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PDF, English - main document Download (2MB) | Lizenz: Data Stewards as ambassadors between the NFDI and the community by von Suchodoletz, Dirk ; Krüger, Jens ; Mühlhaus, Timo ; Usadel, Björn ; Gauza, Holger ; Martins Rodrigues, Cristina underlies the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

Abstract

The slow adoption and dissemination of common standards, concepts of research data management and workflow services is still a hindrance to collaboration, data sharing and reuse as well as open science in many scientific communities. The NFDI consortium DataPLANT (https://nfdi4plants.de/) focusing on fundamental plant research envisions data stewards as a core element of its strategy for managing research data. Research groups will profit from direct support in their daily tasks ranging from data organization to the selection of the proper tools, workflows and standards. Data stewards play a special hinge role between service providers, individual researchers, groups and the wider community. They also help bridging the gap between researchers and technical systems. The coordinated deployment of data stewards supports the adherence to good scientific practice among the research community. DataPLANT came up with a dispatch model that initially focuses on the major research groups and prioritizes their demand through an initial survey. The approximately 10.000 available data steward hours - equivalent to 8 FTE - will be provided by eight experts recruited specifically for this purpose. For initial startup, each group or individual gets time equivalent to the amount of data. An application submitted through a survey, giving information on data, quantity, type and objectives of the research project, is gathered through a simple web form. The median of expected initial support is 100 hours per request. In the first assignment, the data stewards will help to implement the relevant organisational and computational workflows. To ensure quality standards and fair distribution of support, evaluation criteria for data steward requests will be applied: Initially for the first call comparably low hurdles are set. After a ramp up period, followed by an evaluation of the process, an adjustment of the distribution will get implemented if necessary. In further phases, the delivered, annotated and published data sets entitle participants for additional allowance for further support by data stewards. To ensure productivity, the applications will be evaluated according to a community agreed distribution. To grow with the demand from new participants and a broader adaptation of DataPLANT within the community, requests can be supported by co-funding from participants, new members or own personnel. Individuals with similar workplace descriptions are welcome to participate in the data steward team and board. They provide the research groups with the necessary expertise and can help to acquire newly funded projects as well as junior scientists. If future collaborative research centres and similar project proposals plan for personnel and infrastructure services directly contributing to the NFDI, a sustainable financing and reimbursement model can be created, beneficial for the broader community. Small projects can then receive qualified support from a range of experts according to their contribution. Data stewards in large projects do not work on their own, but get integrated into a broadly qualified team working on cutting-edge research of the field.