The Realities of Academic Data Sharing (RADS) Initiative has released an updated list of data management and sharing (DMS) activities researchers and institutional research support units may undertake to make their funded research data publicly available.
In November 2022, the RADS Initiative released the report, Public Access Data Management and Sharing Activities for Academic Administration and Researchers, including a list of Public-Access DMS Activities. With funding from an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership Grant, the RADS Initiative has entered its second phase, which includes this updated version of Public-Access DMS Activities. The RADS Initiative is managed by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in collaboration with the Data Curation Network (DCN).
The RADS team refined the Public-Access DMS Activities to incorporate feedback provided by stakeholders, including participants of the 2022 and 2023 RADS surveys and interviews, funder representatives, and participants in the Research Data Access & Preservation Association (RDAP) RADS activities webinar. Version 3 of the RADS Public-Access DMS Activities provides additional context and clarification regarding the purpose of the activities, introduces considerations for recurring activities within research projects, expands the definition of data to include various research outputs, and provides clarification of common terms used.
The RADS Public-Access DMS Activities may be useful for administrators as a foundation for conducting an institutional scan on research data management and sharing support services. These activities may also be helpful for researchers who need to assess their data sharing needs, budget for data management and sharing expenses, and establish early connections at their institution for project facilitation. For more information on how these resources may be utilized by administrators and researchers, see the ARL Views blog post “Navigating the Complex Landscape of Research Data Management and Sharing (DMS): DMS Activities from the RADS Initiative.”
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant LG-254930-OLS-23, and the National Science Foundation EAGER grant #2135874.
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of research libraries in Canada and the US whose vision is to create a trusted, equitable, and inclusive research and learning ecosystem and prepare library leaders to advance this work in strategic partnership with member libraries and other organizations worldwide. ARL’s mission is to empower and advocate for research libraries and archives to shape, influence, and implement institutional, national, and international policy. ARL develops the next generation of leaders and enables strategic cooperation among partner institutions to benefit scholarship and society. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.
About the Data Curation Network
The Data Curation Network (DCN) is a membership organization of institutional and nonprofit data repositories whose vision is to advance open research by making data more ethical, reusable, and understandable. Our mission is to empower researchers to publish high-quality data in an ethical and FAIR way, collaboratively advance the art and science of data curation by creating, adopting, and openly sharing best practices, and supporting thoughtful, innovative, and inclusive data-curation training and professional development opportunities. The Data Curation Network is based at the University of Minnesota and can be found online at datacurationnetwork.org.
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
