Connecting communities to promote FAIR resources: perspectives from an RDA / EOSC Future Domain Ambassador https://www.rd-alliance.org/connecting-communities-promote-fair-resources-perspectives-rda-eosc-future-domain-ambassador As part of Allyson Lister's RDA / EOSC Future Ambassadorship, she has launched the FAIRsharing Content & Community Programme, which brings together discipline experts to curate FAIRsharing content and create FAIR educational material. In return, they are attributed for their efforts, gain expertise and become a part of a network of like-minded data enthusiasts that, as a result of the will continue for years to come. This event will highlight the work of these enthusiastic domain experts, and how they have worked to connect their communities with the material and resources they need. This event will summarise the importance of and challenges facing the RDA and EOSC future in effective community building as well as dissemination of outputs. These slides were presented at the RDA webinar of the same name on November 22, 2023.

1. CC BY 4.0 International
RDA “Decade of Data” Webinar Series - 22 November 2023
Connecting communities to promote FAIR resources:
perspectives from the RDA / EOSC Future Domain Ambassador
for standards, repositories and policies
Allyson Lister
Content & Community Lead
@FAIRsharing_org
contact@fairsharing.org @fairsharing@fediscience.org
datareadiness.eng.ox.ac.uk
Associated with the FAIRsharing RDA WG
The project has received funding from
the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme
under grant agreement no 101017536.
Supported by the Research Data
Alliance through the RDA Open Calls as
part of the EOSC Future project.
Domain Ambassadorship supported by

2. CC BY 4.0 International
Quiz credit Sara el-Gebali. Try the quiz! Use the QR Code or click here: https://2dbixgb0sux.typeform.com/to/XUaHhNcv
Find your place at the
RDA with this quiz!

3. CC BY 4.0 International
https://www.rd-alliance.org/group/fairsharing-registry-connecting-data-policies-standards-databases.html
The RDA is vibrant, energetic
research data community that is a
vital source of expertise and
engagement
It complements our needs, providing
a pool of interested domain experts
that are highly connected within
their own communities
FAIRsharing has matured under the
auspices of a dedicated RDA WG, and
our Community Champions promote
the adoption of both our registry and
the RDA itself, on a European (EOSC)
scale as well as worldwide.

4. CC BY 4.0 International
The RDA is vibrant, energetic
research data community that is a
vital source of expertise and
engagement
It complements our needs, providing
a pool of interested domain experts
that are highly connected within
their own communities
FAIRsharing has matured under the
auspices of a dedicated RDA WG, and
our Community Champions promote
the adoption of both our registry and
the RDA itself, on a European (EOSC)
scale as well as worldwide.

5. CC BY 4.0 International
FAIRsharing: informative, educational resource, and a service
It provides curated descriptions and relationship graphs of
standards, databases and policies
COMMUNITY STANDARDS
POLICIES
by funders, journals
and other organizations
DATABASES
including repositories
and knowledgebases
Identifiers
Terminologies Guidelines
Formats

6. CC BY 4.0 International
Promote the value and use of standards, databases and policies in all disciplines,
by engaging stakeholders across all sectors, through all stages of the research life cycle
FAIRsharing: mission and how we deliver it
Guides consumers to discover, select and use these resources with confidence.
Helps producers to make their resources more visible, more widely adopted and cited.
Provides humans and tools with access to trustworthy content to enable data management tasks.
Researchers
Developers and
curators
Journal
publishers
Societies and
Alliances
Librarians and
Trainers
Funders

7. CC BY 4.0 International
FAIRsharing in numbers: content, contributions, coverage
as of September 2023
collections
databases
standards
policies
all records
2011-2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Growth since launch
Types and subtypes Disciplines
4000
3000
2000
1000

8. CC BY 4.0 International
There are many research communities focused on engagement and outreach
with regards to open and FAIR digital objects and their management
There are also many professional organisations, universities and funders that
advocate for openness and FAIRness
Is there a need for a new community?
How should I grow a new community?

