Building communities: Lessons from RDA

Building communities: Lessons from RDA Connie Clare, Research Data Alliance [email protected] rd-alliance.org Tuesday, 25 November 2025 National Research Software Day About Me •Developmental Biology PhD at Uni of Nottingham (2016 –2020) •Internship at TU Delft working with Data Stewards and Data Champions (2019) •Community Manager at 4TU.ResearchData (2020 –2022) •Community Development Manager at Research Data Alliance (RDA) (2022 –present) What is ‘community’? What does ‘community’ mean to you? www.menti.com 4766 6993 ? COMMUNITY People with a shared purpose come together to achieve goals and tasks they would not be able to do on their own. Adapted from cscce.org Information flows in multiple directions - members, organisations, technologies, regions, domains. Provides opportunities for learning, knowledge and best practice exchange. Stimulates the development of new ideas and projects. Members expand their network and foster meaningful connections. Reduces siloed efforts and increases harmonisation across borders. Enhances effective collaboration and cooperation towards open research, open data, open software. Not without challenges! What is the RDA? What is the RDA? The RDA is an international member-based organisation focused on the development of infrastructure and community activities that reduce barriers to data sharing and accelerate data-driven innovation worldwide. 16,000+ members 150+ countries Researchers, scientists, data professionals Different disciplines, domains, thematic fields Free and open for all to join RDA Values Researchers and innovators openly share and reuse data across technologies, disciplines, and countries to address the grand challenges of society. Openness Consensus Inclusivity Harmonisation Vision Mission The RDA builds the social and technical bridges that enable open sharing and reuse of data. Community-driven Non-profit & technology-neutral Guiding Principles How the RDA works RDA Strategic Plan 2024 - 2028 Read the Strategic Plan Last year, the RDA presented its fifth Strategic Plan, providing direction and vision for the organisation until 2028. This plan, focused on strengthening and widening the RDA, is organised into four strategic themes. RDA Plenaries are exciting and productive events that bring together the unique, global RDA community of researchers, scientists and data professionals. RDA Plenaries More about Plenaries Plenaries help move the community forward in creating tangible deliverables that improve data sharing and reuse across disciplines, technologies and countries. See the highlights and photos 16 –20 March - Programme SAVE THE DATE! P27, London (in person) About P27 Benefits for Individual Members The value for members Contribute to acceleration of data infrastructure developments Become part of the global community and expand your professional network Create, access and adopt RDA Recommendations and Outputs Gain expertise in data-related topics regardless of career stage Receive regular updates on the work of the RDA community Participate in community events, including webinars, workshops and Plenaries JOIN FOR FREE Become a member RDA Governance COUNCIL Organisational vision and strategy The RDA consists of four governance bodies made up of volunteer community members: TECHNICAL ADVISORY BOARD RDA Governance ORGANISATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD REGIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Socio-technical vision and strategy Needs, adoption, business advice Liaison between regions and council SECRETARIAT Administration and operations These bodies and the RDA global community are supported by: Community building challenges What community building challenges are you facing? www.menti.com 4766 6993 Challenges of building a large global community CHALLENGE 1 GLOBAL SCALE •16,000+ members,150+ countries •Predominantly online •Heavy reliance on digital infrastructure CHALLENGE 2 PRACTICAL BARRIER •Multiple time zones require repeated events •Limited funding for in-person gatherings CHALLENGE 3 DIVERSITY & INCLUSION •Language barriers and cultural differences •Need for accessible communication CHALLENGE 5 MEMBER EXPERIENCE •Overwhelming for newcomers to navigate •Finding your place in a large community CHALLENGE 4 COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT •Safety: Code of conduct & AI guidance essential •Coordination: Ensuring cross-group harmonisation CHALLENGE 6 MEASURING SUCCESS •Metrics? Invisible work •Reward and recognition 5 RDA Approaches in Action 1. RDA Domain Ambassadors https://www.rd-alliance.org/disciplines/rda-domain-ambassadors/ https://www.rd-alliance.org/groups/rda-ambassadors/activity/ CHALLENGE 1 GLOBAL SCALE •16,000+ members,150+ countries CHALLENGE 6 MEASURING SUCCESS •Reward and recognition •Coordination group of disciplinary experts •Monthly meetups •Bridge RDA with research domains •Promote groups and outputs •Disciplinary feedback and support for groups •Outreach/speaker list 2. Oceania and East Asia Data Roundtables •Pilot in November •Underrepresented regions in Southern hemisphere •Online event, 4:30 UTC •Pitch your work •Regional news / events •Networking •60+ participants •Repeat in December CHALLENGE 2 PRACTICAL BARRIER •Multiple time zones require repeated events •Limited funding for in-person gatherings CHALLENGE 5 MEMBER EXPERIENCE •Overwhelming for newcomers to navigate •Finding your place in a large community Photo by Ed Wingate on Unsplash If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. African Proverb Acknowledgments •Kim Ferguson (RDA NL) •Hilary Hanahoe (RDA) •Lena Karvovskaya (TU Delft) •Curtis Sharma (RDA) •Marta Teperek (NWO) •Lou Woodley (CSCCE) •TU Delft Data Stewards & Data Champions •The RDA Community Illustrations created in storyset.com The Center for Scientific Collaboration and Community Engagement (CSCCE) champions the importance of human infrastructure for effective collaboration in STEM, providing training and support for the people who make scientific collaborations succeed at scale – scientific community managers. CSCCE does this by: ●Developing and publishing resources including core frameworks, guidebooks, and tip sheets that address core concepts in scientific community engagement: https://www.cscce.org/resources/ ●Providing professional development opportunities including online trainings, webinars, and consultancy: https://www.cscce.org/trainings/ CSCCE A research and training center to support scientific community managers ●Convening a community of practice of over 900 community managers in STEM, where practitioners can crowdsource solutions and peer support as well as access free programming: https://www.cscce.org/community/ ●Conducting research to characterize scientific community managers and the communities they support: https://www.cscce.org/research/ About CSCCE Contact us The Secretariat staff are employed by the RDA Foundation and some members are made available through in-kind support from Regional partners. The Secretary General leads the Secretariat and is CEO of the RDA Foundation. Hilary Hanahoe Secretary General [email protected] Connie Clare Community Development Manager [email protected] Irina Hope Global Events Manager [email protected] Trish Radotic Community Development Manager Oceania & East Asia [email protected] Curtis Sharma Communications Manager [email protected] Bridget Walker Operations and Accounts Manager [email protected] Illustrations used by Storyset.com