Author Archives: simonhodson99

Embedding Benefits and Impact: Ideas from the History DMP Project

I would like to draw JISC Managing Research Data Programme projects’ attention to elements in the History DMP Project’s plan which, as well as being good models for these sections, I think will be of broader interest to projects seeking to embed their work.  The plan may be found at http://historydmp.wordpress.com/history-dmp-project-plan/

The sections in question are 1.5 Anticipated Impact and 3.5 Sustainability Plan, specifically the short discussion after the table.  Other projects may find these sections useful prompts for their own considerations of benefits and impacts which may be generated, and for how a project may plan to achieve sustained benefits/impact after its life.

In the table, the History DMP Project makes plans for sustaining specific project outputs, and then continues:

[P]lanning for the sustainability of the work carried out in the project, and the data management plan itself, will also be incorporated into departmental planning during the project’s lifetime. The University’s annual strategic planning round for 2012-13 will take place during the project period, and this offers an opportunity to formally adopt approaches for support of the data management plan for future research. Specific possibilities, which will be considered at departmental and University level, include:

  • Identifying specific data impact case studies for submission to REF2014
  • Adding data management to the research & training seminar series
  • Adding data management to the Staff Development Programme
  • Incorporating data management into postgraduate workshops
  • Inclusion in research strategies

Institutionally we shall be guided by the DISC UK DataShare Policy-making for Research Data in Repositories Guide in establishing the management of datasets within the repository as part of the long-term implementation of the data management plan and extension of the role of the repository for this purpose.

I think this list forms a useful prompt for actions which may be appropriate for other projects seeking to sustain, embed and enhance the impact of their work.

Evidence Gathering Session at the #jiscmrd Launch Workshop

In response to the Evidence Gathering Session at the JISC Managing Research Data Programme Launch Workshop, the large, 18-month ‘infrastructure’ projects were asked to produce blog posts identifying the key benefits which they felt the project would generate and indicating what evidence they felt they were likely to be able to produce, within and beyond the lifetime of the project. The posts are starting to appear and as they do, links will be provided below:

Strand A: Research Data Management Infrastructure

Research Data Management Infrastructure: Institutional Pilot Projects

ADMIRe (A Data Management Infrastructure for Research), University of Nottingham

Blogpost on benefits and metrics (with link to doc):
https://admire.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2012/03/08/admire-benefits/
( https://admire.jiscinvolve.org/wp/files/2011/12/Benefits-and-Metrics-for-ADMIRe-March-20121.doc )

Data.bris, University of Bristol

Blogpost on benefits and metrics: http://data.blogs.ilrt.org/2011/12/21/data-bris-benefits-and-metrics/

Iridium, University of Newcastle

Blogpost on benefits and metrics:  http://iridiummrd.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/iridium-jisc-mrd-key-benefits-and-metrics-task-from-start-up-meeting/

Leeds RoaDMaP, University of Leeds

Blogpost on benefits and metrics: http://blog.library.leeds.ac.uk/blog/roadmap/post/31

Orbital, University of Lincoln

Benefits blog post pending.

Pilot Study in Health & Life Sciences, University of the West of England

Blogpost on benefits and metrics: http://blogs.uwe.ac.uk/teams/mrd/archive/2012/01/10/Impact.aspx

Research360, University of Bath

Blogpost on benefits and metrics: http://blogs.bath.ac.uk/research360/2012/03/benefiting-from-research360-who-when-and-how/

Research Data @ Essex, University of Essex

Blogpost on benefits and metrics: http://researchdataessex.posterous.com/83455191

Service Oriented Toolkit for Research Data Management, University of Hertfordshire

Benefits blog post pending.

Research Data Management Infrastructure: Institutional Embedding and Transition to Service Projects

DaMaRO (Data Management Roll-out at Oxford), University of Oxford

Blogpost on benefits and metrics: http://blogs.oucs.ox.ac.uk/damaro/2012/03/02/benefits-of-damaro/

DataPool, University of Southampton

Blogpost on project benefits and metrics: http://blogs.ecs.soton.ac.uk/datapool/2012/03/08/a-project-for-the-research-life-cycle/

MiSS (MaDAM into Sustainable Service), University of Manchester

Blogpost on benefits and impacts, including a consideration of timescales: http://www.miss.manchester.ac.uk/?p=219

This post includes a helpful consideration of timescales and benefit types; it would be good, however, to provide some concrete examples for each of these categories, particularly the first two.

Open Exeter, University of Exeter

Blogpost on benefits and metrics: http://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/openexeterrdm/blog/2012/02/09/open-exeter-the-benefits/

Research Data Management Infrastructure: Disciplinary Projects

KAPTUR, University for the Creative Arts

Blogpost on benefits and metrics, and applying KRDS toolkit: http://kaptur.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/benefits-and-metrics-krds/

PIMMS (Portable Infrastructure for the Metafor Metadata System), University of Reading

Blogpost on benefits and metrics: http://proj.badc.rl.ac.uk/pimms/blog/benefits

SWORD-ARM (SWORD & Archaeological Research data Management), University of York

Blogpost on benefits: http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/blog/sword-arm/2012/03/sword-arm-the-benefits/

Research Data Management Infrastructure: Metadata

CERIF for Datasets, University of Sunderland

Blogpost on benefits and metrics: http://cerif4datasets.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/benefits-and-metrics/

Strand B and C: Research Data Management Planning Projects

The shorter projects in the programme, looking at issues around research data management planning and enhancing the DCC’s DMPonline tool were encouraged to provide information, but not obliged.

SMDMRDM (Sustainable Management of Digital Music Research Data), Queen Mary University of London

Benefits most relevant to the SMDMRD Project: http://rdm.c4dm.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/programme-launch-day-2

REDm-MED (Research Data Management for Mechanical Engineering Departments), University of Bath

The REDm-MED Project calls for discussions of benefits (and impact) to include those outside academia, here specifically industrial collaborators: http://blogs.bath.ac.uk/redm-med/2012/01/04/extending-the-rdm-benefits-envelope/