What are you looking for?

Have you tried our AI research data guide?

Ask Dot
Back to Plenary Participation
Group Session November 21, 2025

LSDI IG Town Hall Meeting: A bridge between life science data infrastructures and the RDA

Plenary: RDA 26th Plenary Meeting (VP26)

Submitted by
Wolmar Nyberg Åkerström
Recording

Meeting objectives

Collaborative session notes:

Open session notes

The Life Science Data Infrastructures Interest Group serves as a bridge between life science data infrastructures in different regions of the world and relevant RDA Interest Groups, including both specific subtopics of the life sciences such as agricultural data, marine data, structural biology, toxicogenomics, as well as generic topics that can/should be applied in the life sciences such as big data analysis, federated identity management, and data publishing.

This session invites perspectives from group members and the wider RDA membership to shape the group’s future activities. We will revisit the functioning and the goals of the group, co-chairs will present themselves, and the group will establish short term goals and discuss a meeting schedule outside of the plenaries.

Meeting presenters

Wolmar Nyberg Åkerström, Jeff Christiansen, TBC

Meeting agenda

  1. Welcome & Introductions (20 min)
    Format: Introduction to the RDA group and its co-chairs followed by an interactive icebreaker where all participants are invited to engage.
  2. Setting the scene: Engaging with the RDA — past, present and future (30 min)
    Format: 2–3 flash talks providing an overview the activities and operations of the group between plenaries followed by Q&A.
  3. Discussion: How to strengthen collaborations? (25 min)
    Format: Guided discussions supported by Mentimeter and collaborative notes.
  4. Synthesis: State of the art and opportunities for future collaborations (20 min)
    Format: Open plenary discussion moderated by the session chairs.
  5. Wrap-Up & Next Steps (5 min)

Target audience

Members of any RDA IGs and WGs who are focussed on FAIR principles, Data Lifecycles and Infrastructure Interoperability as well as anyone involved in life science data infrastructure world wide.

Group Activities and Scope

The Life Science Data Infrastructures Interest Group (IG) was formed to serve as a bridge between life science data infrastructures in different regions of the world and relevant RDA Interest and Working Groups, including both specific subtopics of the life sciences, as well as generic topics that can/should be applied in the life sciences such as big data analysis, federated identity management, and data publishing.

The IG aspires to have meaningful representation from diverse geographical regions including North and South America, Europe; Africa, Asia and Oceania; and will actively seek participation from under-represented groups and the global South. The IG also aims for fair gender representation and inclusivity in all its activities.

The group has so far focused its activities on preparing Group sessions and Joint group sessions at the RDA plenaries that have served as fora for exchange across the life science data infrastructure community and the RDA. All the chairs of the IG are actively involved on a day to day basis to influence or deploy best practice national scale data infrastructure to support life science research in their respective regions.

Short Group Status

The Charter for this group was approved in May 2022. The group met for the first time at the 19th RDA Plenary in June 2022 to introduce the aims of the group, and at the following plenaries in 2023 (20th and 21st) were focused towards exploring the implementation and interpretation of the FAIR principles in digital asset management challenges that life science data infrastructures are working to solve on behalf of their user communities.

In 2024 (22nd plenary) the group explored the FAIR requirements for federated infrastructures and identified a number of shared interests across the life science data infrastructures community and the RDA. In spring 2025 (24th plenary), the group focused on products, processes and practices that support the implication and application of the FAIR principles in data infrastructures. At International Data Week 2025 (25th plenary), the group hosted a discussion on connecting life science data infrastructures and (meta)data standards to support integration and sharing of multi-modal data.

Applicable Pathways

Data Infrastructures and Environments - Generalist
Data Infrastructures and Environments - Discipline Focused

Avoid conflict with the following groups

Global Open Research Commons IG
FAIRsharing Registry: Connecting data policies, standards and databases RDA WG

Please indicate at least (3) three breakout slots that would suit your meeting.

Breakout 2. Monday, 16 March, 22:30-00:00 UTC
Breakout 5. Tuesday, 17 March, 22:30-00:00 UTC
Breakout 8. Wednesday, 18 March, 22:30-00:00 UTC