Synapsis: Privacy-aware Data Archiving and Stewardship

Researchers in the social sciences and humanities increasingly rely on audiovisual data to study complex human behaviours and social interactions. However, privacy is the main challenge to making research reproducible and data reusable; current practices for handling such data lag behind technological advances; and researchers perceive masking tools as too programming-heavy or hard to fit into workflows. 

Synapsis addresses these challenges by integrating the MaskAnyone toolkit into a user-friendly, cloud-based platform with SURF infrastructure (platform development); organising Masking School workshops to upskill researchers and data stewards; developing metadata standards and workflow guides with the community; and building partnerships for long-term support.