NEWS

Apr 6, 2021

The ELIXIR-CONVERGE project has just released one of its main outputs — the RDMkit. Developed and managed by those who work daily with life science data, this research data management kit provides a comprehensive guide with best practices applicable to projects from start to end.

Go to the RDMkit here

The new tool for research data management has three fundamental goals:

• Empower researchers struggling to manage their research data.
• Advocate Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) data, and best practices in research data management.
• Facilitate the adoption of best practices by academia and industry.

What the RDMkit has to offer 

To cater to diverse users’ needs, the site filters and organises the guidelines in six different ways:

• The research data life cycle
• The user’s role
• The research domain
• The data management problem
• The tools and resources needed
• The practical examples for tools assembly
• Suppose a researcher is currently working on analysing human data to make it more FAIR. In that case, a dedicated page will help review all the problems that must be addressed at that particular stage, for that particular domain, for that particular role.

How to contribute to this community-driven effort

The RDMkit is a community-driven effort that welcomes contributions to improve its usability and content, expand to other domains or represent different user roles. If you want to contribute to this open-source toolkit, your support will be officially recognised on the site. To find out more, visit the RDMkit page for contributions.

About the ELIXIR-CONVERGE project

ELIXIR-CONVERGE, a three-year Horizon 2020 project, brings together experts from all 23 ELIXIR Nodes, representing 29 research institutes and 22 countries across Europe to work collaboratively on some of the major challenges around accessing, provisioning and distributing data. The development of a data management toolkit sits at the core of the project, providing researchers with a strategy to manage their data to international standards.
For more information about the project, visit the ELIXIR-CONVERGE project pages.

Acknowledgements​

• Barcelona Supercomputing Center (ELIXIR Spain)
• Dutch Techcentre for Life Sciences (ELIXIR Netherlands)
• Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (ELIXIR Germany)
• Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (ELIXIR Portugal)
• National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden (ELIXIR Sweden)
• University of Luxembourg (ELIXIR Luxembourg)
• University of Manchester (ELIXIR UK)
• VIB (ELIXIR Belgium)