1. ____________________
Dr. Natalie Harrower
Director, Digital Repository of Ireland
@natalieharrower
DRI, RDA and Ireland
RDA-NORF workshop on Open Research Data
Friday 8th September 2017

2. Ireland and RDA:
Events, Participation, Coordination
@natalieharrower

3. • Local hosts for 3rd Plenary in March 2014
• Co-organised with Australian RDA
(ANDS)

4. Irish participants in RDA: 130 individuals
7%
54%8%
23%
8%
Growth over the years
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Global members: 6,070
Individuals from 130 countries
50% from Europe
RDA Third Plenary Meeting, Dublin, Ireland
26 to 28 March 2014
Figure: Timea Biro

5. Irish participants: breakdown by profession
Journalist/Editor/Copywriter
1%
Policy
development
manager/Policy
Consultant
2%
Advisor/Consultant
2% CEO/Managing
Director/Chief Executive
2%
Student
12%
IT Specialist/IT Architect
8%
Librarian
11%
Professor
3%
Programme Manager/Project
Manager
8%
Other
16%
Researcher
35%
Figure: Timea Biro

6. Irish participants: breakdown by organisation type
Figure: Timea Biro
2%
1%
2% 2% 1% 4%
6%
82%
Press and Media Policy/Funding Agency
Large Enterprise IT Consultancy/Development
Small and Medium Enterprise Other (please specify) - obligatory
Government/Public Services Academia/Research

7. Why is DRI part of RDA?
• Global alignment of best practices in data sharing and
reuse. Interoperability, beyond geo-boundaries
• Can be part of shaping outcomes
• Networks of experts in data science, data curation, data
archiving, data preservation, data policy, research data
• Continual connection and awareness at the European &
Global levels to emerging research, trends, policies
• Access to collaborators, funding opportunities
• Grassroots working groups with governmental and funder
support @natalieharrower

8. RDA Europe role
• Coordination and support activities are funded by the EU
• Ireland involved in RDA3 and RDA4
• Two Irish partners: DRI and NLI
• Focus is on library, archives, and digital humanities areas
• RDA3 (2015-2018): work packages in practitioner training,
communications, and policy advocacy
• RDA4 (2018-2020): DRI leading Ambassador Programme;
NLI serving as National node
@natalieharrower

9. Adoption of RDA Outputs
• DFT Core data model (PIDs on publication, widely
accepted metadata standards, certification of TDR,
checksums, and FAIR data compliant)
• DSA/WDS integrated approach to repository certification
(2017)
• Metadata Standards Directory (eg. Dublin Core)
• In progress: RDA/WDS Publishing data
@natalieharrower

10. How does DRI align with RDA pursuits?
Four key aspects to DRI’s work:
1. Trusted digital repository – long term data preservation,
access, reuse
2. Education & Outreach
3. Research active: projects, technologies, publications
4. Advocacy, community building, policy input
@natalieharrower

11. Trusted Digital Repository
• A national data infrastructure
• Certified (DSA 2015; renewal in progress)
• Long-term digital preservation, access, discovery
• Ireland’s social and cultural data (digital collections)
• Humanities, Social Sciences, Arts (research data)
• Curated collections; cross-searchable metadata
• Open Source, Open Access (minimum: open MD)
@natalieharrower

12. Education & Outreach
• Ongoing training in data prep, digital collections,
metadata and ingestion
• Collaborative events (e.g. CC licences & Wikimedia)
• Conferences & workshops (DPASSH; EOSC visit)
• International conferences (OR, PASIG)
• Guest lectures, internships, service-learning
collaborations
@natalieharrower

13. Research active
• Research Projects
• Official Samvera partners
• Implementation of new protocols (e.g IIIF)
• Code is open source, on git-hub
• Publications in journals, conference presentations
• Series of guidelines, reports, fact sheets
@natalieharrower

14. Publications

15. Metadata Guidelines

16. Research Projects
• Digital Cultural Heritage Platform with
custom front end
• Data preserved in DRI and pulled via API
• Atlantic Philanthropies Archives Project
• Collaboration with Cornell University
Library towards interoperable metadata,
shared standards, PIDs
• Research Data Management in DRI
• Started as DAH legacy project for complex
digital arts and humanities data types
• Continues with requirements specification
phase over next 12 months

17. Advocacy, networks, policy input
• OECD Global Science Forum: Sustainable Business Models for Data Repositories
• Open Repositories 2016 (TCD HPC hosts)
• PASIG 2017 Programme Committee (Sept 2017, Oxford)
• Hydra/Samvera Official Partners
• DARIAH Ireland Steering Committee
• Chair ALLEA e-Humanities Working Group
• Digital Preservation Coalition, Comms & Advocacy Committee
• Research Data Alliance Europe Project (H2020)
• DPASSH 2017 at Sussex University (June 2017)
• Hosted first EOSC Chair national visit event (Barend Mons, June 2016)

18. How can we facilitate truly open research?
• National infrastructures that are properly supported so they can
continue to serve changing research. Ease of access to these.
• Grant models that encourage and support the entire data life-cycle –
e.g. data preservation as allowable cost
• Data deposit, preservation, open access mandated by funders
• Experts to review DMPs
• Interoperable data that is FAIR and follows international standards
• Copyright reform that reflects current digital realities
• Recognition of data stewards in the research ecosystem
• Recognition of data efforts by researchers (e.g. in promotion & review)
• Widespread training in data management as well as education about the
value of openness and sharing
@natalieharrower