It is difficult to write that headline. After nearly four years of hard work, worry, setbacks, triumphs, weariness, and exultation, the SCAPE project is finally coming to an end.
I am convinced that I will look back at this period as one of the highlights of my career. I hope that many of my SCAPE colleagues will feel the same way.
I believe SCAPE was an outstanding example of a successful European project, characterised by
- an impressive level of trouble-free international cooperation;
- sustained effort and dedication from all project partners;
- high quality deliverables and excellent review ratings;
- a large number of amazing results, including more software tools than we can demonstrate in one day!
I also believe SCAPE has made and will continue to make a significant impact on the community and practice of digital preservation. We have achieved this impact through
- scalability improvements on existing tools, for example Plato, and Fedora 4;
- new scalable tools like nanite, Hawarp, and C3PO;
- new tools for quality control like Jpylyzer, xcorrSound, and Matchbox;
- APIs for repository interoperability;
- dozens of Taverna workflows and Hadoop-based workflows;
- documented best practices;
- a catalogue of preservation policies and advances in policy-based planning with Plato;
- advances in automated preservation watch with SCOUT;
- a high degree of take-up of project results at partner institutions and beyond.
I would like to thank all the people who contributed to the SCAPE project, who are far too numerous to name here. In particular I would like to thank our General Assembly members, our Executive Board/Sub-project leads, the Work Package leads, and the SCAPE Office, all of whom have contributed to the joy and success of SCAPE.
Finally, I would like to thank the OPF for ensuring that the SCAPE legacy will continue to live and even grow long after the project itself is just a fond memory.
It's been a pleasure folks. Well done!
