These guidelines consist the main aspects of providing additional direct support for the RDA TIGER supported RDA working groups, such as procedures on providing and resourcing support actions, such as subcontracted services (consultancy), 3rd party support, or adoption grants.

This deliverable lists the types of the data produced in the RDA TIGER project via the RDA TIGER personnel. The data storage and management solutions, and their role in the data lifetime are discussed. The DMP also includes information on the project and partner allocation of resources, data security, ethics and exploitation.

This Deliverable presents the RDA TIGER project handbook. It defines the main management structures, reporting procedures, responsibilities and internal and external project communication processes. Where appropriate the handbook directs the reader to the Consortium Agreement, Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation plan as well as the RDA TIGER Data Management Plan (D1.2). This document will guide the RDA TIGER processes across the consortium over the project period and will be updated and/or revised where needed.

The RDA TIGER project aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of Research Data Alliance Working Groups by providing targeted direct and external support to increase the impact of WG outputs on the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), global Open Science practices, and researchers, data professionals and the society at large. Across the project lifetime (1 January 2023 – 31 December 2025), RDA TIGER awarded 32 grants benefiting 19 RDA WGs. 

Under its Grant Agreement, RDA TIGER delivered three main types of direct and external support:

This deliverable provides an overview of the different direct and external support mechanisms within RDA TIGER and how they were managed by the project, in particular by WP1. The deliverable provides statistics on each direct and external support mechanism, the impact of these mechanisms on RDA WGs and the broader EOSC and Open Science landscape, and lessons learned from the implementation of these mechanisms. 

This deliverable answers to the Commission request for a policy feedback regarding the RDA TIGER in the wider EOSC and policy environment. It specifies the potential policy impact of the RDA TIGER supported Working Groups, and describes wider policy recommendations from the project and RDA in general.

This document is the final policy brief of the RDA TIGER project, building on recommendations and policy impact areas identified in the first brief published in 2023. It outlines the contribution of the RDA TIGER project, and given the nature of the project, the Research Data Alliance (RDA) community of 16,000 members globally, to the EOSC Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). 

The RDA TIGER project provided a suite of support services to RDA Working Groups (WGs) that concretely align, harmonise and standardise Open Science developments and technologies globally, with a specific focus on WGs that contribute to the EOSC and broader European ecosystem. Through the supported WGs and their careful selection based on specific criteria that consider their demonstrable alignment with the SRIA, the project made direct contributions to the European Open Science Cloud Partnership, while also supporting the international engagement and alignment of policies, technologies, methodologies, practices and other outputs relating to EOSC and European Open Science developments. 

The RDA TIGER Communication Toolkit builds on the RDA brand, utilises existing materials and expands them where appropriate. This document outlines communications and marketing materials that will be used during the project lifetime to facilitate RDA TIGER service awareness primarily, but also to support the RDA TIGER individual services.

This deliverable outlines the high-level plan for the RDA TIGER project to maximise the a) service awareness and dissemination of project outputs, and b) the communication service offered to RDA Working Groups (WGs). It presents the strategic phases, objectives and priorities, outlines planned communication activities, and carries out an analysis of the expected service users, also considering the service’s target audiences and stakeholders. The document also provides a brief overview of the communications materials that have already been developed as part of the communication kit, and outlines the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)  that WP2 will follow. Finally, this document presents the anticipated risks, and touches on potential plans for the exploitation of the project results.

This is an updated version of the plan based on developments that occured since D2.2 (v. 1.0), which was created in May 2023. This version 2.0 of the report was created in August 2024. 

This report outlines the high-level plan for the RDA TIGER project to engage with European National Networks, and describes activities that have taken place at the time of writing, as well as those still being planned. The deliverable defines European National Networks, identifies key stakeholders within those networks, and outlines how national and regional RDA communities have been involved in engaging the European community with RDA TIGER-supported Working Groups, and the RDA more broadly. Finally, this document presents the next steps in continuing to engage European National Networks, both within the lifetime of the RDA TIGER project and beyond.

This deliverable provides a final overview of the RDA TIGER communication service provision and outlines key lessons learned throughout the project’s implementation. As the concluding report of Work Package (WP) 2 on Communications, it reflects on the evolution, delivery, and impact of the communications activities and service designed to support the RDA TIGER Working Groups (WGs), amplify project outputs, and engage both internal and external stakeholders across the European Open Science landscape.

