Programme
Recordings and Presentation Slides will be made available to the wider RDA community on 21 April 2026. Watch this space!
To help you find sessions that match your interests, the VP26 programme is organised into 11 research data-related themes called “pathways”. Use the “Filter by Pathway” dropdown to find sessions matching your interests. Each session has been tagged with one or more pathway categories.
You can also combine pathway filtering with date and time zone filters to create a personalised programme schedule that fits your interests and availability.
RDA 26th Plenary Meeting
Opening RDA VP26 Plenary Meeting ‘Data, AI and Research Resilience: Insights from the Field’
High-quality data is the foundation of excellent research, and in an era of rapid AI adoption, ensuring data accessibility, trustworthiness and resilience has never been more critical.
Our speakers will share perspectives on how the Research Data Alliance (RDA) community is responding to the opportunities and challenges of AI. From strengthening data resilience and advancing community-driven frameworks, to exploring the importance of well-structured, high-quality data for responsible AI development, the session will consider how emerging approaches such as federated models and trusted research environments (TREs) are helping unlock the value of data while maintaining trust, governance and collaboration.
Join the presenters for an interactive panel discussion exploring what is working, what challenges remain, and what lessons can travel across borders. To close, we will spotlight VP26 highlights across global time zones, including networking, newcomer sessions and more – the perfect introduction to everything VP26 has to offer.
Speakers: Hilary Hanahoe, Trish Radotic, Sach Jayasinghe, Melanie Johnston-Hollitt
Moderator: Hilary Hanahoe
View Speakers’ Profiles https://www.rd-alliance.org/plenaries/p26/speakers-and-moderators-p26/
Breakout Session 1
RDA for Newcomers Session (Africa/Americas/Europe friendly time zone)
This informal session (for Africa/Americas/Europe friendly time zone) is your guide to navigating RDA – learn how to get started, which groups match your interests, and make the most of your plenary experience. Ask any questions about RDA (no question too small!), and find your place in this global data community.
What is Agentic AI? Information Session 1
Agentic AI is transforming the research landscape, but what exactly is it, and how does it differ from the large language models and generative AI tools many of us already use?
Join us for a 1-hour information session designed to inform and inspire the global research data community. Our international panel of speakers will break down the fundamentals of agentic AI, explore what makes a tool truly ‘agentic’, and share real-world examples and case studies from their own experience.
Registration is required and free https://www.rd-alliance.org/events/what-is-agentic-ai-information-session-1/.
Breakout Session 2
RDA 26th Plenary Meeting
RDA for Newcomers (Asia/Oceania friendly time zone)
This informal session (for Asia/Oceania friendly time zone) is your guide to navigating RDA – learn how to get started, which groups match your interests, and make the most of your plenary experience. Ask any questions about RDA (no question too small!), and find your place in this global data community.
Breakout Session 3
Breakout Session 4
Plenary Session ‘Strengthening Open Science Against Geopolitical Pressures’ (Americas/Europe friendly time zone)
How can open science withstand geopolitical pressures? From infrastructure defunding to wartime disruptions, recent events reveal urgent vulnerabilities.
This panel extends discussions from a Leiden workshop on geopolitics and the UNESCO Open Science Recommendation. We’ll explore four action areas – human infrastructure, resilience through redundancy, anticipatory planning, and international coordination – and discuss how RDA can respond to mounting geopolitical threats to open science.
Speakers: Sara Rouhi, Hugh Shanahan, Jeroen Sondervan, Shelley Stall and Lynda Kellam
Moderators: Louise Bezuidenhout and Kathleen Gregory
View Speakers’ Profiles https://www.rd-alliance.org/plenaries/p26/speakers-and-moderators-p26/
Breakout Session 5
RDA 26th Plenary Meeting
Networking session – Meet your match! (Asia/Oceania friendly time zone)
Connect with VP26 attendees through three rounds of small-group speed networking (Asia/Oceania friendly time zone)! Discover shared interests, exchange ideas, and make connections that could lead to future collaborations.
Breakout Session 6
Breakout Session 7
Networking session – Meet your match! (Africa/Americas/Europe friendly time zone)
Connect with VP26 attendees through three rounds of small-group speed networking (Africa/Americas/Europe friendly time zone)! Discover shared interests, exchange ideas, and make connections that could lead to future collaborations.
Breakout Session 8
RDA 26th Plenary Meeting
What is Agentic AI? Information Session 2
Agentic AI is transforming the research landscape, but what exactly is it, and how does it differ from the large language models and generative AI tools many of us already use?
Join us for a 1-hour information session designed to inform and inspire the global research data community. Our international panel of speakers will break down the fundamentals of agentic AI, explore what makes a tool truly ‘agentic’, and share real-world examples and case studies from their own experience.
Registration is required and free https://www.rd-alliance.org/events/what-is-agentic-ai-information-session-2/.
Breakout Session 9
Breakout Session 10
Closing RDA VP26 Plenary Meeting ‘Beyond Survival: Designing Resilient Open Research Common’
How do we build shared data infrastructures that don’t just survive, but truly thrive?
This panel bridges VP26’s theme ‘Data Continuity for Research Resilience’ with 27th Plenary Meeting’s (P27) upcoming focus on the Global open research commons, exploring governance, sustainability, and community stewardship of open data at local, national, and global scales.
Panelists will explore:
– What makes a data commons resilient? Moving beyond technical infrastructure to governance, community, and sustainability
– How can principles of data continuity strengthen open research commons at local, national, and global scales?
– What lessons from VP26’s research resilience discussions can inform the design and governance of the Global open research commons?
Join the conversation as we shift from data survival to building research commons that last.
Stay tuned for special P27 announcements from our hosts, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), live from the heart of London!
Speakers: Francois Genova, Kazu Hayashi, Marta Teperek, David Castle
Moderator: CJ Woodford
View Speakers’ Profiles https://www.rd-alliance.org/plenaries/p26/speakers-and-moderators-p26/