The ADS is a not-for-profit organisation hosted by the University of York (charitable status information). The ADS is financed through a combination of project funding and a depositor-charging policy.

The ADS is governed by a Management Committee made up of representatives of key stakeholders, funders, and users. The role of the Management Committee is to monitor progress and ensure that the ADS continues to work towards its strategic goals.

The ADS’s ongoing development is framed by a Five-Year Strategic Plan, which presents the shared vision statement for the ADS and Internet Archaeology. The purpose of this five-year plan is to define the aims for future development, ensure that the Vision Statement is realised, and that both the ADS and Internet Archaeology are adaptive and responsive to changes in internal and external environments.

The ADS publishes a downloadable annual report every year in October that details the activities carried out by ADS the preceding year.