22 July 2024
For the first time, a German federal state is using RADAR, FIZ Karlsruhe’s research data repository, to centrally and sustainably manage research data across its universities. The repository will be part of the joint project "Institutionalized and Sustainable Research Data Management in Brandenburg" (IN-FDM-BB), hosted at the University of Potsdam and available to all public universities in Brandenburg.
Effective research data management (RDM) relies heavily on cross-institutional cooperation. This has been exemplified by the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) network and other regional networks. Brandenburg’s new initiative, IN-FDM-BB, includes the state's eight research universities. By pooling expertise from these institutions, the network facilitates robust content-related and infrastructural exchanges.
IN-FDM-BB has chosen the RADAR repository, which is widely recognized across Germany for its comprehensive RDM functionalities tailored to researchers’ needs. This choice allows the project to focus on building local expertise at individual universities, enhancing reach, and fostering networking and knowledge transfer between research institutions. It also marks the first statewide deployment of joint IT and RDM services across multiple universities.
RADAR will serve as a cross-disciplinary archiving and publishing service for research data, particularly when no suitable subject-specific repository exists. FIZ Karlsruhe is establishing a local RADAR instance at the University of Potsdam, operated exclusively on the university's IT infrastructure. This setup includes developing new functionalities to meet project requirements, ensuring flexibility for all Brandenburg partner universities. Each university can adapt the repository as needed and showcase its research output with customized data publication lists.
The Brandenburg-wide RDM solution will be officially presented at the 25th annual conference of the German Initiative for Network Information (DINI) e.V. on September 18-19, 2024, at the University of Potsdam. Representatives from FIZ Karlsruhe and the University of Potsdam will showcase this pioneering model for cooperative and sustainable research data management in a workshop. Interested participants can register for the conference by August 26, 2024.