1. Research Data Management : a report on
Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities
Roadmap
Dr Amy Staniforth, Institutional Repository &
Metadata, AU
Dr Beth Hall, Academic Support Librarian, BU
Dr Michelle Walker, Repository and Research Data Manager, BU
Chris Drew, Deputy Head of the Strategic Alliance Office

2. Strategic Alliance:
- Established 2011 - Research and Enterprise Partnership
- Research Centres & Research and Enterprise Support
Research and Enterprise Support
Externally Facing (examples):
• Joint responses to consultations, branding of materials under the Services to
Business brand & joint approach to project development with third party
institutions and businesses
Internally Facing (examples):
• Joint Strategy for Innovation and Engagement, joint engagement with funders for
internal benefit (funder visits etc.), joint facilitation of Research development
collaboration across disciplines & institution &
• Research Data Management……

3. Research Data Management - initial drivers:
• Initially structured around EPSRC* requirements: Data register & system in place by
May 2015
• Harmonised policy: Need for new RDM policy to sit alongside existing policies (FOI, DP
etc.)
• Efficiency dealing with the Digital Curation Centre: Shared use of DCC time and advice
• Potential for cost sharing: Possible training costs shared, storage solution costs reduced
• Identifying potential solutions – range of input: Sharing of research into current status
of RDM, training needs, funders requirements, metadata schemas, workflows and
technical solutions.
* Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

4. RDM & the Strategic Alliance 1:
How do we work?
• Joint Working Party: senior managers from Research support, Library Services,
Policy teams, Information Services and Finance.
• Meet 3 times a year (ish) & subgroups on:
• Technical Solution,
• Metadata and Lifecycle Management,
• Training and Information Provision
• Compliance and governance
• Finance
• Policy
• Institutions make own decisions and recommendations come from joint efforts
of the working groups

5. RDM & the Strategic Alliance 2:
Examples of our work so far:
• Shared development of EPSRC Roadmap – for May 2015
• Email questionnaire and Data Asset Framework project – in depth interviews into
RDM practices based on training with DCC
• Institutional policies on RDM approved by senior management
• Sharing of research e.g. into funders requirements and metadata schemas
• Exploration of long term storage solutions such as Arkivum & Amazon
• Shared training development and planned DCC Train the Trainer event at Gregynog

6. Proposed RDM Workflow at Aberystwyth…(short term)
PURE Current Research Information System (CRIS)
• Staff complete a metadata record in PURE describing the data (Datacite schema)
• Mint DOI if needed via DataCite API (BL)
• Record gets sent through to Cadair like our research article records
• Record can be updated within PURE and DOIs or handles added later.
Cadair DSpace Repository
• PURE metadata records grouped together in Cadair to form a Data Register
• Research data is deposited in subject specialist repository or in Cadair to form a Data Store
• PURE record is updated with any new links to the above data

7. Proposed RDM Workflow at Bangor…(short term)
Repository:
• New EPrints repository, recently installed to replace DSpace, in June this year
• New Repository and Research Data Manager in post from June this year
• Investigating Recollect plug-in for managing research data metadata in EPrints
• Research data is deposited in a subject specialist repository wherever possible, with
ability to store in EPrints data sets that can’t be sent elsewhere
• Initially as a pilot, the Repository and Research Data Manager will upload metadata
and data into EPrints working alongside the researcher
CRIS:
• Current in-house CRIS does not have a portal
• Currently tendering for a new solution – aim to allow researchers to deposit their
research data directly into the Repository via a CRIS portal

8. Further Developments – BU and AU
Some Issues:
• Still very difficult to know how much
data will need depositing & describing
• Metadata standards and
interoperability capabilities still in
development and funders haven’t
identified required information
• How will we connect our CRIS portals to
our repositories? (AU will need to
update our PURE-DSpace connector)
(BU currently tendering for a new CRIS)
• Digital preservation area needs further
investigation
Possible solutions:
• Waiting to see how many projects
want/are required to describe and
deposit data
• AU working with PURE User group &
other PURE/DSpace users to develop
better fields and connector
• Waiting to see specific wider funder
requirements before leaping…
• Both BU and AU have recently
upgraded storage so in the short-term
we have some space for in & post-project
data
• Exploring idea of using Arkivum or
Amazon for longer term deep storage

9. AU & BU Training plans
• BU short RDM events in June 2014 suggests staff are interested but would like
further targeted sessions (email management, file types for digital preservation) .
BU also running a session in September for PG students. Slides available bilingually.
• Aim 1: to roll out a basic level of training (Winter 2014?) on data management
(best practice: not all on your memory stick, for example)
• Aim 2: to develop more bespoke support for disciplines and one-on-one contact
for project PIs, following development of internal technical solutions and
procedures
• Upcoming: DCC ‘Train the Trainer’ September 2014, for librarians, research office
staff and institute research support staff [many central services departments
involved…]

10. Hands on/hand-holding:
- Research data and access
requirements to it are much
more varied than research
publications so we anticipate
a lot of direct support in RDM
- This will hopefully enable
both better RDM and us to
gain a picture of what is out
there, and what risks it faces

11. Thank you
Contacts:
Dr Amy Staniforth – mws@aber.ac.uk / openaccess@aber.ac.uk
Dr Beth Hall - b.hall@bangor.ac.uk
Dr Michelle Walker - m.walker@bangor.ac.uk
Chris Drew - chd22@aber.ac.uk
business@aberbangorstrategicalliance.ac.uk