9. CC BY 4.0 International
Create relationships,
choose where to
invest your
professional time
CONNECT
Find those with a
common need,
identify any gaps
within your
community spaces
Create a community
to fill a gap, for a
defined purpose,
knowing there is
buy-in from the start
Modified from “Connect-Align-Produce” social-impact network model at
https://www.cscce.org/2017/08/24/considering-community-the-connect-align-produce-network-model-for-social-impact-networks-2/
PRODUCE
ALIGN
Is there a need for a new community?

10. CC BY 4.0 International
CREATE
The Community lifecycle at
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
MATURE
ESTABLISH MITOSIS
How should I grow a new community?

11. CC BY 4.0 International
MATURE
Showcase your members
with attribution, and your
outputs with engagement
ESTABLISH
Create awareness,
engagement and
membership
CREATE
Build the foundation you’ll
start from; check your goals
and message
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Connected
Community
Lifecycle
Modified from the community lifecycle described at
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
How should I grow a new community?

12. CC BY 4.0 International
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Connected
Community
Lifecycle
Modified from the community lifecycle described at
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
How should I grow a new community?

13. CC BY 4.0 International
https://twitter.com/Schwarzenegger/status/863428100473933825
https://twitter.com/UHouston/status/863067182787330050
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Build relationships

14. CC BY 4.0 International
It is the community of digital objects - and their relationships - that
elevate research
Image https://fairsharing.org/graph/2521
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Build relationships

15. CC BY 4.0 International
This is why FAIR and open have gained so much traction
https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18 Venn Diagram credit: Sarah Jones, http://www.slideshare.net/sjDCC/what-it-means-to-be-fair
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Build relationships

16. CC BY 4.0 International
Researchers need community to enact the research data life cycle
Image credit https://datamanagement.hms.harvard.edu/
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Build relationships

17. CC BY 4.0 International
Community protects against duplication of effort
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Image from https://themindwobbles.wordpress.com/2020/10/13/finding-ada-in-scientific-data-ada-lovelace-day-2020/
Build relationships

18. CC BY 4.0 International
Image from https://themindwobbles.wordpress.com/2020/10/13/finding-ada-in-scientific-data-ada-lovelace-day-2020/
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Community protects against duplication of effort
Build relationships

19. CC BY 4.0 International
Community creates a stable research environment; some examples:
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
https://fairsharing.org/communities
An endorsed output of the
FAIRsharing WG (since 2015):
A WG (since 2015) in:
A recommended resource in EOSC reports
Users from all stakeholder groups
Researchers Developers and curators Journal publishers
Societies and Alliances
Librarians and Trainers Funders
Build relationships

20. CC BY 4.0 International
Community engagement ensures diversity
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Build relationships

21. CC BY 4.0 International
Researchers need community to enact the research data life cycle
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Opportunities to connect with each
other at conferences and other
events, to be part of a community
E.g. the RDA 20th Plenary,
Gothenburg, March 2023
Build relationships

22. CC BY 4.0 International
RDA Domain Ambassadors were funded through two
European projects, “providing an opportunity for scientific
communities to contribute to the development of research
data tools, standards, and expertise in the context of EOSC.
The overarching objective is to bring data initiatives and
experts closer to EOSC…”
In EOSC Future, 14 Domain Ambassadors were funded.
The DAs proposed tailored outreach (webinars,
conferences, informational resources, etc.) that they
developed over the course of the project with support from
RDA and their fellow Ambassadors through regular
meetings.
https://www.rd-alliance.org/rda-disciplines/rda-europe-ambassadors-2022 Slide credit: Beth Knazook, Sara el-Gebali
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Build relationships

23. CC BY 4.0 International
https://www.rd-alliance.org/rda-disciplines/rda-europe-ambassadors-2022 Slide credit: Sarah Jones via Beth Knazook, Sara el-Gebali
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Build relationships

