Institutional Research Data Management Strategy

LAKELAND COLLEGE

Institutional Research Data Mangement Strategy

A. Background and Purpose

In March of 2021 the Tri-Agency which is made up of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) released its Research Data Management Policy1. The objective of this policy is to support research excellence across Canadian research institutions by promoting sound research data management (RDM) and data stewardship practices. The Tri-Council RDM policy is based on three main pillars including:

1. Institutional RDM strategy: All post-secondary institutions eligible to administer Tri-Agency funds are required to create an institutional Research Data Management (RDM) Strategy and make this strategy publicly available on the institution’s website.

2. Data Management Plans (DMP): Specific funding opportunities will require researchers to include a data management plan reflecting best RDM practices as part of their funding proposal submitted to the Tri-Agency.

3. Data Deposit: Specific funding opportunities will require researchers to deposit into a recognized digital repository research data and metadata that directly support research conclusions, including those found in academic journal publications, for open discovery and, as able, appropriate access. Data repositories used should assign persistent identifiers and ensure safe storage, curation, and preservation of data.

In response to the Tri-Agency RDM policy, the Lakeland College Research Data Management Working Group (RDMWG) was formed to assess the current state of RDM at the College and to develop our institutional RDM strategy. The RDMWG consisted of stakeholders from across the College including the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Research, the Applied Research Department, Information Technology Services, Privacy Office, Information Management, Library Services, and Institutional analytics.

The purpose of the Lakeland College institutional RDM strategy is to create a culture and environment that supports researchers, faculty, staff, and students in adopting sound and responsible data management practices. Our strategy was guided by the FAIR principles2 that emphasize that research data should be findable, accessible, interoperable and re-usable.

B. Scope and Objective

The RDMWG used the Digital Research Alliance of Canada’s RDM Maturity Assessment Model in Canada (MAMIC) to assess Lakeland College’s current and ideal states of institutional readiness to support research data management, as well as to help identify and guide the development of future services, resources, and policies. Lakeland College’s RDM strategy will provide a framework to support our Researchers, Faculty, Staff, Students, Partners, External Researchers and Funders.

The overarching goals of this RDM strategy are to:

1. Develop, promote and foster a culture that supports adoption of responsible RDM practices at Lakeland College.

2. Enhance awareness of RDM and Lakeland College’s RDM strategy to the College community.

3. Provide access and/or develop support, services, and training opportunities for Researchers, Faculty, Staff, and Students in developing responsible and effective RDM practice.

4. Strengthen RDM governance at Lakeland College.

Lakeland College supports the tenets of Indigenous data sovereignty and acknowledges the importance and value of engaging Indigenous communities at the earliest stages of research. Lakeland College recognizes and supports the importance of managing First Nations, Métis, and Inuit research data across all disciplines in accordance with data management principles developed and approved by those communities. As such, Lakeland College Indigenous Support Services will be involved in RDM consultations and will also comply with:

• The First Nations principles of OCAP3 (ownership, control, access, and possession)

• The CARE Principles4 for Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Governance

• The broader principles5 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People

C. Oversight and Review

The Lakeland College institutional RDM strategy was reviewed by Lakeland College Student Services, Dean’s Council and Indigenous Support Services prior to approval by the Senior Leadership Team.

Looking into the future, the Lakeland RDM Working Group will evolve into a RDM standing committee, under the oversight from the Vice-President Academic and Research, that will have responsibility for the strategy. The RDM standing committee will meet periodically, no less than bi-annually, throughout the implementation period to monitor and assess progress, review deliverables and update the strategy as required. The roadmap portion of this document will be reviewed and assessed annually. Indicators of success will be developed to measure progress.

Finally, the Department of Applied Research will oversee the implementation of this plan.

D. Strategy and Roadmap

1. Raise Awareness

Identify stakeholder communities at Lakeland College

In the Winter 2023, the RDMWG conducted a survey to: 1) build awareness about Research Data Management (RDM) and the Tri-Agency RDM policy, 2) gauge the knowledge level related to RDM at the College, and 3) collect information about stakeholder communities and current RDM practices from scientists, faculty and staff who conduct and/or support research being conducted in any forms at Lakeland College. Biennial surveys will be conducted after the launch of our strategy to track awareness and identify new stakeholders.

Developing a communication strategy to engage the stakeholders will be crucial to create a strong community in RDM. Resources required include dedicated staff time and capacity to develop communication materials.

Ongoing

Recruit local champions to help promote the importance and value of RDM and engage with various communities

In the Fall 2022, a RDM Working Group was formed. Oversight and responsibility for the working group resides with the VP Academic and Research with delegated authority to the Director, Applied Research. The committee included individuals across key areas at the College including VP office, Applied Research, Libraries, IT, Risk and Compliance Management, Institutional Data Analytic. This working group has focused on identifying stakeholder communities, assessing RDM needs and gaps at the College, and drafting the Institutional RDM Strategy. This working group will evolve into a RDM standing committee with responsibilities to oversee implementation of the RDM strategy and to work with departments across the institution to promote sound RDM practices at Lakeland.

