New Report: The Evolving Landscape of Federated Research Data Infrastructures

From a Knowledge Exchange Introductory Post and an Abstract (via Zenodo):

In 2016 the Knowledge Exchange Research Data expert group identified a need for better understanding of the nature and consequences of research and data infrastructure being more and more federated. Work was designed to find answers to questions such as ‘Which are the main drivers for federating RD infrastructures and services ? What are the expected benefits? What are the consequences for research and researchers?
To understand more of the complexity, sixteen federated RD infrastructures (FRDI’s) in the six Knowledge Exchange member countries (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) have been interviewed, as a first step to get a grip on the phenomenon FRDI. The responses have been analysed and outcomes are documented in the report ‘The evolving landscape of Federated Research Data Infrastructures’. The publication describes the situation in the six partner countries, and presents nine main conclusions on a variety of aspects.
The report, written by Stephane Goldstein of InformAll, demonstrates that ‘federated’ can mean different things. Federation can refer to different elements, levels and processes within the infrastructure, to governance and funding structures or to any coordinative activity. Federations are the result of push and pull factors, and in many cases the environment in which they operate can be characterised as fragmented.
The report reaches nine broad conclusions. It first considers the issues and background to the study, then the methodology deployed, before synthesising and analysing the information gathered during the fieldwork. This information is structured to address the following: what is understood by ‘federated’; drivers for FRDIs (push factors and meeting demand); operation of the infrastructures; data-related practices; training and skills; challenges and obstacles; outcomes and impact; and implications for the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

Direct to Full Text Report (via Zenodo)
40 pages; PDF.
Direct to Full Text Report (via JISC)
40 pages; PDF.

Filed under: Data Files, Funding, News, Open Access