RDA TIGER Services

The Facilitation Service is the core of the RDA TIGER services. Each Working Group receiving support from RDA TIGER is assigned a Facilitator, on the basis of their domain knowledge and availability, who acts as the primary contact between the WG and the rest of the TIGER project and other services. The Facilitator supports WGs from initiation to finalisation phase. 

At the outset of the Working Group, including the lead up to the formal initiation of the WG, the Facilitation service helps with identifying group members and co-chairs, drafting of the WG Case Statement, responding to community feedback, drawing up a workplan and timeline for the WG internal milestones and achievements, and helping with the early definition of the WG’s final Recommendation.

During the working phase of the WG (i.e., from approximately 3-15 months), the Facilitator assists with the professional management of the WG meetings, including meeting organisation, meeting planning with WG members, and contributing to the periodic reporting of the progress of the WG to the RDA TIGER project and other RDA bodies. As the WG draws to the end of its 18-month lifespan, the Facilitator will help the WG in finalisation of their Recommendation and other outputs. This can mean the practical organisation of work, maintaining internal communications, document control (access, responding to comments), editing documents, assigning tasks, and ensuring that the document goes through the formal submission processes of requesting RDA community and TAB feedback. At this stage, the Facilitator will also inform the WG of the potential support available from RDA TIGER’s Output services, and help the communication and liaison between that service and the WG.

RDA TIGER provides a tailored communications service for supported WGs. This service is vital to ensure that the RDA community is aware of WG developments, to ensure there is no duplication of work and to contribute to the overall awareness of relevant updates at each stage of the WGs. 

The type of communication support provided depends on the stage of the WGs in their lifecycle. During the early stages at Group initiation, RDA TIGER can provide the initial dissemination for finding potential WG members to participate in the activities. The communication tools used at this point are the RDA, CODATA, DANS and eScience Cetnre channels and other multiplier networks available to the team (e.g., EOSC Association, GÉANT, OpenAIRE, EGI, EUDAT, etc.), social media, and website announcements. Special activities, such as direct contact, participation in conferences/workshops, or even special planning workshops can be organised if required.

During the main period of work of the WG, RDA TIGER can provide group-internal communication services where necessary, such as group webpage updates and maintenance, group mailing list management, communication tools management and provision (e.g., Slack, Google Drive, etc.), group meetings support (in coordination with the senior facilitator), communication with the RDA Secretariat as and when needed. The RDA TIGER Communications team can also provide external communication services, such as group progress and general news dissemination within RDA with website posts, banners and sliders, news items and via the RDA Global newsletter, etc., external mailing list management (if applicable), RDA Plenary preparation support, graphic materials creation, and event management support (in coordination with the Facilitator). 

In the final stages for the WG towards Ouput and Recommendation creation, the team can work with the WGs on Output-specific targeted dissemination, including social media posts, events, graphical materials, podcasts, interview recordings and the creation of Adoption Stories, aiming to ensure community awareness of the WG output in the relevant target groups.

The Landscape Analysis service is a vital conduit for RDA TIGER-supported Working Groups to have a full awareness of the many international and European activities happening around their topics. In this way the Facilitator and WG co-chairs and members are kept abreast of developments and updates, and can engage with the right people to progress the work of the group.

The Landscape Analysis service is available on request. Once the RDA TIGER support has started, the WG co-chairs can liaise with their RDA TIGER Facilitator for a landscape analysis to be carried out on their behalf. At the outset of the WG, the service ensures that there is no duplication of effort within the RDA, DANS, ReSA and CODATA activities on the subject matter of the group. The analysis is then extended to outside of the consortium to map similar initiatives or potential interested parties on the subject matter of the WG, targeting national, European and international initiatives on the field of study.

The service liaises with WG co-chairs to gain an initial understanding of the projects and initiatives that complement the WG activity. The service then uses this information along with desk research, interviews, and direct communications to other potential initiatives, to produce a Landscape Report for the WG. The report will contain details of similar initiatives in Europe and international areas, and will identify potential additional WG members where possible. The WG co-chairs can also request periodic updates on this service based on developments in the field. 

The objectives of the Outputs Service are to ensure high quality, usefulness, maintenance and sustainability of the outputs of RDA Working Groups which receive support from the RDA TIGER project. This service will also contribute to the development of the RDA Maintenance Platform, which will provide Helpdesk and Service Level Support for RDA Recommendations and Outcomes. 

At the outset of the WG, the Outputs Support service activity includes assisting the group with the initial definition of the scope of their Recommendations, identifying the user communities (including potential adopter communities), required support actions (for example, for standardisation support), and maintenance and sustainability requirements. The output definition document is agreed with the WG partners, describes the intended output in detail for the project management and outreach, and is used to plan the activities.

In the form of a helpdesk, the Outputs Support service also provides guidance to WGs that develop policies in the area of research data in the broad sense, including Open and FAIR data policies. The helpdesk is a human service which helps RDA WGs to check how their – planned or draft – policy document fits into the wider policy landscape. Starting from a set of key data policies within EOSC, the helpdesk can point WGs to existing policies for inspiration or alignment.

RDA WGs face a significant challenge in internalising and parsing the EOSC landscape, standards, and requirements as an input to working group activities, and likewise, ensuring that their recommendations and outputs are aligned with and implementable in the context of EOSC. The Outputs Support service provides expertise to bridge the gap and maintain guidelines, design considerations, and specifications applicable. It also maintains an inventory of EOSC regulations, policies, requirements, specifications, guidance, and recommendations for technical services