The RDA TIGER project was established to support the development of high-impact, internationally aligned outputs by providing a suite of support services and grants to RDA Working Groups, with a particular focus on those contributing to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). WP2 played a central role in this effort by designing and delivering a service communications offering tailored to the lifecycle of each WG, from initial idea dissemination and internal coordination, to output promotion and adoption-focused outreach.

Building on the planning and frameworks established in Deliverables D2.1 Communication Toolkit, D2.2 Updated Plan for Dissemination and Exploitation, and D2.3 European Network Engagement Progress, this final report presents an integrated view of WP2 implementation. It documents how the communications service matured from its pilot phase into a responsive, high-impact component of the RDA TIGER support platform, working closely with the supported WGs across each lifecycle stage. It highlights the collaboration with the facilitation and landscape services as well as the RDA Knowledge Base (KB) development team, and presents how the service strategically showcased the importance and impact of the project as a whole to the broader research data community. 

WP2 activities enabled increased visibility of RDA TIGER WGs across Europe, strengthened engagement with RDA Regions and European infrastructures, and supported the dissemination and adoption of WG outputs through events, webinars, targeted communications, and cross-project synergies.

This deliverable also reports on metrics and analytics to showcase the impact of communication activities, and reflects on key lessons learned. It highlights the importance of embedding communications into WG workflows from the start, and the value of tailoring support to co-chair experience levels and specific requirements.

As RDA TIGER concludes, the communication service leaves behind a portfolio of reusable resources, a strengthened presence for RDA WGs and their Outputs within the European Open Science landscape, and a set of good practices that can inform both the RDA’s future operations and similar initiatives aiming to connect global standards with European priorities.

RDA TIGER establishes a suite of concrete services to support the development of relevant and well-focused Working Groups of the Research Data Alliance (RDA). One element of RDA TIGER is the Landscape Analysis Service (WP3) which provides potential WGs and the Facilitation Service (WP5) with background knowledge of Open Science activities in related areas, with the rationale that no WG should duplicate existing work, and that landscape gaps and emerging challenges should be addressed. 

The Landscape Analysis Service will contribute to those aims by building a knowledge base of selected resources. This deliverable sets out a description of the scope of the service, how the knowledge base will be built and the methodology behind identifying relevant initiatives to include at this early stage of the project.

This deliverable is intended primarily for internal use and, in particular, to guide the Facilitation Service in their work to identify commonalities and complementarities. 

This deliverable sets out to report on the RDA Working Group (WG) engagement services that have been carried out to date in the RDA TIGER project. RDA TIGER has started to develop a series of support services to offer the RDA community and a major part of this work is to ensure that the services it creates are optimised for the best user experience, that the candidates of the support services are satisfied and that the support provided is of high-quality and efficient. This report will also provide an overview of work on engagement activities, and some key take-away’s moving ahead for the second two years of the project.

This deliverable represents the first update of the engagement component of the RDA TIGER Landscape & Engagement service. Following on from ‘D3.1 Engagement Services Service Update’ this report describes how the RDA TIGER project has provided its supported WGs with engagement services over the first two years of the project. Included here is an outline of the types of engagement strategies co-developed by the RDA TIGER project partners and WG co-chairs, the factors influencing these, and the associated tasks and activities used to execute these strategies. Also described is the overlapping nature of RDA TIGER support services and how these influence the engagement activities. 

Based on the key performance indicators and the feedback gathered so far in the project, the engagement component of the RDA TIGER Landscape & Engagement service has been a success. The project overall is on track or has already met various KPIs. A key aim for the final year of the project is for the various support services to work more in concert with one another in order to maximise the impact that the project itself and the outputs of its supported WGs have.

This report is intended to update and extend the ground covered by the earlier RDA TIGER WP3 deliverable D3.1, submitted in June 2023. It does not reproduce content from that earlier overview but attempts to provide a summary of relevant activity occurring in the last 15 months and its relationship to the RDA ecosystem. In doing so, the primary purpose of this document is to support the landscape research activities within WP3 as well as the other services of the project, as follows: 

More broadly, we also hope that the document is helpful to anyone interested in the recent developments in EOSC- and FAIR data-related activities. To support this broader use, the document provides extensive links to the background material, primarily as footnotes to make it as easy as possible to access the background material with minimal disruption of the reading (or browsing) process of the document itself.

