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RDA Plenary Meetings

The Research Data Alliance (RDA) organises biannual Plenary Meetings for its members. These events bring together our unique global community of data professionals including scientists, librarians, technologists, and policymakers. Plenary Meetings help move the RDA community forward to advance open data sharing and reuse across disciplines, technologies, and countries.

What are RDA Plenary Meetings?

Plenary Meetings are the Research Data Alliance (RDA)’s flagship community events that are held twice per year; one hybrid (in-person and virtual participation) and one virtual. Once every two years a Plenary Meeting is held as part of a larger conference, International Data Week (IDW).

RDA Plenaries are:

  • working meetings to help move RDA community members forward in creating tangible deliverables;
  • organised in a different global location (and virtual) every 6 months;
  • multidisciplinary and multistakeholder, welcoming a unique community of data scientists, librarians, computer scientists, and domain scientists;
  • driven by RDA Working Groups, Interest Groups and Communities of Practice.

RDA Plenaries also offer the opportunity for new groups to be proposed and developed, through Birds of A Feather sessions.

Who are RDA Plenary Meetings for?

Everyone! RDA Plenaries are open to individuals at all career stages who are engaged in data-related work. Every year we welcome a range of participants, including:

  • researchers;
  • data stewards;
  • software developers;
  • policy advisors;
  • librarians;
  • institutional leaders;
  • and many more.

Why should you attend?

Plenary Meetings are a great way to get to know the global, multidisciplinary RDA community and to extend your knowledge on the latest data practices. Through the range of different topics covered by RDA Groups, you will find sessions suited to almost all areas of interest. 

What’s in it for you?

Benefits of attending RDA Plenary Meetings

  • Global Participation: With over 15,000 members from more than 150 countries, RDA plenaries offer an international forum to network with global experts, industry leaders, and like-minded data professionals.
  • Hybrid Format: RDA hosts one hybrid plenary in a different global location and one fully virtual plenary, enhancing accessibility and inclusivity.
  • Thematic Pathways: Navigate the RDA through ” Pathways” to help identify sessions with specific data-related themes.
  • Knowledge Exchange: Join and explore 100+ RDA groups on various data topics from across disciplines. 
  • Innovative Topics: Stay ahead of the latest trends and developments in research data and digital infrastructure.

Upcoming Plenary Meetings

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RDA 27th Plenary Meeting (P27)

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RDA 28th Plenary Meeting (VP28)

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RDA 29th Plenary Meeting [part of International Data Week 2027]

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Be a Plenary Host

Call for Expression of Interest to Organise an RDA Plenary Meeting

RDA Plenaries are organised through expressions of interest to host from organisations and countries. 

Why be an RDA Plenary host?
– Promote and advance research data policy and activity within your region.
– Take advantage of the large and engaged RDA community to co-locate regional and domain-specific meetings either before or after the Plenary.
– Put your institution on the map in front of a wide range of regional and global stakeholders in the field of data science.

The RDA Plenary Guidelines lists details on the process of hosting plenaries. 
If you are interested in hosting an RDA plenary, please contact the RDA Secretariat [email protected].

Express your interest

Past Plenary Meetings

Twenty-six RDA plenary meetings have been organised since 2013. These plenaries gathered between 600-1000 data professionals and have taken place in 5 continents across 16 countries:

  • Sweden
  • USA
  • Ireland
  • The Netherlands
  • France
  • Japan
  • Spain
  • Canada
  • Germany
  • Botswana
  • Finland
  • Australia
  • Costa Rica
  • UK (Virtual)
  • The Republic of Korea
  • Austria
  • …your region?

