The specifications maintained by the DILCIS Board fall broadly into three categories:
- Common Specification for Information Packages (CSIP)
- E-ARK SIP, E-ARK AIP and E-ARK DIP Specifications
- Content Information Type Specifications: ERMS, Geospatial data and SIARD (in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Archives).
The Common Specification provides the overall requirements that need to be met across all Information Packages (E-ARK SIP, E-ARK AIP or E-ARK DIP). Most crucially the Common Specification for Information Packages (CSIP) defines a common structure and core metadata requirements for any Information Packages. In other words: the CSIP defines the most crucial and generic Information Package interoperability aspects.
The E-ARK SIP, AIP and DIP build on the requirements posed in the CSIP but extend it with additional requirements coming from the appropriate processes (preparing and transferring digital content; long-term preservation; and access).
Further, any SIP, AIP or DIP can hold content in one or many content types (e.g. relational database, geospatial data, 3D model, software code). To allow for in-depth, content level, interoperability the data within an Information Package must be formatted according to a Content Information Type Specification.