Building upon D3.1 content, we provide an update on the progress to date with preparing the contents of the RDA graph database, its impact on RDA TIGER activity, and how it contributes to the OS landscape work that informs the landscape awareness service. We also analyse the themes and topics that appear to be developing amongst recent global Open Science initiatives and activities, and the extent to which these are reflected in the nascent and emerging RDA Working Groups supported by RDA TIGER support services.  We also offer some observations on apparent gaps in provision of RDA Working Groups that tackle contemporary Open Science issues as mapped i) against the current EOSC SRIA aims, and ii) geographically.

However, we do not attempt to perform advanced analysis of the observed developments for two reasons:

Nevertheless, we observed a few common trends that are relevant for the project as a whole, as well as for the future support activities that will eventually supersede the role RDA TIGER is currently playing. The first such observation is the relatively rapid increase in the number of RDA WGs, from 47 in June 2023 to 59 in October 2024, with further seven waiting for endorsement. In parallel with this increase, the proportion of WGs focused on domain specific issues has grown. These trends should be seen both as an asset (growing community with greater diversity leading to new cross-pollination opportunities) and a challenge (renewed efforts as well as new tools and approaches to maintain a coherent overview of the activities are needed). Furthermore, additional efforts are needed to balance the participation across geographical areas and language groups. Successfully addressing these challenges will mean that the RDA and the RDA TIGER project could be even more efficient and effective in supporting alignment of EOSC and other European FAIR-data related initiatives with global developments.

This report is a final update of the work done by Work Package 3 (WP3) of the RDA TIGER project.WP3 supports RDA Working Groups (WGs) by providing insights of the Open Science (OS) landscape,including EOSC and FAIR data activities, to avoid RDA WGs effort duplication and enhance theirimpact. The WP3 activities include the targeted Landscape Awareness service analyses, based onrequest of RDA WGs, and the Landscape Monitoring & Engagement, which tracks trends andemerging OS initiatives. The report also highlights the contributions from RDA TIGER Output Servicesand the lessons learned during the three years project. The final section provides recommendationson strengthening WP3 activities, the resource integration, and the alignment within the OSecosystem to maximise the value and sustainability of RDA outputs.

This report articulates the value and impact of the Research Data Alliance Groups and their Outputs on the European Open Science landscape and particularly the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) ecosystem. The analysis demonstrates the alignment of RDA outputs with key strategic priorities in Europe and the significant potential for leveraging the RDA platform towards harmonising efforts across the region. This is accomplished by mapping RDA outputs and Group activities to the EOSC Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), Horizon Europe projects, European Research Infrastructures, and European Union member states’ National Open Science policies. The RDA TIGER project is highlighted as a valuable initiative towards focusing and amplifying the work of the global RDA community to address European challenges, facilitating cross-fertilisation between European and international initiatives and being a force multiplier of the impact of RDA in the region. 

Research Data Alliance’s (RDA) Working Groups (WGs) aim to solve a specific research data related issue in a relatively short period of time. In practice, these groups are created by the RDA community, and rely on the voluntary contributions from the community to achieve its stated objectives. While this approach has been demonstrated to be successful in the last decade, certain areas have been identified where improvements can be made.  The RDA TIGER project addresses some of these improvements [1].

RDA TIGER establishes a suite of concrete services to support the Working Groups (WG) of the Research Data Alliance (RDA). Work Package 4 in the TIGER project oversees the service for WG Output Support, particularly the RDA Maintenance Platform (RDA-MP), and various output guidance services. The objectives are to ensure high quality, usefulness, maintenance and sustainability of the WG outputs.

This report provides a work plan for the activities, outputs and, and services envisaged for the work package.

Research Data Alliance’s (RDA) Working Groups (WGs) aim to solve specific research data related issues in a relatively short period of time. These groups are created by the RDA community, and rely on the voluntary contributions from the community to achieve its stated objectives. While this approach has been demonstrated to be successful in the last decade, certain areas have been identified where improvements can be made. The RDA TIGER project addresses some of these improvements [1].