24. CC BY 4.0 International
There aren’t disciplinary groups for everyone - where
do the lone wolves go?
RDA needs people who are available to speak on their
subjects (DAs create a network of people to collaborate
on conferences presentations, webinars, respond to
RDA outputs, etc.)
Community view into other disciplines
Opportunity to connect with others who want to utilise
RDA outputs
Capture experience administering and participating in
grant funded ambassadorships (preserving the model
for others to use)
Provide an entry group to RDA groups - want to join
RDA? Ask an Ambassador!
RDA and EOSC built relationships via Domain Ambassadors
Slide credit: Beth Knazook, Sara el-Gebali
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Build relationships

25. CC BY 4.0 International
CREATE
Build the foundation you’ll
start from; check your goals
and message
Connected
Community
Lifecycle
Modified from the community lifecycle described at
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
How should I grow a new community?

26. CC BY 4.0 International
Ensure a solid
foundation
Knowing how to connect to your
community helps you set funder
expectations, improve
programming, and equip a
community manager to succeed
Woodley, L., & Pratt, K. (2020). The CSCCE Community Participation Model – A framework to describe member engagement and information flow in STEM communities.
Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3997802 . See also https://www.cscce.org/resources/community-programming/
CREATE
Build the foundation you’ll
start from; check your goals
and message
Create

27. CC BY 4.0 International
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
https://fairsharing.gitbook.io/fairsharing/community-champions/thinking-of-joining-us
CREATE
Build the foundation you’ll
start from; check your goals
and message
“Activity will be low and you’re probably
going to wonder more than once whether
you’re on the right track. While this is
normal for a few long months, if you’re
still in this phase after 9 months it’s a sign
that something’s not right. Either your
topic isn’t resonating, you’ve not invited
enough people, or there’s something else
preventing people from diving in.”
Create

28. CC BY 4.0 International
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
https://fairsharing.gitbook.io/fairsharing/community-champions/thinking-of-joining-us
CREATE
Build the foundation you’ll
start from; check your goals
and message
“Activity will be low and you’re probably
going to wonder more than once whether
you’re on the right track. While this is
normal for a few long months, if you’re
still in this phase after 9 months it’s a sign
that something’s not right. Either your
topic isn’t resonating, you’ve not invited
enough people, or there’s something else
preventing people from diving in.”
Create

29. CC BY 4.0 International
“Activity will be low and you’re probably
going to wonder more than once whether
you’re on the right track. While this is
normal for a few long months, if you’re
still in this phase after 9 months it’s a sign
that something’s not right. Either your
topic isn’t resonating, you’ve not invited
enough people, or there’s something else
preventing people from diving in.”
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
https://fairsharing.gitbook.io/fairsharing/community-champions/thinking-of-joining-us
CREATE
Build the foundation you’ll
start from; check your goals
and message
Create

30. CC BY 4.0 International
Providing relevant information across
the entire research community is a
complex challenge requiring a strong
user community
Relationships (among resources and
within the user community) are at
the core of FAIRsharing’s curation
approaches
This can
be you,
JOIN US!
CREATE
Build the foundation you’ll
start from; check your goals
and message
Create

31. CC BY 4.0 International
Domain experts, from RDA, EOSC clusters and
worldwide, who
● Help curate content, standards,
repositories and policies relevant to their
EOSC cluster, RDA group, research domain,
or area of focus
● Contribute to educational material for the
users
● Gain expertise, networking and
attribution for their work, via ORCID
The project has received funding from
the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme
under grant agreement no 101017536.
Supported by the Research Data
Alliance through the RDA Open Calls as
part of the EOSC Future project.
RDA/EOSC Future Domain Ambassadorships
supported by
CREATE
Build the foundation you’ll
start from; check your goals
and message
fairsharing.org/educational#researchers
Create

