Multi-Criteria Decision Model for Semi-Automatic Validation and Evaluation of Candidate Objects: OPEN-ARK Project Charter Annex

This annex to the OPEN-ARK Project Charter specifies a semi-automatic multi-criteria decision model for validating and evaluating deposits of architectural, urban and spatial research objects (3D models, point clouds, GIS data, drawings and their documentation) in an InvenioRDM-based repository. The model sorts each deposit into one of three outcomes: automatic acceptance, curator review, or return to the depositor with an automatically generated list of correctable gaps. Six automatically measured technical criteria (format openness, metadata completeness, georeference, geometry integrity, machine-readable licence and documentation) are combined with a short qualitative self-assessment by Simple Additive Weighting, with weights to be elicited through AHP swing comparisons. Non-compensatory gates for personal data and third-party rights precede the aggregation. Automatic acceptance additionally requires a licence, a confirmed location and intact files, so the system may accept a deposit on its own but never reject one without a person involved. The document explains why an additive value model suits this sorting problem, how it relates to outranking sorting methods and to DEX, and how each component maps onto native InvenioRDM mechanisms. It reports a pilot evaluation on a student-produced package documenting the Jože Plečnik Gymnasium building in Ljubljana and adds three worked scenarios, a developer implementation guide, and governance provisions for calibration and auditability. Implementation is planned for the build-up phase of a thematic EOSC Node. OPEN-ARK (Open Academic and Research Infrastructure in Key Creative Domains) is a preparatory action funded within the EOSC Gravity cascading grants (EOSCGRAVITY-PREP-2026-013-OPEN-ARK).