Establishing RDM Consultancy Services in Universities: A Roadmap Article Swipe
VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL
·
YOU?
·
· 2025
· Open Access
·
· DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17721847
YOU?
·
· 2025
· Open Access
·
· DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17721847
Universities across Europe face growing challenges in supporting effective, compliant, and sustainable Research Data Management (RDM). While many institutions already provide training, templates, and guidance, these services may fall short for large and complex research groups or projects funded through ERC, Horizon, or other major grants. To address this gap, a structured RDM Consultancy provides tailored, hands-on, and collaborative support that embeds RDM practices directly within the workflows of researchers. This document provides a detailed framework for designing, implementing, and evaluating such a programme. It is based on the practical experience of piloting the RDM Consultancy service at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and can serve as a blueprint for other universities wishing to replicate this approach. The core idea is to combine expertise from data stewards (and, in this case, consultants) with the active participation of research groups. The consultancy provides practical outputs, such as operational electronic lab notebooks (ELNs), structured data storage systems, and tailored metadata templates, while simultaneously building capacity within research groups to sustain these practices independently. This document outlines the programme’s scope, processes, governance, evaluation mechanisms, and success factors, offering universities a clear path toward establishing and continuously improving their own RDM consultancy offers.
Related Topics
Concepts
RDM
Blueprint
Knowledge management
Metadata
Workflow
Service (business)
Computer science
Engineering management
Engineering
Process management
Data curation
Work (physics)
Best practice
Quality (philosophy)
World Wide Web
Face (sociological concept)
Data sharing
Interoperability
Modular design
Business
Service innovation
Data as a service
Data management
Metadata
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- Language
- en
- Landing Page
- https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17721847
- OA Status
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https://openalex.org/W7106821726Canonical identifier for this work in OpenAlex
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17721847Digital Object Identifier
- Title
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Establishing RDM Consultancy Services in Universities: A RoadmapWork title
- Type
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otherOpenAlex work type
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enPrimary language
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2025Year of publication
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2025-11-26Full publication date if available
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VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSELList of authors in order
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17721847Publisher landing page
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YesWhether a free full text is available
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greenOpen access status per OpenAlex
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- Concepts
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