32. CC BY 4.0 International
Domain experts, from RDA, EOSC clusters and
worldwide, who
● Help curate content, standards,
repositories and policies relevant to their
EOSC cluster, RDA group, research domain,
or area of focus
● Contribute to educational material for the
users
● Gain expertise, networking and
attribution for their work, via ORCID
The project has received funding from
the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme
under grant agreement no 101017536.
Supported by the Research Data
Alliance through the RDA Open Calls as
part of the EOSC Future project.
RDA/EOSC Future Domain Ambassadorships
supported by
CREATE
Build the foundation you’ll
start from; check your goals
and message
fairsharing.org/educational#researchers
Create

33. CC BY 4.0 International
ESTABLISH
Create awareness,
engagement and
membership
Connected
Community
Lifecycle
Modified from the community lifecycle described at
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
How should I grow a new community?

34. CC BY 4.0 International
“Community members will be more
engaged and you’ll begin to feel less
like you’re doing all the work. However,
this isn’t yet a mature community –
just one on the path there.”
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
https://twitter.com/hashtag/FAIRsharingCommunityChampions
ESTABLISH
Create awareness,
engagement and
membership
Establish

35. CC BY 4.0 International
“Community members will be more
engaged and you’ll begin to feel less
like you’re doing all the work. However,
this isn’t yet a mature community –
just one on the path there.”
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
https://twitter.com/hashtag/FAIRsharingCommunityChampions
ESTABLISH
Create awareness,
engagement and
membership
Establish

36. CC BY 4.0 International
“Community members will be more
engaged and you’ll begin to feel less
like you’re doing all the work. However,
this isn’t yet a mature community –
just one on the path there.”
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
https://twitter.com/hashtag/FAIRsharingCommunityChampions
https://blog.fairsharing.org/
ESTABLISH
Create awareness,
engagement and
membership
Establish

37. CC BY 4.0 International
MATURE
Showcase your members
with attribution, and your
outputs with engagement
Connected
Community
Lifecycle
Modified from the community lifecycle described at
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
How should I grow a new community?

38. CC BY 4.0 International
MATURE
Showcase your members
with attribution, and your
outputs with engagement
Details from Lindsey Anderson, https://fairsharing.org/users/5015
“Community becomes much more
self-sustaining. You’re definitely not
creating all the content anymore”
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/
Mature

39. CC BY 4.0 International
Strengthening RDA Community WG Developments
Leveraging FAIRsharing Community Champion Educational
Materials
Slide credit: Lindsey Anderson, https://fairsharing.org/users/5015

40. CC BY 4.0 International
Project DMP Best Practices for Policy-Compliant
FAIRsharing Standard Adoption & Reuse
Slide credit: Lindsey Anderson, https://fairsharing.org/users/5015

41. CC BY 4.0 International
Series, focusing on:
● Content
● Users
● Functionalities
● Behind the scenes
● Tips
MATURE
Showcase your members
with attribution, and your
outputs with engagement
https://fairsharing.org/educational
Mature

42. CC BY 4.0 International
https://fairsharing.org/educational
MATURE
Showcase your members
with attribution, and your
outputs with engagement
Mature

43. CC BY 4.0 International
MATURE
Showcase your members
with attribution, and your
outputs with engagement
Our Maintainers and
Community Champions are
continue to update across
all disciplines, according to
their needs and interests
3772
edits
104
new records
520
updated records
*Since they
began in Autumn
2022
Community Champions
3281
edits
418
active maintainers
*Since our new
site went live in
October 2021
Record Maintainers
Mature

44. CC BY 4.0 International
MATURE
Showcase your members
with attribution, and your
outputs with engagement
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in isolation,
including communities
Connected
Community
Lifecycle
Modified from the community lifecycle described at
https://www.cscce.org/2017/04/27/the-community-lifecycle-converting-theory-to-practice-as-a-community-manager/

