What is the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI)?

Research data are of inestimable value. They empower research, offer new perspectives and advance knowledge. Today, research results are increasingly achieved by drawing on existing research data. For this reason research results should be transparent and reproducible in order to be reusable. However data are currently often stored decentrally only stored temporarily, not well described with metadata and of varied quality. In addition, there is a lack of processes to assess data quality.

00:48 - So there’s a need for better research data management. What is the current situation in Germany regarding research data management? Research is conducted at universities and research performing organizations or RPOs. Universities often have their own research data repositories and implement policies for research data management. Major RPOs are the Helmholtz Association, the Leibniz Association the Max Planck Society and the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. Helmholtz develops and operates complex and large scale research infrastructures thus generating huge sets of scientific big data.

01:36 - Moreover, it operates some of the largest HPC systems in Europe. Leibniz provides information infrastructures, research-based services, resources and social infrastructures. Max Planck has large computing and data facilities. Fraunhofer offers data services as well as industrial data space. Furthermore there are numerous locally based and discipline specific services and infrastructures. As you can see there is a wide range of research data services in Germany. To make the most of research data there is a need to federate all the existing research data services. Therefore, a national research data infrastructure, the NFDI, is being developed. The NFDI aims to build upon and federate existing infrastructures. The vision for the NFDI is very simple. Research data sets should be FAIR: findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable.

02:42 - Taking into account data access categories they should be openly and permanently accessible to everyone. Thus the aim of the NFDI is to systematically manage research data, provide long-term data storage, backup and accessibility and link the data both nationally and internationally. This is achieved through a coordinated network of consortia tasked with providing science-driven data services to research communities. The NFDI aims to be user driven, responding to the needs of researchers and fostering sustainability. The NFDi contains the following structural elements: The consortia which focus on specific scientific fields or methods, act as basic elements and incorporate user needs by means of a bottom-up process.

03:37 - The central scientific body is the Consortia Assembly. It discusses scientific questions and cross-consortial cutting topics and tasks. The directorate is the executive body. It ensures that the NFDI fulfills its tasks including establishing a coordinated structure and offering generic services and coordinates the cross-consortial tasks. The Scientific Senate acts as the advisory board and counsels the government. It consists of the director, a number of consortium speakers, delegates from the funding and research organizations and further experts. Consortia are the heart of the NFDI.

Therefore we would like to give you some more information on their role. They are groups of users and providers of research data that come together for the purpose of long-term cooperation. They are run by state-funded and state-recognized higher education institutions, non-university research institutions, departmental research institutions, academies and other publicly financed information infrastructures. Generally organized by research domain their aim is to improve and safeguard access to and use of research data in their respective area, thereby contributing to sustainable data management. A successful consortium proposal focuses on community-specific well- analyzed needs, consists of providers and users of research data, has a thorough knowledge of its user base and involves users actively and over the long term.

05:21 - It builds on existing structures and experience both nationally and internationally, is in an advanced state of planning and proposes a relevant contribution to the NFDI as a coordinated infrastructure. As you might imagine, there are quite a few challenges when establishing such a large network of federated infrastructures. Consortia focus on specific disciplines or methods on the one hand, but have to tackle cross-consortia and interdisciplinary data related topics and foster cross-sectoral research data management on the orther. They have to represent and internally connect individual research communities but also work jointly together with other consortia. Let’s tackle these challenges together and make the NFDI a success.

Collective action is needed, not competition! 06:19 - General information on the NFDI can be found on our website. If you have any questions, please contact us at the following number or by email. .