Editorial commentary
‘WDS certification’ refers to two different things depending on the period. Before 2017, the World Data System (WDS) ran its own certification process for its Regular Members and Network Members, evaluating the operations of scientific-data centres directly. From 2017, WDS folded that certification function into the merged CoreTrustSeal scheme, formed jointly with the Data Seal of Approval — WDS no longer runs a separate, independent certification track of its own.
What WDS is today
WDS continues to operate as a coordinating and networking body for data-stewarding scientific organisations, under the International Science Council (ISC, formed from the 2018 merger of ICSU and the International Social Science Council). It maintains its membership categories — Regular Members and Network Members — and its role in identifying and connecting trustworthy data services across disciplines, but the certification judgment itself now runs through the shared CoreTrustSeal process rather than a WDS-specific assessment.
The practical relationship to CoreTrustSeal
Many WDS Regular Members today hold CoreTrustSeal certification, reflecting WDS’s continued emphasis on certified trustworthiness as part of what its membership represents. A repository holding ‘WDS certification’ in any current sense should be understood as holding CoreTrustSeal certification with a WDS membership/network affiliation layered on top — not a certification distinct from CoreTrustSeal, and not a track a repository can pursue independently of it post-2017.
What it is not
WDS membership by itself, absent CoreTrustSeal certification, is not equivalent to certified trusted-repository status — membership and certification are related but distinct claims, and the historical, pre-2017 WDS certification process described in older literature no longer operates.
References
- Mokrane M., Wyborn L., ‘CoreTrustSeal: A trusted source for trusted digital repositories’, International Journal of Digital Curation 13(1), 2018.
- See also: CoreTrustSeal, trusted digital repository.
Also known as
WDS certification · ICSU-WDS certification
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
<role vocab="credit"
vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="World Data System certification"
vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/wds-certification" />{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/wds-certification",
"name": "World Data System certification",
"identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/wds-certification",
"description": "World Data System certification refers to two different things depending on the period. Before 2017 the World Data System ran its own certification process for its Regular and Network Members, evaluating the operations of scientific-data centres directly. From 2017 WDS folded that certification function into the merged CoreTrustSeal scheme, formed jointly with the Data Seal of Approval. A repository described as WDS-certified on the basis of an assessment after 2017 therefore holds CoreTrustSeal, not a separate WDS credential.",
"inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/data-infrastructure#set",
"url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/wds-certification",
"sameAs": [
"WDS certification",
"ICSU-WDS certification"
],
"license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"publisher": {
"@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
},
"author": {
"@id": "https://casrai.org/#editorial-team"
},
"datePublished": "2026-05-21T02:17:38",
"dateModified": "2026-08-23T20:57:24",
"inLanguage": "en-GB",
"isAccessibleForFree": true
}