45. CC BY 4.0 International
Find your near neighbours
Identify gaps in community
knowledge and collaborations
Create relationships and
collaborations with other
communities
Everyone benefits
MATURE
Showcase your members with
attribution, and your outputs
with engagement
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in
isolation, including
communities
Connected
Community
Lifecycle
Community-level relationships

46. CC BY 4.0 International
https://www.gbif.org/news/6P2o4iu4iF3AXqQvUUszuZ/gbif-staff-join-the-fairsharing-community-champions-programme
Community-level relationships

47. CC BY 4.0 International
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) plays
a pivotal role by creating a central hub
where researchers and the wider
community can gather to exchange
ideas, collaborate, and co-create. It
acts as a catalyst for efficient
knowledge dissemination, enabling
individuals to learn and then apply
their newfound insights in the broader
world.
Sara el-Gebali, RDA / EOSC Future
Domain Ambassador for Life Science
Quiz credit Sara el-Gebali. Try the quiz! Use the QR Code or click here: https://2dbixgb0sux.typeform.com/to/XUaHhNcv
Find your place at the
RDA with this quiz!
BUILD
RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing exists in
isolation,
including
communities
MATURE
Showcase your
members with
attribution, and your
outputs with
engagement
Community-level relationships

48. CC BY 4.0 International
https://figshare.com/projects/Open_Access_Escape_Room/56915
https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10017280
https://www.rd-alliance.org/blogs/rda-plenary-20-impressions-community-takeaways-and-character-alignment.html
https://nlesc.github.io/softwarehorrorgame/SoftwareHorrorGame.html
https://sites.google.com/vu.nl/datahorror/home?authuser=0
Have fun, because community
engagement takes dedication
and energy!

49. CC BY 4.0 International
Community Champions
fairsharing.org/community_champions/our_champions
RDA FAIRsharing WG Chairs
● Graham Smith, Springer Nature
● Holly Murray, Health Data Research UK
● Peter McQuilton, GSK
● Rebecca Grant, F1000
● Simon Hodson, CODATA
● Allyson Lister, University of Oxford
● Susanna-Assunta Sansone, University of Oxford
Stakeholder Advisors
● Amye Kenall, Research Square
● Adam Leary, Oxford University Press
● Catriona MacCallum, Wiley
● Dagmar Meyer, European Research Council, Executive Agency
● David Carr, Global Biodata Coalition
● Dominic Fripp, JISC
● Emma Ganley, Protocols.io
● Geraldine Clement-Stoneham, Medical Research Council
● Graham Smith, Springer Nature
● Helena Cousijn, DataCite
● Imma Subirats, FAO of the United Nations
● Kiera McNiece, Cambridge University Press
● Lauren Cadwallader, PLoS
● Lorenzo Feri, Elsevier
● Luiz Olavo Bonino, GO-FAIR
● Mark Leggott, Digital Research Alliance of Canada
● Marta Teperek, Open Science NL
● Michael Ball, Medical Research Council
● Mike Huerta, NIH National Library of Medicine
● Nick Everitt, and Matthew Cannon, Taylor and Francis
● Peter McQuilton, (FAIRsharing Founding Member), GSK
● Rebecca Grant, F1000
● Richard Brown, BBSRC UKRI
● Robert Hanisch, National Institute of Standards and Technology
● Sarah Callaghan, Research Strategy & Policy Unit,
University of Oxford
● Sarah Stewart, St. George's, University of London; Oxford Internet
Institute
● Scott Edmunds, GigaScience, Oxford University Press
● Simon Hodson, CODATA
● Theo Bloom, British Medical Journal
● Thomas Lemberger, EMBO Press
● Varsha Khodiyar, Independent Expert
● Wei-Mun Chan, eLife
Operational Team
Thank you!
fairsharing.org/communities#governance
www.rd-alliance.org/group/fairsharing-registry-connecting-data-policies-standards-databases.html