EVN Data Access Policy

14 May 2004

The policy described below will come into force on 1 June 2004.

It is the policy of the European VLBI Network's (EVN) Consortium Board of Directors (CBD) that the investigators named on an EVN or global VLBI proposal have the sole right of access to the data obtained for that proposal for 12 months after the distribution of the data to the PI. If the proposal comprises multiple observations (i.e., separately scheduled experiments in one or more network or ad-hoc sessions), then the 12 month period begins from the distribution of the final experiment associated with the proposal. For proposals fully distributed prior to 1 June 2004, the 12 month period begins from that date. Following this proprietary period, the data will be publicly accessible.

One month prior to the public release of new data, JIVE will inform the PI of the proposal, at the last known address, about the impending action. Under exceptional circumstances the PI can request a short delay in the release date. All such requests should be made to the Chairman of the EVN Programme Committee.

It is the intention of the CBD that all data correlated at the EVN Data Processor at JIVE, will be placed into the EVN archive. This archive will contain the raw FITS format data, calibration tables, various diagnostic plots, calibrated visibility data and, when possible, pipelined images. The images will be preliminary; in many cases further editing, self-calibration, or other refinements may be required to bring out particular features of interest. All data and images will be FITS format.

The archive will be populated in two stages:

1. Immediately after correlation, the archive for a particular project will include for all sources (including the targets): correlator diagnostic plots, ANTAB & UVFLG files and the a-priori amplitude calibration (CL) table. Plots and further CL (SN) tables generated by the pipeline (including fringe-fitting results) will all be downloadable. In this first stage, images of the calibrator sources will be generated but images of target sources will not be made without the expressed consent of the PI. JIVE will ask the PI prior to correlation how to treat each source in the schedule. Calibrated visibilities for the calibrator(s) but not the target(s) will also be made available.
2. Once the proprietary period elapses, images of the target will also be generated (where possible) and this, together with the calibrated visibilities of the target, will be made publicly available within the EVN archive.

If you or your colleagues subsequently publish or use EVN data, including that obtained from the EVN archive, we request that you use the standard EVN acknowledgment: 'The European VLBI Network is a joint facility of European, Chinese, South African and other radio astronomy institutes funded by their national research councils.'