RDA TIGER has established a suite of concrete services to support the Working and Interest Groups (WG) of the RDA. Work Package 4 in the TIGER project oversees the service for WG Output Support, including various output guidance services, and particularly the RDA Knowledge Base (RDA-KB; previously referred to as the RDA Maintenance Platform (RDA-MP – see annex K for an overview of naming scheme changes). The objectives are to ensure high quality, usefulness, maintenance, and sustainability of the WG outputs.

This report provides an assessment of progress to date with the implementation of the work plan outlined in D4.1 [4], and highlights challenges and remedies for those challenges.

The report structure mirrors that of D4.1, since we assess progress with the implementation of the solutions and remedies identified in that report with respect to the main concerns, issues, and opportunities facing RDA working group and interest group activities. 

This deliverable provides a final evaluation of the RDA TIGER project’ Output Services Work Package (WP4). It tracks progress towards the solutions and remedies identified in previous deliverables, and describes lessons learned throughout the development process. It offers descriptions and status updates on the implementation and continued improvement of the main output of WP4, the RDA Knowledge Base (RDA-KB). The RDA-KB and WP4 aims to ensure the high quality, usefulness, maintenance, and sustainability of the WG outputs.

The deliverable also provides recommendations on how the RDA-KB can be usefully adopted by the RDA community; lessons learned during the process of development; as well as how support for RDA groups can be further improved in the future. 

The report is structured in roughly three main parts: the first (current) section is an extended executive summary, including main outputs, synergies, and challenges. The second part (sections 1-3) provides more in-depth detail on the outputs created in WP4, as well as a final status update of how various priority areas identified by the project have been addressed.  Finally, the third part includes lessons learned and recommendations for future work.

The Facilitation Service is the core of the RDA TIGER services. The RDA TIGER facilitator supports WGs from initiation to finalisation phase. This document outlines the Facilitation Service, the role of the facilitator, and sets out the stages of the Working Groups (WG) that the facilitator should oversee. It also highlights the links to the other support mechanisms that will be made available to the RDA WGs. 

This deliverable is intended as an internal guidance document and will be complemented by two more updates in further deliverables (D5.2 and D5.3) which will evaluate and optimise the service based on service quality feedback from WP6.

This deliverable picks up from RDA TIGER D5.1 Definition and handbook of the Facilitation Service, documenting how the Facilitation Service for the RDA TIGER project has been implemented up to the halfway point of the project. The deliverable outlines how the anticipated stages, tasks and activities described in D5.1 have been realised in practice, and the lessons learned so far from the feedback that has been received and from those Working Groups (WGs) who have availed of the service. Particular attention is paid to the Facilitation Service stages described and detailed in D5.1; whether they have accurately predicted the type of support needed by the selected WGs and whether any additional or amended tasks are required. 

This deliverable presents the final assessment of the Facilitation Service implemented under WP5 of the RDA TIGER project. The purpose of the deliverable is to evaluate the design, implementation, outcomes, and sustainability of the Facilitation Service. The deliverable builds on earlier reports (RDA TIGER D5.1 and D5.2) and provides a standalone, summative evaluation at the end of the project. 

Responsibility for grant approval in RDA TIGER and RDA WG selection for in-kind support lies with the RDA TIGER Selection Committee. This deliverable is a guidance document that sets out the rules of participation that the Committee should follow. It describes the types of funding instruments, rules that the decision making for WGs should follow including defining the selection criteria and role of the Selection Committee. It connects strongly to the work of WP1, the RDA TIGER
Management work package in RDA TIGER who are responsible for the contractual elements
of the grants and budget coordination.

RDA TIGER provides many services for the RDA Working Groups. They are  generally new services, with relatively little initial knowledge of best practices and expectations of the WG members. It is thus critical to follow the expected quality of these services in fulfilling different aspects of the RDA TIGER project goals, including, but not limited to, the WG member satisfaction. 

This deliverable describes what is meant by quality in the RDA TIGER project, the model used to present the service and their targets, the basic quality control mechanisms used in services, and the overall quality control process of the project. This is the initial version of the process, and it is expected that the quality control mechanisms will live and evolve during the project time.

