> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redivis.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.redivis.com/redivis-for-open-science/institutional-governance-and-stewardship.md). # Institutional governance and stewardship Redivis allows [institutions](/reference/institutions.md) to establish a shared environment for managing research data across libraries, research centers, laboratories, and other university units. Administrative responsibilities can be distributed across institution, organization, and dataset levels, allowing institutions to support centralized oversight while delegating day-to-day stewardship to the teams closest to the data. This structure can support consistent approaches to dataset ownership, documentation, access review, retention, and continuity across research projects. ## Flexible institutional governance With Redivis, institutions can: * **Create distinct administrative units**: Represent libraries, departments, research centers, laboratories, or data services as separate [organizations](/reference/organizations.md) within an institution. * **Delegate responsibility**: [Assign organization administrators](/guides/administer-an-organization.md), dataset owners, and editors without granting every contributor institution-wide administrative authority. * **Support institutional or individual stewardship**: Allow datasets to be managed by individual researchers or placed under shared organization ownership when long-term institutional oversight is appropriate. * **Establish documentation expectations**: Use shared [dataset, table, and variable documentation](/guides/create-and-manage-datasets/create-and-populate-a-dataset.md) tools to support institutional metadata and curation practices. * **Maintain visibility across services**: Use institution and organization-level administrative views, [logs, and reports](/guides/administer-an-organization/generate-a-report.md) to understand how data is managed and accessed. ## Continuity and stewardship Redivis can help institutions maintain responsibility for research data as projects and personnel change. [Organization-owned datasets](/reference/organizations/datasets.md) can be managed by multiple administrators, allowing stewardship to remain with the institution rather than depending entirely on one researcher. Institutions can [transfer dataset ownership](/reference/institutions/organizations.md) in supported circumstances as responsibilities evolve. These capabilities can support administrative transitions, research departures, long-running projects, shared data services, and continued stewardship beyond the end of a grant. Local policies determine when data should remain individually managed, when institutional ownership is more appropriate, and how access, documentation, licensing, and retention responsibilities should be transferred. Redivis's [data retention](/redivis-for-open-science/data-retention-policy.md) practices can support these broader stewardship decisions. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.redivis.com/redivis-for-open-science/institutional-governance-and-stewardship.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.