The RDMWG intended to include Indigenous Support Services, but the role was vacant during the development of the strategy. Indigenous representation will be added to the RDM standing committee whose role will be to support RDM at the College.

Ongoing

Objectives

Develop awareness material and resources to support RDM and our research community

Lakeland College has existing infrastructure that can be leveraged to build RDM awareness. This includes an Applied Research Department website that provides access to resources and links for our research community. The college also recently launched an intranet that houses policies and procedures, provides access to IT resources and has a news board for dissemination of information.

There are currently limited tools and resources available at Lakeland that specifically address RDM. A RDM web site will be developed to house our institutional strategy, inform our community on best practices, and provide links to resources such as the Tri-Council RDM policy. Resources required include dedicated staff time and capacity to develop outreach and website materials.

Participate in future Tri-Agency consultation around RDM Policy

Lakeland College participated in the initial RDM Summit for Canadian Colleges and Polytechnics hosted in December 2018. The Director of Applied Research is on the Tri-Agency and CICan distribution lists and is monitoring Tri-Agency announcements. The College will participate in consultations as opportunities become available.

Participation to Tri-Agency RDM consultation will need to be expanded to include involvement from the RDM institutional standing committee, scientists, and research staff.

Ongoing

Participate in provincial and national RDM consultation and events

The Director of Applied Research participated in the Institutional RDM Strategy workshop organized by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, attended the College, CEGEP and polytechnic perspectives on institutional RDM planning co-hosted by CICan and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, and participated in the SSHRC funded series of workshops organized by the Alberta Research-Data Management Information Network (ARMIN) based at Concordia University of Edmonton. In addition, Lakeland College will continue to seek and participate in RDM community of practices, expert and working groups, etc.

Participation within provincial and national RDM consultation opportunities will need to be expanded to include involvement from the RDM institutional standing committee, scientists, and research staff.

Ongoing

Services Ideal State Current State Gaps & Resources Required Plan Timelines

Data Management Plans (DMP)

Implement data management plans (document) in support of funder requirements, including for Tri-Council research grants, that clearly defines how research data will be managed across the research lifecycle e.g. how to manage risk, re-use of data, how data will be collected, stored and accessed, and long-term stewardship including data deposit. Provide a robust and supportive environment to the Lakeland research community with respect to DMP including ensuring access to DMP tools, resources, training and expertise.

The college created an Administrative account within the Digital Research Alliance of Canada DMP Assistant tool, but hasn’t yet required implementation of DMP for Tri-Council research grants and projects.

The Director of Applied Research is part of the DMP Assistant Administrator group and participates in DMP workshops and community of practice.

The college also has several policies related to Research that include some components of research data management. Examples are Responsible Conduct of Research & Scholarly activity Policy and Scholarly Applied Research Policy.

Lack of expertise in the development of Data Management Plan. Resources required include DMP Assistant support that will assist with customization of DMP templates, provide guidance, and review/validate RDM plans from Lakeland College Faculty, Scientists and staff.

Raise awareness about the DMP Assistant tool. Leverage external resources such as the Digital Research Alliance of Canada DMP Expert Group, communities of practice, and learning opportunities including webinars and workshops.

Medium Term (2-3 years)

Institutional Support and training Resources, information, and training are available for self-help, group or online learning.

FAQ documents are available for easy guidance. Provision of necessary data storage space or platform options adapted to the needs of the research community. Learning modules for students, staff or external users are available on Lakeland’s online learning platform.

Video resources describing best RDM practices, drafting DMPs, data storage and sharing.

New users can access advice and training on RDM resources from the Library, IT and Applied Research Department.

RDM awareness is ongoing, but training resources are not yet available to new users.

College expertise in Research Data Management. Formal training programs including self-guided modules and informational videos.

Web platform for guiding new users. Resources required include dedicated staff time and capacity to develop a website and training materials.

Develop a webpage dedicated to RDM including FAQ and links to tools and resources.

Leverage external resources from Provincial and National organizations group involved in developing and delivering RDM training and resources (e.g. Digital Research Alliance of Canada).

Join existing communities of practices such as ARMIN and the DMP Assistant Administrators Group Identify external training opportunities such as webinars and workshops and increase awareness at the College.

Long term (5 years or as needed)

Services Ideal

State Current State Gaps & Resources Required Plan Timelines

Data repository and archiving Provide options for data repositories that meet both journals and funder requirements, including the Tri-Agency, and that support the Lakeland community with data deposit needs and questions.

Lakeland ITS provides a wide range of options for active data storage but, similar to many institutions across Canada, we do not have the capacity and expertise required to host an institutional digital research data repository.

College expertise in long-term data stewardship, including with respect to data deposit and curation. Identify and leverage opportunities for making supportive digital data repositories available to Lakeland researchers, including the potential for implementing an institutional digital research data repository.

File Transfer Services with external sharing capabilities for large data sets. Financial resources will be required for supporting the implementation and delivery of an institutional data repository.

