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Catalysts of Change: Honouring the DMPonline Community's Contributions
Four years after our tenth anniversary, we extended a warm invitation to the wider community to join us in celebrating DMPonline and its significant contributions to the research data management community. This event was a testament to the collaborative spirit of DMPonline, involving our subscribers, partners, and the broader research data management community. The day was filled with insightful talks, recognition of community members, networking opportunities, and a shared goal of empowering professionals in the field.
The day was divided into two parts. The morning session included talks from our direct collaborators, such as the RDA community and our subscribers. In the afternoon, we welcomed the broader research data management community with which we collaborate.
If you are interested in the full playlist from the day, the playlist can be accessed below:
In this blog post, I summarise the talks from the day.
Opening Insights
We started the day with an opening talk introducing the Digital Curation Centre and DMPonline, based at the University of Edinburgh and Glasgow. DMPonline is a free research tool for creating, reviewing, and sharing data management plans. Our current goals include:
- Keeping up with field developments.
- Ensuring tool interoperability.
- Aligning with standards for open science.
Our dedicated software developers unveiled a range of new features designed to enhance the user experience. These include question identifiers for easy navigation, automated project details completion for time-saving, Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for Research Outputs for better data tracking, and integration with ROR (Research Organisation Registry) for comprehensive data management.
Looking ahead, we are committed to further enhancing DMPonline. Our upcoming developments include a plan creation wizard for simplified use and improvements to the feedback function for better user engagement. We also provided dates for upcoming user group meetings, ensuring continuous support and collaboration within our community.
Watch the recording below:
DMP Collaboration in Finland: Grant ID
Mari-Elisa Kuusniemi, Information Specialist, University of Helsinki and Soile Manninen, Information Specialist, University of Helsinki
Soile Manninen, an Information Specialist from the University of Helsinki, discussed the DMPTuuli national service for Finland. They became DMPonline subscribers in 2015, creating a national DMP template and continuously updating guidance. They attributed their success to building a strong community with many volunteers. The tool had annual national funding until 2021, and the DMP Consortium was established to enable long-term research community collaboration. Soile also emphasised collaboration with DMPonline, where new feature suggestions are well-considered and potentially benefit everyone using the tool.
Watch the recording below:
Evolution of DMP Tools
Tomasz Miksa, Senior Scientist at TU Wien & SBA Research
Tomasz Miksa has extensive experience with DMPs and has played a vital role in developing Machine Actionable Data Management Plans (maDMPs). In his presentation, he discussed the changes in DMP tools over the past decade and their future. Back then, only a few funders required DMPs, FAIR principles were not in place, and open access was gaining traction. Ten maDMP principles were established but lacked guidance for researchers and were not aligned with specific templates or funders.
The aim of maDMPs is to create structured, living documents that gather information across systems and facilitate validations. This involves establishing RDM workflows, data management infrastructure, and adhering to a common standard. DMP tools have embraced this approach, allowing easier exchange of information with systems like Zenodo and ORCiD.
Today, FAIR principles demand machine actionability, making DMPs a common funder requirement with increased research support. Tomasz suggested exploring connecting data management plans to other tools and ensuring their FAIRness.
The evaluation of DMPs has evolved, offering two alternatives for assessment.
Tomasz concluded that while progress has been made, work still needs to be done, such as improving DMP evaluation and further standardisation.
Watch the recording below:
Research data management at TU Delft and how DMPonline fits in
Richard Grimes, Data Steward, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, TUDelft, Deepshikha Purwar, Library Data Steward, TUDelft and Yan Wang, Head Research Data and Software TUDelft
The discussion covered the five layers of FAIR data support at TU Delft, RDM training, data stewardship coordination, and the RDM support ecosystem at TU Delft. The team at TUDelft consists of 13 data stewards and one coordinator who works directly with the library. They provide advice, DMP review, and training to researchers. The data stewards facilitate the workflow for managing new projects and collaborate with various department needs. Additionally, they provide administrative support, including privacy and compliance management. DMPs are required for every research project at TUDelft and serve as a reference document for internal support services.
