The European Council Conclusions on Shaping Europe's Digital Future, approved by written procedure on 9 June 2020, states that “open science principles and Research Data Alliance recommendations are useful for supporting the decision-making authorities in promoting a flexible common approach for the collection, processing and availability of data” and welcomes this in the context of the development of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).
In the context of adopting and implementing technological and / or domain specific research data solutions in EOSC, the Research Data Alliance (RDA) is seeking technological experts to generate dedicated implementation documentation to be made available to adopters.
Within the framework of the EOSC Secretariat Open Call, a recently launched initiative, the RDA is giving support to scientific and research communities in preparing for engagement with EOSC, identifying RDA technological and / or domain specific solutions to be tested in the EOSC environment as well as the generation and approval of standards for application to EOSC.
The Technical Experts are active members of an RDA Working Group, have contributed to the development of an endorsed RDA Recommendation, and have the expertise to translate the output into a technical document or manual.
The RDA Secretariat will interact and assist the Technical Experts, providing support with the compilation of final reports and impact. The work is to be completed by 15 May 2021.
Who can apply? - the Expert Profile
The experts will be expected to generate dedicated implementation documentation in the form of templates and manuals with the aim of facilitating and allowing additional users within EOSC to implement the RDA recommendations.
The applicants should satisfy the following criteria:
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Alignment with and adherence to the RDA Guiding principles and RDA Code of Conduct;
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Be involved in the RDA as an active member of an RDA Working Group;
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Have contributed to the development of an endorsed RDA Recommendation;
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Be part of an active data community and have a good understanding of the European Data Infrastructures landscape, in particular EOSC;
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Reside/work in one of the EU Member states or Associated countries;
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Geographical and domain diversity and balance will be sought.
Evaluation and Selection
Candidates will be asked to submit an application that will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Criteria 1: A summary of the proposed RDA endorsed Recommendation, the implementation scenario, the relationship to and impact on EOSC, and how an accompanying technical manual is envisaged;
- Criteria 2: A statement describing the Expert's interest in and commitment to the vision of RDA, in-progress Working/Interest Groups and/or one or more existing RDA Recommendations and Outputs; plans for future involvement and expected benefits;
- Criteria 3: A brief summary of previous and current activities demonstrating the applicant’s involvement and contributions to RDA related activities, Working/Interest groups, development and /or promotion and/or adoption of RDA Recommendations and Outputs in European Institutions;
- Criteria 4: Wider engagement with other initiatives and/or national activities belonging to the European Data Infrastructures landscape, including initiatives such as the European Open Science Cloud; the FAIR movement; and/or initiatives on defining and implementing the Open Science agenda at national and European levels.
In the case of multiple applications focusing on the same RDA recommendation, only one will be selected.
Weighting
Each criteria will be evaluated using a scoring system from 0-5 and the weighting is the following:
criteria 1 - 40/100
criteria 2 - 10/100
criteria 3 - 20/100
criteria 4 - 30/100
Evaluators
The applications will be evaluated by experts with insights to the RDA and group Recommendations who have no conflict of interest (the applicant is not employed by the evaluator's organisation nor is the Recommendation(s) a direct result of their work).
Financial Contribution
A budget of €10,000 has been allocated for each of the 3 Experts to cover the costs of drafting, defining and completing the technical documentation within the agreed timeframe. Agreements will be drawn up with the RDA Foundation ASBL or RDA Association AISBL, both Belgian legal entities, and will be defined with individuals as experts working in their own right. In the event that an expert is unable to accept an individual agreement the agreement must be drafted through their employer, the total eligible costs remain the same and no indirect / overhead cost is foreseen. According to article 44 juncto article 196 of the EU VAT Directive 2006/112/CE such Agreements will be exclusive of VAT. An advance of 20% will be paid upon Agreement signature and final payment of 80% upon delivery on or before 31 May 2021.
Deadline and Notifications
Interested applicants are invited to complete the online application form by 1 March 2021, 17:00 CET. All candidates will be notified of the outcome of their application no later than 15 March 2021. The 3 successful applicants will enter into an Agreement no later than 30 March 2021 and work will be completed by 15 May 2021.
Assessment & Reporting
The agreement will include details on milestones and regular interactions with RDA representatives to assess and receive updates on the status and progress of the work, based on the work plan provided.
How to Apply
Please use this form to submit your application.
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