This is a report on the achievements of the RDA TIGER pilots within the first year of the project. It gives a summary of the work carried out to date to support the pilot groups with the help of the RDA TIGER facilitator, and what services have been launched and employed. Finally it highlights feedback on the different services and lessons learned and ideas for moving on and refining the services. This deliverable should serve to assist the service owners about applying the services to the new WGs which are not part of the pilot and also assist other individuals or organisations in developing facilitation and support services in their work.

This deliverable presents the steps taken to improve the value and the perceived quality of the services provided by the RDA TIGER project. 

The deliverable builds on the principles presented in RDA TIGER D6.2 ‘Initial Quality Control Processes’ and presents the concrete steps the project has taken to develop the “lightweight, but efficient methods to follow the applicability and perceived quality of the services provided”. The deliverable also summarises the feedback received after drafting the D6.3 ‘Report on Pilot Demonstrator Groups’ through formal and informal channels.

This brief guide was developed as part of the Horizon Europe-funded RDA TIGER project. Throughout the course of its lifespan, which ran for three years from 2023-2025, the project ran a total of 12 open calls for support services, travel grants and cascade grants all in support of RDA Working Groups. Key to running these calls was the efficient operation of a Selection Committee. The detailed processes for the scoping and set up of these, as well as links to the relevant documentation (evaluations forms, scoring compilation sheets, etc.) can be found in the relevant RDA TIGER project deliverables: 

The points presented below are derived from these reports and the experiences of those who managed and participated in the RDA TIGER project’s Selection Committee. They will be of use to anyone who is tasked with setting up or contributing to the operation of a Selection Committee, whether as part of a Horizon Europe-funded project or other similar initiative.

This guide is specifically tailored for facilitators, co-chairs, and community managers working with RDA (Research Data Alliance) Working Groups (WGs). Drawing on lessons from the RDA TIGER project, it provides insight into how facilitation can accelerate WG effectiveness, help navigate RDA structures, and maximise impact.

Purpose and Audience: 

Help WG co-chairs understand how facilitation practices can support their role in leading RDA Working Groups.

Support future facilitators (e.g., RDA regional initiatives like TIGRUS, or in the context of the RDA Framework for engagement with the private sector) working with RDA WGs. 

Offer practical, RDA-specific advice based on the RDA TIGER experience.

This resource provides a community-friendly overview of the Research Data Alliance (RDA) Knowledge Base, conceived and developed through the

Horizon Europe funded RDA TIGER project, specifically through Work Package 4 (details, credits?). This is intended as a sort of “start here”

familiarisation resource for RDA groups and RDA members in general.

The RDA Knowledge Base (RDA-KB) is a suite of applications and infrastructure that acts as a mechanism for the publication and cataloguing of

RDA outputs, supplementary materials, and other useful publications. In addition, it contains, or indexes other resources identified as being useful in

an RDA-related context. The RDA-KB aims to improve the quality, usefulness, and maintenance of RDA outputs, and to help users find, use, annotate,

and publish RDA-related materials. The RDA-KB also aims to support standardisation in RDA outputs and aligning these outputs with relevant policy

in Europe, e.g. EOSC. The Working Group Guidelines for instance, recommend metadata schema and RDA-specific vocabularies.

This resource provides a community-friendly overview of the Research Data Alliance (RDA) Knowledge Base, conceived and developed through the Horizon Europe funded RDA TIGER project, specifically through Work Package 4. This is intended as a sort of “start here” familiarisation resource for RDA groups and RDA members in general.

The RDA Knowledge Base (RDA-KB) is a suite of applications and infrastructure that acts as a mechanism for the publication and cataloguing of RDA outputs, supplementary materials, and other useful publications. In addition, it contains, or indexes other resources identified as being useful in an RDA-related context. The RDA-KB aims to improve the quality, usefulness, and maintenance of RDA outputs, and to help users find, use, annotate, and publish RDA-related materials. The RDA-KB also aims to support standardisation in RDA outputs and aligning these outputs with relevant policy in Europe, e.g. EOSC. The Working Group Guidelines for instance, recommend metadata schema and RDA-specific vocabularies.

The welcome pack for RDA WGs (planned or endorsed) receiving support via RDA TIGER aims to offer a comprehensive and user-friendly guide. It includes essential RDA information, important templates, and key documents supporting all RDA-related activities throughout the lifespan of WG.

It was developed as part of the RDA TIGER project, coordinated by RDA Europe.