This deliverable describes the development of resource-level discovery within EPND, enabling researchers to identify cohorts, datasets and biosample collections through structured metadata. Prepared by Work Package 1, the report documents the EPND Catalogue, its supporting metadata models, and a remote demonstrator developed to test metadata exchange and federated discovery.

The metadata framework was organised into bronze, silver and gold tiers, allowing contributors to provide progressively more detailed information. Bronze-level metadata support initial cohort onboarding with basic descriptive information. The silver model extends this description to associated datasets and biosample collections, including their characteristics and access conditions. A gold tier, under development at the time of reporting, was intended to provide further detail, including dataset field lists and aggregated information.

The framework draws on the W3C Data Catalog Vocabulary (DCAT). Its tiered structure was designed to reduce the initial burden on cohort owners while supporting richer descriptions as their participation develops. At the reporting stage, more than 70 cohorts had been onboarded at bronze level, exceeding the deliverable’s target of 30, with approximately one-fifth transitioning to silver level.

The report documents phased implementation of the EPND Catalogue, including registration and multifactor authentication, search and filtering, study and resource detail pages, and self-service tools for cohort owners to create and edit metadata. It also describes single sign-on with the AD Workbench and support for recording digital use conditions.

A separate EPND Silver Node, developed using BMD Software’s Montra framework, demonstrated metadata sharing through a REST application programming interface and basic Beacon-v2 discovery functionality. These developments tested the feasibility of exchanging metadata across services while retaining management responsibilities at contributing sites.

The deliverable establishes the metadata-based discovery capabilities on which subsequent work on federated discovery and access requests could build.

For more information, find the full Deliverable report here.