This case study draws on presentations, exercises and discussions from the Finland edition of the ELIXIR Node Data Management Strategy (NDMS) module in 2023. The original training materials and shared notes are available through the ELITMa Finland workshop materials.
One of the workshop exercises asked participants to look at the competences available in their current Node team and those they might need in future. The discussion showed that this is not only about defining job roles. Relevant expertise may already be spread across partner institutions, infrastructures and support teams.
Why is this relevant?
A Node data management strategy may depend on many kinds of expertise, including FAIR data, policy, legal and ethical issues, training, infrastructure, knowledge management and data archiving.
Not all of these competences need to sit within one team. In a distributed Node, expertise may be available through different people and organisations. Understanding where it already exists can help you see both strengths and gaps in your current context.
This also helps avoid assuming that every gap needs to be solved by creating a new role or recruiting someone.
What can Nodes learn from this?
Looking at competences rather than only job titles can give a more useful picture of what a Node can already do.
During the Espoo workshop, participants considered areas such as policy and strategy, compliance, FAIR data, services, infrastructure, knowledge management, networking and archiving. Different Nodes had different strengths, and some competences were clearly available outside the formal Node team.
A missing competence can therefore lead to different responses. It might be developed through training, accessed through another partner, covered through collaboration or shared across organisations. In some cases, additional capacity may indeed be needed, but this is only one option.
The important question is whether the Node can access the expertise needed to support its intended activities.
What can you do?
Use your overview of the Node context to look at the expertise behind the services and activities you have identified. Consider which competences are already available, where they sit and which ones are difficult to access.
This can help you distinguish between a genuine competence gap and expertise that already exists but is not yet well connected to the Node.