RDA Europe National Nodes: first call for new nodes open!

RDA Europe, the European plug-in to the Research Data Alliance, has recently established a network of national nodes to foster adoption of RDA outputs in the region, and thereby enable interoperability and data sharing on a global scale.

Nodes engage with research communities, support national agendas, contribute to the EU Open Science Strategy, and aim to increase the uptake of standards and participation in RDA globally. In collaboration with a diverse range of national and regional stakeholders, they support the RDA mission of building the technical and social bridges that enable open sharing of data.

The pioneer nodes and their activities

Nine renowned research organisations representing excellence in the global scene were the initial foundations of a pan-European network of National Nodes. These represent areas such as Agro & Food, Bio & Health, Environment, Social Science and Humanities & Engineering. Each node has one or more national priorities or areas of focused activity to pursue that could influence their national digital agendas. These priorities will be mapped into RDA as new challenge topics, with new recommendations to be addressed by RDA Working Groups.
 Meet the current nodes here.

What do Nodes do?

European Nodes facilitate the work of RDA in many ways. They promote open calls for European participation in RDA events and initiatives, organise meetings and hands-on workshops to showcase RDA outputs to promote adoption and lower language/cultural barriers. Nodes act as the central contact point between the national / regional data practitioners and RDA:

• Support data research at a national/local level, promoting the RDA vision and results, ensuring capillary uptake of RDA principles
• Synergise with national, European & global organisations in concrete actions to facilitate uptake of RDA recommendations and principles
• Act as a central contact point between national/regional data practitioners and RDA, interacting with national research funding bodies
• Contribute to the definition of European data policies
• Contribute to the definition of RDA’s strategy and participate in RDA processes

Starting in 2018, the initial network of nine nodes will be expanded via a cascading grant funding mechanism. In order to become a node, organisations must apply for a grant to set up and manage a new RDA EU National Node, and develop and implement a broad-based and representative action plan aligned with RDA global vision and with national and European Digital agendas.

The first call for cascading grants: May 23 - July 27, 2018

This is the first in a series of three calls for proposals to become a new RDA Europe node. Further calls will be published in early and late 2019. Funding will be assigned via a cascading grants mechanism. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply to the first call so that evaluator feedback can be incorporated into subsequent applications.

This first call plans to award grants to three new European nodes. The total funding available in this call is €168,000.

Applications are expected to be in the region of 10 pages and will be evaluated according to the following four criteria:

• Existing RDA involvement (20%)
• Potential impact (30%)
• Community connections (20%)
• Sustainability (30%)

Important dates

• Application opens - 23 May 2018
• Application closes - 27 July 2018, 17:00 CEST
• Notification of results - 1 October 2018

Submit your application to the open call

Information and assistance

For any queries related to your application, please contact nodes@europe.rd-alliance.org

Please visit the "What is an RDA Europe Node and how to get involved" webinar page for further information about existing node activities, the forthcoming grant calls and how to apply.