The current phase of PSDI, Phase 2, which started in January 2024 continues to build upon the work carried out in The Pilot and Phase 1 of the project. The PSDI initiative is funded through EPSRC DRI funding (EP/X032701/1 and EP/X032663/1).
This phase of PSDI started during the second half of the initial 30-month development (started in Phase 1) leading to the initial launch of the PSDI platform in March 2025. PSDI will then continue in a dual mode, maintaining the operational services and continuing development to provide further services.
Work Packages
The work is structured across seven work packages, covering technical elements, content and social aspects of the project, including Gateway development, secure infrastructure management, data services, content integration, governance, project management, and community building. The image below outlines the key aspects of each work package.
Phase 2 also introduces nine pathfinder projects in areas like experimental data capture, computational workflows, and advanced materials processing. These projects aim to create exemplar systems for future PSDI expansions, supporting diverse data types, techniques, and user communities in the physical sciences.
WP1. Gateway
This work package was responsible for the front-end services available through PSDI. It developed and continues to operate the User Gateway through which users interact with PSDI, the PSDI knowledgebase, the user authentication system and the Administration Gateway through which the system is managed.
WP2. Platform
This work package was responsible for delivering and operating the scalable and secure hardware and system software platform, upon which the PSDI services run
- It specified, procured and installed the hardware
- Install and maintain the operating systems and process access to PSDI development and production areas in the cloud environment
- Maintain the data storage and database systems, including object storage, data movement and data backup.
WP3. Data Services
This work package was responsible for service definition, development and extension of some of the core PSDI services. This includes services for Data Indexing, cross data search, scientific workflow systems connected to external data services, and auxiliary services such as ELN finder and data format conversion. Work has also been undertaken on defining data services that will be released later in 2025 such as containerised software images, data transfer, synchronisation and sharing. You can find our initial services in the services view of the resource catalogue.
WP4. Content
Alongside providing services a key component of PSDI is to surface and connects data for use by researchers. This section will be a growing area for PSDI as we look to onboard additional data resources from across the commnunity and integrate these into our services. PSDI provides access from three different types of source:
- External (open)
- Internal (data generated by our pathfinders)
- Licensed data
Many of these data sources are available through our data search service, although not all of the data sources are able suitable for integration at this stage. You can explore some of the other data sources that are currently available through the data source view of our catalogue of what we provide. This work package was concerned with developing the partnerships, systems and processes to promote the growth and connectivity of these different types of data collections.
WP5. Governance
The governance work package ensures a cohesive project that:
- Meets the aims of the DRI programme
- Is responsive to the community
- Adheres to the principles of public life in the use of public funds
The investigators, through the Management Board, provide the executive roles responsible for the PSDI functions, and the Advisory Board provides national and international community perspectives. Find out more on our governance page and our advisory board page.
WP6. Management
Effective management is critical in coordination of this complex endeavour to deliver a functional national data infrastructure. This work package focused on oversight and coordination of day-to-day project operations, ensuring that task work proceeds in an efficient and timely manner to produce deliverables. This included regular project meetings for reporting, reviewing and planning future work. Alongside this new processes were developed to document success criteria for services in development and change management processes for ensuring changes to operational services are carried out in a low-risk manner.
WP7. Community
In this and future phases, PSDI must grow from being an exemplar set of data resources, tools and services to become a fully-fledged ecosystem, providing support across the physical sciences domain and integrate with DRI projects in other domains.
This requires advocacy, engaging with existing communities and nurturing new communities, to define and promote the necessary coverage and utility. Work package 7 focuses on engaging with that diverse community has successfully begun the fostering of community through building a communication and engagement strategy. We have hosted a variety of events and requirements gathering discussions across many different groups and will continue to run many more going forward. (See our events page to keep up to date)
Alongside running events and engaging with the community we are developing ways in which we can share knowledge across the community in the form of training and guidance. Read more about what we are doing in this area in the guidance section and training section of our knowledgebase!
Phase 2 Pathfinders
Pathfinders focused development activity in key strategic areas and explored and established exemplar approaches and systems that can be folded into the PSDI infrastructure and act as a template or starting point to bring in further domains, data types, techniques and user communities in future phases. Some of these pathfinders have produced resources that are available in the initial release of PSDI and these can be browsed through our resource catalogue.
Several of the Phase 2 pathfinders built upon case study work from Phase 1, with several new partners joining PSDI. Phase 2 currently has 9 pathfinders,
- PF1: Experimental Data Capture
- PF2: Process Recording
- PF3: Building Data Collections
- PF4: Data Infrastructure and Tooling for Biomolecular Simulation
- PF5: Data to Knowledge
- PF6: Collaborative Computational Project for NMR Crystallography
- PF7: Reproducible Computational Workflows
- PF8: Data-capture for advanced metals processing
- PF9: Predictive outcomes for materials selection
More information about these pathfinders can be found on the Phase 2 Pathfinders Page.