This case study draws on presentations, discussions and Node portfolios from the Finland edition of the ELIXIR Node Data Management Strategy (NDMS) module in 2023. The original training materials, shared notes and Node portfolios are available through the ELITMa Finland workshop materials.
Several Nodes described RDM support that was already spread across universities, infrastructures, projects and support teams. The issue was therefore not simply whether support existed, but how visible and connected it was, who was responsible for what and which activities depended on others.
Why is this relevant?
A distributed support model can work well. Different organisations may provide different parts of the RDM landscape, such as DMP support, training, repositories, FAIR guidance, legal expertise or technical infrastructure.
The Espoo discussions showed, however, that this can also make the overall picture harder to see. Some activities took place in local institutions rather than at Node level, while other services depended on national infrastructures or external expertise. In such situations, researchers may have access to useful support without there being a clear or connected Node-level offer.
What can Nodes learn from this?
Coordination does not necessarily mean centralising services within the Node. A Node can also add value by making existing support easier to find, connecting expertise and clarifying responsibilities.
The Espoo examples also showed that using an existing ELIXIR resource is rarely only a technical decision. Resources such as RDMkit, Data Stewardship Wizard and Federated EGA may depend on local expertise, hosting, maintenance, integration, agreements and collaboration with other organisations.
This means that understanding your RDM landscape involves more than listing services. It also means understanding the connections and dependencies that make those services work.
What can you do?
Use your overview of the current Node context to look at how the different parts of the RDM landscape connect. Where support already works well across organisations, this may be something to build on. Where responsibilities, dependencies or routes to support are unclear, stronger coordination may be useful.
At this stage, the aim is not yet to decide which activities the Node should take on. First make visible how the current support landscape works in practice.