The value and usability of any database depends upon, amongst other things, the data quality, its trustworthiness, the data vintage, and the frequency by which the data are verified and added. A database that does not have a sustained input is destined to become obsolete and progressively abandoned by its users. 

Why should an external researcher contribute their data and models to the database? Firstly, each contributor will be able to tap into a wealthy database of functions for their own research work. Furthermore, the EPICentre MVDat community is a platform to disseminate one’s research to users (insurance industry and others) and achieve greater impact. 

What are the benefits for our contributors and users?
- access to large volumes of vulnerability data contributed by others, by accessing a single place (as opposed to multiple scientific journals) where data are organised and presented in a standardised manner for easier comparison.

- access to vulnerability data and models that are not published in the international literature, or which are not published in English, but that are contributed to the database directly by the author. Such models are typically very difficult to track and can be extremely useful, particularly in areas of the world where vulnerability data is scarce (e.g., in LMIC)

- download data to conduct tailored analytics on the vulnerability data and models that are useful for risk model validation/creation. 

- the “power of the community” may instigate more collaborative research and promote the inception of satellite projects. 

- for the contributors, the database increases impact of the authors’ research, which becomes available to a larger number of users. Analytics are produced on users' interest (e.g., number of downloads)

- the contributors have also access to a multi-tiered rating (e.g., gold, silver, bronze) which flags to the community the most active contributors for each topic of research