Data Stewardship Network (DSN) in the ETH Domain
Institutions
Partners
Description
Researchers generate large amounts of data throughout their work. Data stewards help researchers organise, document, manage, and share these data in line with institutional policies, funder requirements, and good research practices.
The Data Stewardship Network Proposal aimed at supporting this by:
- Facilitating knowledge exchange and best-practice workshops among people with data-related roles.
- Providing coordinated and pragmatic support for managing research data across the ETH Domain.
- Suggesting improvements for data policies in the ETH Domain. This complements Measure 4 of the ORD program.
- Making the work and skill sets of Data Stewards and Research Software Engineers visible in the research community.
- Empowering the 4RI to catch up with ETH Zürich and EPF Lausanne in terms of data management support for researchers.
This project established the ETH Domain Data Stewardship Network, bringing together data stewards from across the ETH Domain to exchange knowledge, share expertise, and strengthen collaboration. The project supported the development of institution-specific data stewardship communities while creating regular opportunities for coordination across institutions to improve the consistency of ORD support.
The project also developed practical resources that benefit both researchers and data stewards, including a shared Data Management Plan (DMP) template, guidance to help researchers decide how to publish research data in line with legal requirements and the FAIR principles, a checklist for identifying data steward-related roles, and guidance on selecting appropriate data repositories. Together, these activities have strengthened data stewardship capacity across the ETH Domain and provide a foundation for more consistent and sustainable support for ORD.