The REDCap project lifecycle ends when a project is marked as completed. 

On this page we will discuss REDCap project closure, which is a component of the overall activities a research team must undertake as a part of ending a research protocol and associated data collected as a part of the protocol. Project closure is crucial for preserving data integrity and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and institutional privacy and security policies. Project teams should anticipate that their their REDCap project will close after data collection, cleaning, and analysis are fully complete, to prepare for the eventual de-activation of their project in the system when it gets marked as Completed by the REDCap Team. 

Additionally, projects created by study teams but abandon during the building process will be de-activated by the REDCap Team. A project is considered abandoned when there has been no logged activity, i.e. creating or updating records, exporting data, creating reports, running data quality rules, etc., for a year or more.

Topics Covered


Project Closure Activities

Closing a project involves securing the project's data and metadata for long-term storage and retention in a system the institution has approved for the preservation and storage of such materials. REDCap is not a dedicated archival system.. 

Securing the project's data and metadata is the responsibility of the project team. 

  • Securing this data and metadata involves exporting data or downloading files from the project.
  • Data refers to all records collected in the project, as well any files uploaded to individual records or stored in the project's File Repository.
  • Metadata refers to all the components that were built in the project for collecting data and managing data collection, including forms, surveys, survey settings, events, form assignments, reports, user roles, data quality rules, logging, etc.

For research teams that plan to include data from a closed project in a repository, or would like to use their project as a template for a repository, please let the REDCap Team know so we can coordinate with you on the next steps.

In REDCap, closing a project also de-activates it in the REDCap system, which takes the project offline and disables the project team's access to it. Although, project teams can initiate the de-activation of their own projects by marking them Complete, in general, the REDCap Team assumes the responsibility for project de-activation (see below under Project Closure Rules).


Tools and Rules for Project Closure

Project Closure Tools

There are a number of features/tools in every REDCap project that can be used in support of closure activities. You can find more information about these tools by reviewing documentation in your REDCap project. 

Data Exporting Tools

Metadata Exporting Tools

Statuses and Lifecycle Phases

  • Data Exports, Reports, Stats
    • Export data in various formats
    • Export full or sub-sets of data
    • Export identified or de-identified data
  • File Repository Download
  • XML Copy of Project with Metadata with Data
  • API Export
  • XML Copy of Project with Metadata only
  • XML Copy of Project with Metadata with Data
  • Download Metadata for Individual Components of the Project
    • Data Dictionary
    • Instrument Zips
    • Automated Survey Invitations
    • Survey Settings
    • Form Display Logic
    • Arms
    • Events
    • Forms to Event Assignments
    • User Roles
    • User Assignments
    • PDFs of forms (with or without data)
    • Alerts and Notifications
    • Logging file
  • API Export of components
  • Moving a project to the Analysis/Cleanup mode
    • This is optional and self-managed by the project team.
    • Analysis/Cleanup mode restricts some of the functionality related to data creation and making project setup changes so the team can focus on cleaning the data and preparing it for analysis.

  • Marking a project as Completed. 
    • This is carried out by REDCap Team as part of our routine monitoring activities for managing the application. See below under "Project Closure Rules."
    • Optionally, project teams can also mark their project as completed. Some teams choose to this as a standard part of their own operations when data analysis is complete and they've taken the steps to secure their data. 
    • Marking a project as completed takes  the project offline and shuts off access to it.

Project Closure Rules
The list below outlines the conditions that prompt the REDCap Team to mark a REDCap project as Completed through regularly scheduled activities: 

  • For research projects

    • IRB approval is terminated for study.
    • The project was never moved to production to collect real data and the study team abandoned the project build after a substantial period of inactivity.*

  • For non-research projects

    • The project team did not complete the annual renewal for the project.
      • Non-research projects are renewed annually, via collecting billing information for the annual fee for using REDCap for non-research projects.
      • The renewal period spans July and August of each fiscal year.
      • If billing information is not submitted by August 31st, the REDCap Team will mark the associated non-research project(s) Complete.
    • The project was never moved to production to collect real data and the project team abandoned the project build after a substantial period of inactivity.*
    • The project was moved to production, but the project has been inactive for a substantial period.*

A project is considered abandoned or inactive where there been no activity logged in the project, per the the project's Logging file, for a year or more. By no logged activity, we mean, no creating or updating records, no exporting data or metadata, no creating reports, running data quality rules, etc.

What Happens When a Project is Marked as Completed

Marking a Project as complete, takes a project offline and disables most of the functionality.

  • The project and its data will remain in the system but the project cannot be accessed.
    • No users, including a REDCap administrator, can log into the project.
    • Data cannot be exported.
    • File attachments and files uploaded cannot be exported.
    • Neither the data dictionary nor the project xml can be exported.
  • Only a member of the REDCap Team can return the project back to its previous status.


Restoring a Project

The REDCap Team may be able to help undo a completion and restore a project. The eligibility of a project to be restored is dependent on the status of the project before it was marked as Completed and other criteria as listed below:

Prior Project Status = Development

Development projects were never moved to production to collect real participant data before they were marked as Completed.

  • Research Project Requirements

  • Non-Research Project Requirements

    • Project hosting and data storage renewed for the current fiscal year.
    • There is a staff member who can take over as the point person who has completed Basics training.

Prior Project Status = Production

Production projects were moved to production to collect real participant data before they were marked as Completed. 

  • Research Project Requirements

    • IRB is not terminated or study team seeking an IRB continuance.
    • Study team has plans for including data from a closed project in a repository, or using their project as a template for a repository.
      • Help with this may included charges.
    • Project was using Standard Support for Research 
      • There is a staff member who can take over as the point person who has completed Basics training.
      • If this is a survey project, the staff member has also completed Survey training.
    • Project was using Self-Service Support for Research
      • There is a minimum charge of $500.

  • Non-Research Project Requirements

    • Project hosting and data storage renewed for the current fiscal year.
    • There is a staff member who can take over as the point person who has completed Basics training.
    • If this is a survey project, the staff member has also completed Survey training.

Requesting Project Restoration

To request restoring a project to its prior status, email the REDCap Team at redcap@ohsu.edu with the following information

  • Name of the project
  • Name of the study
  • IRB number
  • Name of the staff who will be the point person, if someone other than you will be acting as the point person
  • The use case for bringing the project back online