Watch the recording below:
AI in data management and its potential impact on the field
Nina Lewin, Oxford Brooks University, Taariq Surtee, University of Wits
Nina Lewin and Taariq Surtee's opinion piece raised concerns about AI's impact on data management, focusing on data management plans (DMPs), copyright, and authorship. The authors discussed challenges and potential implications, advocating for closer control over AI use and customised AI tools to address these issues. The authors emphasised the need for proactive decision-making within the research community.
Watch the recording below:
Enhancing DMPs for Management of Intellectual Assets by SMART-metrics
Frederico Grasso Toro, Data Steward, University of Bern
In the 1960s, DMPs started with a focus on data management advice and professional training, expanding to various research fields today. Managing intellectual assets like patents, copyrights, and trademarks is crucial for knowledge valorisation.
Enhanced DMPs should aid in planning and executing open science, utilising innovative metrics and technology readiness levels (TRLs) to assess intellectual properties. Researchers should be taught to describe their intellectual assets in DMPs, ensuring the plan is updated as TRLs evolve.
The use of Gantt charts and the FAIR approach (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) are crucial for managing assets, requiring machine readability. Lastly, recording in DMPs and reporting after the project's completion is essential for evaluation by the funder.
Watch the recording below:
Latest in the field, a general overview of developments in a Horizon Europe project: Skills4EOSC
Dominique Green, Training Lead, DCC
DCC is a part of several national and international level projects. One of those is Skills4EOSC. Dominique Green presented this project which is funded by the European Commission Horizon Europe programme and UKRI (UK Research and Innovation). Skills4EOSC’s core objective is to advance Open Science (OS) skills by creating a unified training ecosystem. The project addresses three identified gaps in the EOSC Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda in relation to OS competences: lack of OS and data expertise, lack of a clear definition of data professional profiles and corresponding career paths and fragmentation in training resources.
The project structure is divided into three themes: mapping and methodology, upskilling/training, and engagement. DCC participates in all areas of the project, leading the work package dedicated to mapping and methodology. This set of work is focused on defining relevant OS roles and producing a catalogue of the minimum set of skills needed for various EOSC actors, including researchers and those who support researchers in OS; developing a FAIR-by-design methodology for trainers and other learning material creators to ensure that training materials are created with the FAIR guiding principles in mind; developing a quality assurance framework for OS professional training and qualifications; and proposing a framework by which to recognize trainers.
The project’s objectives are pursued via the coordination of national and regional activities. Skills4EOSC aims to build a coordination network of Competence Centres for Open Science, FAIR and EOSC in Europe, which will provide key competencies to enable the practice of OS. On 20 September 2024, DCC will take the steps toward structuring the UK Competence Centre. Stakeholders and representatives from various institutions and thematic communities are invited to frame the coordination of OS training, resources and materials for the UK to ensure it is the most beneficial for UK researchers and those who support researchers.
Looking ahead, the project is set to conclude in August 2025, and the plans include delivering training for trainers, strengthen the competence centre network, maintaining engagement with EOSC and ensuring the project's sustainability and impact across the open science community. More information about the project can be found at https://www.skills4eosc.eu/.
Watch the recording below:
Summary of ESRC findings
Angela Daly, PI of ESRC Data Policy Review, Professor, University of Dundee & Maeve Malone, Lecturer in Law, University of Dundee
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC's) Research Data Policy Review found that the current policy was valid, but it needed to adapt to changes like GDPR, Brexit and other changes since the last review. The review suggested 19 recommendations, focusing on updating the policy's aims, implementing developments, aligning policies, and addressing specific areas needing further work. One key aspect is the recommendation to retain and rework Data Management Plans (DMPs) to ensure researchers are aware of their importance and to revisit them when deviating from the original data plan.
Watch the recording below:
Wrap-Up and Future Directions
DMPonline Team
During the wrap-up, we were reminded of our current priorities and the focus on integration, which will help reduce the time and encourage users to return to DMP, making it less of a chore. We reiterated the importance of enhancing user and customer support through the interface and feedback functionality. We also discussed forthcoming events.
Watch the recording below:
We want to hear from you
We value your input and are eager to hear from you. If you have any suggestions, comments or ideas please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at dmponline at dcc.ac.uk
If you would like to take part in our and user groups see forthcoming meetings on our page https://www.dcc.ac.uk/dmponline/community