The SND office is launching a new project this autumn with the working title “Research Data – From Concept to Completion.” The purpose of this project is to highlight and clarify the roles and responsibilities connected to the lifecycle of research data; from the planning of a research project to the publication and dissemination of the project’s results. The project will kick off at SND’s network meeting in Stockholm on 16–17 October.
“This project will have a broad base and a strong focus on collaboration. The higher education institutions in the SND Network will, for example, be invited to participate in various working groups, and we will have a project group with both internal and external members. The SND steering group will act as project owner, and parts of the steering group will also serve as a reference group for the project,” says Eva Stensköld, Director of SND.
The idea to “Research Data – From Concept to Completion” emerged when SND staff visited the universities in the SND Consortium this spring. Several consortium universities expressed a desire for resources that clarify roles and responsibilities at the various stages of the research data lifecycle. An initial goal of the project is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research data support at Swedish HEIs. This overview will form the basis for an analysis of what is missing in the current system, what needs to function differently, and who should be responsible for these changes.
Mapping of responsibilities, requirements, and coordination
An important task of the project is to clarify and describe the laws and regulations associated with different stages of the research data lifecycle, who is responsible for each part, and what that responsibility entails. Some of the questions the project aims to explore are:
- How is responsibility divided between researchers, HEIs, and other authorities and organizations that are, in various ways, connected to research data management?
- What coordinating role does SND play in the Swedish research data landscape?
- How are responsibilities distributed between different roles within a typical HEI, such as researchers, research data support, legal departments, archives, IT services, and management?
- What does the international dimension look like? For example, what requirements does the EU Commission impose regarding research data management?
There are already several resources in the form of process mappings and similar materials in this area that the project will draw on. The hope is to also be able to highlight and collaborate with several of the HEIs that are actively working to develop various aspects of their research data support.
“We hope that ‘Research Data – From Concept to Completion’ will result in a form of visual representation of the roles and responsibilities associated with different parts of the research data lifecycle,” says Eva Stensköld.
The final product will provide guidance for the road ahead
The project’s final product will serve multiple purposes, including providing information to individual researchers and HEIs, or as a basis for planning initiatives and making changes to existing research data support.
“By mapping the current situation, we can get a picture of how Sweden’s e-infrastructure for research can be developed through coordination and organizational changes. We will also gain a clearer understanding of SND’s role and responsibilities in this new e-infrastructure landscape, which is particularly important in relation to our strategic direction for the coming years,” says Eva Stensköld.
The exact starting date of the project has not yet been determined, but work will begin in November as soon as an external project manager has been recruited.