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On November 12, 2024, the UDCC convened for its inaugural Forum event. The UDCC Forum brings together people from across Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ (UU) working to support university processes in digital research, including, but not limited to, areas such as research data management, software, and infrastructure. By getting together once a month, we work to upend those silos that inhibit collective progress in developing a more open and accessible university.

In the opening presentation, Dan Rudmann, who is one of the facilitators of the UDCC and a librarian at UU, worked to explain the starting position of the UDCC to the roughly thirty people in attendance. Rudmann described the work of creating the network known as UDCC to be particularly community-driven. By providing a scaffolding for people to gather and share knowledge, the UDCC hopes to bring about shared resources and initiatives wholly directed by the people who participate in the UDCC. Rudmann further elaborated that the UDCC hopes to provide support, recognition, and professionalisation for its community - which has particular resonance and urgency in precarious times for science.

Surface gaps in services

Following the introduction, René Adelerhof and Mercedes Beltrán presented the special topic: Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ’s Research Data Storage Landscape. Adelerhof, who works in ICT at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, and Beltrán, who works as a Data Steward at the Faculty of Science, together created an overview of infrastructure for research data storage at their faculties. The collaboration allowed them to better conceptualise the possibilities for their researchers, evaluate the different forms of infrastructure available, surface gaps in services, and explore requirements for different research data use cases.

Presenting Adelerhof and Beltrán’s research data storage overview sparked a significant number of considerations for the room at large. Everyone in attendance wrote out their questions and ideas to build upon the overview, and three themes quickly emerged:

1. Infrastructure;
2. Privacy and Security; and
3. Policies.

Participants organised into three breakout groups to uncover the questions and actions that could move the community’s need for storage solutions forward.

A collectively composed decision framework

The Infrastructure group began by asking if it might be possible to integrate systems so that research data is supported in a more comprehensive and secure manner. Whether a modular approach to support, the creation of social and technical building blocks, might yield more interoperable and reusable ways of helping researchers. And if the current collection of research data use cases might represent broader needs at the university.

Together, those questions led the group to identify a decision framework, composed collectively across faculties, as a possible way to surface suggestions for a variety of research data instances. Such a document should be iteratively developed as use cases emerge as well as provide an understanding of the features, sustainability, and integrations. The people who make up the UDCC network would then serve as translators and mediators of the decision framework, carrying information from the framework to researchers and allowing their examples to further inform the resource. Considering infrastructure surfaced intersecting concerns, as well, such as developing a better understanding of researcher behaviour in the storage landscape. For example, could we develop insight into the compute needs of our researchers in relation to storage?

Digging into the data graveyard

The Privacy & Security group began their conversation by wondering if it might be possible to determine or measure awareness of privacy and security implications of different research data storage solutions. Their discussion also touched on issues such as the data graveyard, research data whose principal investigator is no longer affiliated with the institution, as well as the need for more detailed guidance on retention periods for data types. In order to acquire such information, the group reasoned that increased opportunities for education of university employees could be the most helpful. Education, particularly as further opportunity to bring people together and exchange ideas, recognises a significant human factor in data security.

Compose guidance in policy

The Policies group identified a need to acquire a more comprehensive understanding of research projects across the institution in order to compose guidance that meets people’s needs. There was also recognition of a need for increased stakeholder engagement. How might different levels of managers, for example, endorse and support the implementation of an updated research data policy? Furthermore, is new policy required to meet the present moment or do the policy structures already exist? Actions needed to begin to address these questions involve inventorising research projects and data storage solutions. And, echoing the other two groups, increased attention to outreach and education efforts could promote advanced practices, such as data hygiene, and support knowledge exchange.

Taking steps beyond the Forum

Following the breakout groups, the room reconvened to explore possible next steps beyond the Forum. Actions proposed include building communications avenues to continue these conversations, as well as collectively composing documentation on research data storage infrastructure. Considered together, the first initiative to spin from the UDCC began to take shape: DISC (Data Infrastructure Storage Collective). This is a new working group to develop a modular decision framework regarding the research data storage landscape at Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ. The working group will meet once every two weeks for a four-month period with the goal of creating a resource that provides understanding of research data storage infrastructure throughout the university. The working group is open to all. To join, please contact René Adelerhof, Mercedes Beltrán, or the UDCC support team. A more detailed open invitation is forthcoming.

The first UDCC Forum demonstrated the significant discussions and actions that occur by bringing support staff across the university together. Thank you to everyone who took part and we look forward to much more of this in the future.