Heidi Imker
Director, Research Data Service
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Constance Malpas
Strategic Intelligence Manager and Research Scientist
OCLC Research
In recent years, research data management (RDM) has assumed an increasingly prominent place in scholarly communication, funder requirements, codes of academic practice, university research strategy, and even national policy. This presentation will share the findings of The Realities of Research Data Management, an OCLC Research project, which explores the context and choices research universities face in building or acquiring RDM capacity. Findings are derived from the detailed case studies of four research universities in four distinct national contexts, and a series of four reports offers a simple framework for navigating the RDM service space, examines the incentives for acquiring RDM capacity, explores how research universities plan and prioritize RDM services, and highlights the decisions to build, acquire, collaborate, and scale. As one of the case studies in the Realities of Research Data Management study, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will share insights about how it has structured its program to enable collaboration both within the library and beyond to scale service offerings. Specific examples of service areas that engage local specialists from the archives, digital preservation, metadata, and numerous subject areas to leverage the library’s in-house capacity, interest, and expertise will be presented with emphasis on reciprocal benefits.