Past Plenary Meetings | Links

  • Twenty-Sixth Plenary
    P26 was held between 16-20 March 2026, fully virtually. Organised by the RDA Secretariat with the theme ”Data Continuity for Research Resilience”.
  • Twenty-Fifth Plenary
    P25 was held between 13-16 October, 2025 in Brisbane, Australia and online as part of the fifth International Data Week 2025 edition. Organised by the International Science Council’s Committee on Data (CODATA) and World Data System (WDS), the Research Data Alliance (RDA), and hosted by the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), with the theme ”Data for positive change: Empowering communities and advancing research”.
  • Twenty Fourth Plenary
    P24 was held between 7-11 April, 2025, fully virtually. Organised by the RDA Secretariat with the theme ”Data for emerging technologies”.
  • Twenty Third Plenary
    P23 was held between 12-14 November, 2024 in San José, Costa Rica and online. Organised by the RDA Secretariat and Consejo Nacional de Rectores (CONARE), with the theme ”Sustainable Science”.
  • Twenty Second Plenary
    P22 was held between 14-23 May, 2024, fully virtually. Organised by the RDA Secretariat, with the theme ”Local Action – Global Connection”.
  • Twenty First Plenary
    P21 was held between 23-26 October, 2023 in Salzburg, Austria and online as a part of the fourth International Data Week 2023 edition. Organised by the International Science Council’s Committee on Data (CODATA) and World Data System (WDS), the Research Data Alliance (RDA), and hosted by the University of Salzburg through its Data Science and Geoinformatics departments, with the theme ”A Festival of Data”.
  • Twentieth Plenary
    Celebrating RDA’s 10th Anniversary, P20 was held between 21-23 March, 2023 in Gothenburg, Sweden and online. Hosted by Chalmers University of Technology, the University of Gothenburg and the Swedish National Data Service (SND).
  • Nineteenth Plenary
    P19 was held between 20-23 June, 2022 in Seoul, the Republic of Korea and online; first hybrid meeting as a part of International Data Week 2022. Organised by the International Science Council’s Committee on Data (CODATA) and World Data System (WDS), the Research Data Alliance (RDA), and the local hosts, with the theme ”Data To Improve Our World”.
  • Eighteenth Plenary
    P18 was held between 3-11 November, 2021 under the theme ”Fully global, Fully virtual”. P18 was organised by the RDA Secretariat.
  • Seventeenth Plenary
    P17 was held between 20-23 April, 2021 in Edinburgh, UK and organised by Digital Curation Centre (DCC), JISC, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC-UKRI). P17 was converted to a Virtual Plenary under the theme ”Opening data for global challenges”.
  • Sixteenth Plenary
    P16 was held between 9-12 November, 2020 in San José, Costa Rica, organised by Consejo Nacional de Rectores (CONARE), Research Data Alliance – US and CANARIE, with the theme “Knowledge Ecology”. P16 was held as a fully Virtual Plenary.
  • Fifteenth Plenary
    P15 was held between 18-20 March, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia, organised by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), under the theme “Data for real-world impact,”. P15 was converted to a Virtual Plenary, running between 18 March – 10 April 2020.
  • Fourteenth Plenary
    P14 was held between 23-25 October, 2019 in Helsinki, Finland and was organised by Aalto University, CSC-IT for Science, the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the University of Helsinki, with the theme “Data makes the Difference.”
  • Thirteenth Plenary
    P13 was held between 2-4 April, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US and was organised by RDA US office, under the theme “With Data Comes Responsibility.”
  • Twelfth Plenary
    P12 was held between 5-8 November, 2018 in Gaborone, Botswana as part of International Data Week 2018. It was co-organised by RDA, CODATA, WDS, ASSAF and the University of Botswana under the theme ”The Digital Frontiers of Global Science.”
  • Eleventh Plenary
    P11 was held between 21-23 March, 2018 in Berlin, Germany and was co-organised by GFZ, the Helmholtz Association with the support of the RDA Europe under the theme “From Data to Knowledge.”
  • Tenth Plenary
    P10, was held between 19-21 September, 2017 in Montréal, Canada. It was hosted by the University of Montréal and Research Data Canada, Canada with the overarching theme of “Better Data, Better Decisions (BD2).” 
  • Ninth Plenary
    Held between 5-7 April, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. It was hosted by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and supported by RDA Europe with the overarching theme of “Data Infrastructures for Open Science.”
  • Eighth Plenary
    Under the theme ”From Big Data to Open Data: Mobilizing the Data Revolution”, P8 was held between 15–17 September, 2016 in Denver, Colorado, US within International Data Week (co-locating it with ScidataCon 2016 & the International Data Forum).
  • Seventh Plenary
    Hosted and co-organised by the Japan Science and Technology Agency under the theme “Making data sharing work in the era of Open Science,” P7 took place in Tokyo, Japan between 1-3 March, 2016. 
  • Sixth Plenary
    Under the theme “Enterprise Engagement with a focus on Research Data for Climate Change,” P6 took place in Paris, France between 23-25 September, 2015.
  • Fifth Plenary
    Under the theme being “Adopt a Deliverable,” P5 took place in San Diego, US between 8-11 March, 2015.
  • Fourth Plenary
    Under the theme “Reaping the Fruits,” P4 took place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands between 22-24 September, 2014.
  • Third Plenary 
    Australia, in close partnership with Ireland, hosted the P3 in Dublin, Ireland between 26-28 March, 2014 with the theme ”Data Sharing Community: Playing YOUR Part.”
  • Second Plenary
    Under the theme “Building Global Partnerships,“ P2 was held in Washington, DC, US between 16-18 September, 2013.
  • First Plenary and RDA Launch Event
    The first plenary meeting and official launch of RDA were held in Gothenburg, Sweden between 18-20 March, 2013 under the theme ”Open Access Research Data without Barriers”.
More on past Plenary Meetings

Past Plenary Meeting Slide Set

The RDA plenaries in a Nutshell slide set provides a summary from previous plenary meetings.

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