing them at least once a year,  and can request support and inquire about best practices from EPOT in order to do so.

In particular Providers should be sure to keep the ‘Contact’ and ‘Admins’ contact information sections of the Provider profile, ‘the Contact’ section of the Resource profile, as well as the URLs used to describe various fields in both profiles.

Step 4b: EPOT regularly audits resource and provider information

EPOT conducts periodic audits of resource catalogue records, and as a result of these audits, EOSC Providers may be asked to update their profiles within a specified timeframe.  If requested updates are not completed in a timely fashion, the EOSC Provider and/or Resource may be suspended until the profile is updated.

If profile specifications or inclusion criteria are updated, EOSC Providers may, on occasion, need to review their provider and resource descriptions to ensure they meet any new specifications and/or inclusion criteria and include all required information. Any such changes to specifications or inclusion criteria will be communicated to EOSC Providers in advance. Providers must update their information within a stated timeframe; otherwise, the resource may be suspended.

Providers who are suspended cannot submit new resources and their existing resources will be suspended. Suspended Providers can still edit records for already onboarded resources, but these edits will not published. Suspended profiles can be reactivated once the provider is re-approved by EPOT.

Onboarding Data Sources

Data Sources are onboarded in a process similar to the basic onboarding process.  The process is slightly different in two ways:

• Each EOSC Data Source record is actually added (or referenced) in two places: the EOSC Services Catalogue and the EOSC Research Product Catalogue.  When a new Data Source is onboarded to the EOSC Service Catalogue, a link is created to an existing Data Source in the Research Product Catalogue, and if that does not already exist, it will be created automatically to ensure data integrity.
• Existing or new Data Sources in the Research Product Catalogue can be linked to multiple Research Products by “harvesting” those Research Products from the links provided in the Data Source record.  If authorised by the Providers Representative this can be done automatically as long as the Data Source accepts the OAI-PMH harvesting protocol.

Onboarding a new Data source in the Service Providers Dashboard operates similarly to onboarding a regular service​ (see the Basic Onboarding Process above).  

• The Service Providers Dashboard will present the Providers Representative with a list of Data Sources that are already listed in the Research Product Catalogue.
• The Provider’s Representative can select one of those existing Data Sources to link to the new record being onboarded, or can choose to create a new Data Source in the Research Product Catalogue.
• Either way, extra information will be needed​ to complete the Data Source Profile
  • Data source Policies​
  • Data source Content (mandatory)​
  • Research products Policies​
  • Research products metadata​
• The Provider’s Representative will then be given the option to automatically harvest related Research Products for the new Data Source (assuming this has not already been done).

Onboarding a Catalogue

Data Sources are onboarded in a process similar to the basic onboarding process.  Onboarding a catalogue gives Catalogue operators the ability to onboard into EOSC multiple resources offered through their catalogue, regardless of whether those resources are provided by different providers.  That is, the individual providers from the catalogue do not need to register as providers and individually onboard their resources themselves – instead the catalogue operator can arrange for onboarding on their behalf.

As with other EOSC Resources, a Multi-Provider Catalogue is assumed to be operated by a specific entity (the Catalogue Operator), who would follow the instructions for Providers to first onboard themselves to EOSC as a Provider.  Then the Catalogue Operator would onboard their Catalogue (using the Catalogue Profile) to EOSC.  Upon successful onboarding, the Catalogue Operator will be informed of the Catalogue ID assigned by EOSC to its Catalogue.  

Once a Catalogue is onboarded, the Catalogue operator will then be able to onboard all or some of the resources listed in their own catalogue into the EOSC Resource Catalogue.  This can be done either manually (one by one) through the Service Providers Dashboard, or using the API onboarding procedures.  To ensure that the individual catalogue resources are properly marked as coming from the source catalogue, the Catalogue Operator should use the Catalogue ID provided by EOSC when the individual resources are onboarded – either manually or using the APIs. 

Since a given service or resource might be part of more than one catalogue, it is possible that onboarding all of the services from a given catalogue into EOSC may result in duplicated resource records in the EOSC Catalogue and Marketplace.  If this is a possibility, contact the Resource Catalogue team through the helpdesk to find the best way to handle this situation.

Even without onboarding a catalogue, it is possible for a Catalogue Operator to copy any resource records from the EOSC Resource Catalogue into their local catalogue, using the appropriate APIs.

Onboarding an Interoperability Guideline

Help and Feedback for Onboarding

If any difficulties arise in the onboarding process, contact EPOT by sending an email to onboarding@eosc-portal.eu or using the feedback option in the EOSC Service Providers Dashboard.