The latest SND Network meeting highlighted the development of local research data support functions (DAU) in the higher learning institutions. 15 out of 34 SND Network members presented progress reports for their local establishment activities and the network’s new DAU roadmap (“Roadmap för DAU: från start till full fart”).
This network meeting was the first virtual network meeting that SND has organised, and it gathered 118 participants from all over Sweden. It partly replaced the planned network meeting in March which, like many other events, was cancelled due to covid-19. In the virtual meeting, focus lay on the local functions for research data support (DAU) in the network HEIs, with the latest updates from several DAU, questions and shared experiences in the chat function. A new resource was also introduced as the SND Network's roadmap for DAU development.
A roadmap built on experience-sharing
The DAU roadmap takes its starting point from a workshop organised in the network meeting in Lund on 27 November last year. The workshop participants specified which activities and actions they think are part of establishing a research data support function. The intention is that this resulting roadmap should be used to support and inspire the four phases of the establishment process: start-up, early establishment, later establishment, and operating activities. The activities are described along a timeline, in order to show which elements are present and what may be worth considering during different stages of the DAU establishment process.
—You could say that the roadmap is a sort of checklist for the development process. It builds on an exchange of experiences, as the network keeps growing all the time. It’s good if those who have made some progress can share their experiences in a structured way. And it’s very important that the HEIs are involved; they're the ones who have started a DAU, not we in SND, says Sara Svensson, Research Data Advisor and one of the people who have managed the development of the SND network roadmap.
A simple model with several uses
One of the HEIs which has already started using the roadmap is Stockholm University. Sabina Anderberg, business developer and responsible for the university’s research data team, says that if the tool can also give a snapshot of what the support and operations look like locally, even if the mapping itself may take some time.
—It’s a good and simple model that can be used in a number of different situations. For one thing, we can use it in the DAU workgroup to check whether we have a common view and notion of our services and operations. But you can also use it in other groups in the HEI to describe their operations and how they're going ahead. In external situations you can use the model as a simple way of showing which kinds of services you provide and which types of questions you work with, and the status for each respective part, says Sabina Anderberg.
The road ahead with the SND network roadmap
The work with developing the DAU roadmap will continue. Next ahead is the task of gathering further comments from everyone in the network, and then to present an updated version.
