Is FEGA Sweden the right repository?

This page helps you make an initial assessment of whether FEGA Sweden is suitable for your data. It is a recommended check, not a formal requirement for creating a submission request.

Quick check

FEGA Sweden is usually suitable for data that meet all of the following:

Swedish research

The data come from Swedish human biomedical research.

Controlled access

The data are sensitive or otherwise require controlled access.

Reviewed requests

The data need to be shared only after an access request has been reviewed and approved.

If you are unsure whether your data fit, you can still create a submission request. The FEGA Sweden Helpdesk will help you assess the data and identify what needs to be clarified.

What types of data can FEGA Sweden receive?

FEGA Sweden is intended for sensitive human biomedical research data that require controlled access. We can receive several types of omics and related biomedical data, including sequence data, variants, phenotypes, and GWAS summary statistics.

Some data types fit directly into the metadata model used by the European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA) and FEGA Sweden. Other data types may still be possible to submit, but may need to be described using more general analysis metadata. This means that the level of support can vary depending on the data type.

Does my data require controlled access?

Sensitive personal data cannot normally be shared publicly due to legal and ethical constraints. FEGA Sweden makes it possible to share sensitive personal data under controlled access. Access is requested and decided through a formal procedure at the dataset level. Files in the same dataset therefore need to have compatible access conditions. If your data do not require controlled access, you should consider an alternative repository, such as the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA).

Is my data from a Swedish research project?

FEGA Sweden primarily hosts data from Swedish research projects. Contact the FEGA Sweden Helpdesk if you would like to discuss whether different parts of your data should be submitted to different repositories, or whether a project should be considered Swedish—for example, in an international collaboration.

How FEGA Sweden relates to EGA

FEGA Sweden is Sweden’s national node in the Federated European Genome-phenome Archive (FEGA). FEGA connects national services with the European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA).

Data files submitted through FEGA Sweden are stored in Sweden. Public descriptions of the data are published in EGA, where researchers can find datasets and request access. Sensitive data files remain under controlled access.

Some organisations choose FEGA Sweden to keep sensitive data files in Sweden and use Swedish arrangements for legal, data protection, and operational matters. The organisation responsible for the data must still make its own legal, data protection, and information security assessment. FEGA Sweden can explain the Swedish setup and help identify what needs to be clarified.

EMBL-EBI, one of the organisations behind EGA, is part of EMBL, an intergovernmental organisation. EMBL therefore has a legal status that differs from an organisation established under Swedish or other national law, including its own data-protection framework and certain privileges and immunities.

This does not mean that the protection of personal data is inadequate. However, an organisation considering direct submission to EGA needs to assess whether EGA’s non-negotiable Data Processing Agreement (DPA) and the related legal arrangements are acceptable.

Still unsure?

You can still create a submission request if you are unsure whether FEGA Sweden is suitable. FEGA Sweden will help you assess the data and identify what needs to be clarified during follow-up.