Participate in RDM Community of practices, workshop, etc. to develop internal expertise and tap into existing external resources. Explore the various research data repositories available to Canadian post-secondary institutions and subscribe to an option(s) that will meet the needs of our community. There are several options available at reasonable cost such as Borealis Dataverse which is hosted at the University of Toronto and the Federated Research Data Repository, both of which receive financial support from the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.

Long term (5 years or as needed)

Institutional policies, guidelines and procedures

Policies and procedures that clearly articulate the importance and value of good and effective RDM practices across the research lifecycle as well as consistently through the College.

We currently have policies related to RDM, but none specific to RDM: Notables examples include: Intellectual Property; Records Management; Research Policies (Scholarship Applied Research Policy & procedure); Responsible Conduct of Research & Scholarly Activities); Privacy and Access to Information; IT Policies; and Development and Management of the Library Collection.

There is currently no RDM specific policy or guiding document. Also, RDM is not consistently referenced or addressed in other related policies and procedures. FAQ and Guidelines.

Develop a guiding document referencing existing policies addressing RDM.

Assess the need to develop RDM specific policy(ies). Review of existing policies and procedures to identify opportunities for including RDM and update as required.

Incorporate indigenous support services in process.

Long term (5 years or as needed)

Formalize RDM Practices

Although Lakeland College has several policies and procedures related to applied research and scholarly activities, there is a need to revisit them with a Research Data Management lens to formalize RDM practices at the College. This will involve revisiting existing policies and procedures with a Research Data Management lens, possibly developing new policies, and providing adequate support and resources to our community to ensure robust RDM practices at the College.

Lakeland College recognizes that RDM is in an early stage of development in colleges and will continue to evolve over several years in order to achieve an ideal state. Our strategy provides the foundation to this work by identifying core areas of focus that will guide RDM policy review and development as well as strengthen our research data management practices across the College.

4. Definitions*

Data Deposit: “Data deposit” refers to when research data are transferred into a digital research data repository that makes the data openly discoverable, as well as appropriately accessible and reusable (*Note: not all data deposited into a research data repository are necessarily open data, as there are also restricted access options available). The repository should include the assignment of a persistent identifier (typically a digital object identifier (DOI)) and have easily accessible policies describing deposit and user licenses, access control, preservation procedures, storage and backup practices, and sustainability and succession plans. The deposit of research data into appropriate repositories supports ongoing data-retention and, where appropriate, access to the data.

Data Management Plan: A data management plan (DMP) is a structured and living document, typically associated with an individual research project or program that consists of the practices, processes and strategies that pertain to a set of specified topics related to data management across the research lifecycle including long-term data stewardship, curation and preservation. DMPs should be modified throughout the course of a research project to reflect changes in project design, methods, or other considerations. DMPs guide researchers in articulating their plans for managing data; they do not necessarily compel researchers to manage data differently.

Research Data: Research data are data that are used as primary sources to support technical or scientific enquiry, research, scholarship, or creative practice, and that are used as evidence in the research process and/or are commonly accepted in the research community as necessary to validate research findings and results. Research data may be experimental data, observational data, operational data, third party data, public sector data, monitoring data, processed data, or repurposed data.

Research Data Management: Research data management (RDM) refers to the processes applied through the lifecycle of research to guide the management of research data including with respect to their collection, documentation, storage, curation appropriate sharing and preservation

* Definitions were adapted from the Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy - FAQ - https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/interagency-research-funding/policies-and-guidelines/research-data-management/tri-agency-research-data-management-policy-frequently-asked-questions

5. Acknowledgements

The RDMWG wishes to acknowledge and thank the following individuals and organizations for their invaluable support and/or contributions to the development of Lakeland College’s RDM strategy:

• James Doiron, Research Data Management Strategies Director at the University of Alberta Library for his invaluable advice and guidance during the development of our RDM Strategy.

• Red Deer College, Dalhousie University, Canadore College and the University of Alberta whose RDM strategy served as guiding frameworks and templates for the development of our institutional RDM strategy

• The Digital Research Alliance of Canada and the former Portage Network, for developing a wide range of resources and workshop to inform and guide our RDM strategy development

• The Alberta Research-Data Management Information Network (ARMIN) from Concordia University of Edmonton, for organizing workshop and initiating a community of practice on Western Canada on Research Data Management.

6. References

• Government of Canada (2021). Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy.

Retrieved from https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/interagency-researchfunding/policies-and-guidelines/research-data-management/ tri-agency-research-data-management-policy

• Wilkinson MD et al. The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. Sci Data. 2016 Mar 15;3:160018. doi: 10.1038/sdata.2016.18. Erratum in: Sci Data. 2019 Mar 19;6(1):6. PMID: 26978244; PMCID: PMC4792175.

• First Nations Information Governance Centre. The First Nations Principles of OCAP. Retrieved from https://fnigc.ca/ocap-training/

• Global Indigenous Data Alliance. CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance.

Taken from https://www.gida-global.org/care

• United Nations. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Taken from https://social.desa.un.org/sites/default/files/migrated/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf