Building the Future of Coordinated Data Support

Researchers today are producing unprecedented amounts of data, and data intensive research is growing rapidly across disciplines. Research data support services at universities are often siloed, causing inefficient duplication of services and significant gaps in programming and support. As a result, there is a distinct need to develop a strategic, unified approach to providing data support services to ensure researchers have access to the tools and resources they need.

To address these challenges, we are pleased to announce that Queen’s University is participating in Ithaka S+R’s initiative, “Building Campus Strategies for Coordinated Data Support,” a cohort-based project with 29 universities across Canada and the US. This two-year initiative will support the Queen’s research community through several deliverables that aim to ensure the future viability of research data support services:

• Catalogue and analyze the research data services currently offered locally
• Investigate the experiences of faculty and students in navigating and accessing existing research data services at Queen’s and identify current barriers and gaps
• Build tools to assist researchers in navigating existing research data services
• Develop strategic plans for better coordination of current and future services

In addition, the project will contribute to developing an international benchmarking dataset on current data support services, which will in turn inform our own strategic planning processes. 

Stay tuned for updates on project progress and for invitations to participate in interviews to better understand researcher experiences with current research data services and additional support needs.

We are delighted to have assembled a strong multidisciplinary project team and steering committee featuring representatives from across campus. Funding for the Queen’s component of this project is proudly provided by Queen’s University Library.

For questions about the project, please reach out to rdm.library@queensu.ca

 

Project team members include:

Meghan Goodchild, Principal Investigator (Queen’s University Library)

Alexandra Cooper (Queen’s University Library)

Elise Degen (Centre for Advanced Computing)

Rebecca Pero (Vice-Principal Research Portfolio)

Nevil Silverius (Centre for Advanced Computing)

 

Steering committee members include:

Mark Asberg (Vice-Provost and University Librarian)

Betsy Donald (Associate Vice-Principal Research)

Nicole Hunniford (Executive Director, Finance & Administration, Vice-Principal Research / Interim Director, Advanced Research Computing)

Kent Novakowski (Associate Vice-Principal Research)

 

About Ithaka S+R

Ithaka S+R is a non-profit organization that offers research and consulting services to libraries, publishers, scholarly societies, universities, and other non-profit organizations, and produces public research reports to advance research and teaching in sustainable ways.