DM pilot project call v5 - Danish e-Infrastructure …DM_pilot_project_call_v5 Author Diba Created...

DeIC and DEFF October 2015

The National Forum for Research Data Management

Invitation to submit proposals for data management pilot projects

Martin Grandjean

Data visualisation to understand the results of a data analysis CC BY-‐SA 3.0

Data management pilot project call of 10

1. Invitation On behalf of DEFF and DeIC The National Forum for Research Data Management (DM Forum) invites proposals for data management infrastructure pilot projects. This is part of the implementation of the national strategy for research data management. The purpose is to identify infrastructures that have broad-‐based national importance and acceptance.

DEFF and DeIC have jointly awarded funding for the anchoring of the strategy, in broad outline distributed so that DEFF supports competence development, including DM Forum activities, while, in accordance with the guidelines from the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, DeIC can support the development of e-‐infrastructure, including digital tools to promote researchers' access to and use of existing e-‐infrastructure.

In the agreement with the stakeholders, DKK 10 million has been allocated to pilot projects. Half of the funding is expected to be in-‐kind, and the other half is financed by DeIC.

DEADLINE

The deadline for submission of proposals is 5 February 2016.


2. Proposals for pilot projects The proposals for pilot projects must have broad-‐based national interest, importance and acceptance.

It is a clear objective that the quality and relevance of the pilot projects to be such that, after completion, will be able to form the basis for subsequent applications to, for example, the National Committee for Research Infrastructure (NUFI) for the establishment of operational national infrastructure, unless, after their completion, the pilot projects have already achieved such a degree of maturity. The proposals for pilot projects must therefore aim at subsequent establishment of permanent or long-‐term infrastructure. In EU terms, this means the end product of the pilot project will be at a technology readiness level at least 6 (see for example http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2014_2015/annexes/h2020-‐wp1415-‐annex-‐g-‐trl_en.pdf).

With a view to possible future full-‐scale implementation, it is important for the pilot projects to demonstrate the sustainability of the proposed infrastructure. Consequently, a plan for this must be included in both the project application and the final report.

It is essential for the projects to be rooted in research. Consequently, the pilot projects are expected to have project organisation, development and testing which reflect this.

Inter-‐institutional cooperation is also essential, and the projects must therefore be proposed in partnerships between several institutions -‐ ideally in open consortia with the involvement of relevant and interested parties and with the opportunity for if possible all interested researchers from Danish universities, independently of institutional affiliation, to have access to test the solutions. It is taken for granted that the solutions go beyond the infrastructure, which the applicant institutions are already expected to deliver as part of their general task portfolios.

The solutions may very well focus on one part of the research data life cycle (see Appendix) or more, with a view to support an acceptable workflow across the entire lifecycle from the point of view of researchers.

Proposals may be submitted for subject-‐specific and interdisciplinary pilot projects within and across all main areas of research.

Proposals may be made for the following:

— Completely new infrastructure.

— Already realised data management infrastructure, where the proposal concerns significant modifications or extensions.

— Already realised e-‐infrastructure, for example national HPC installations, where the proposal concerns significant data management related extensions.

— Digital tools that support and promote the use of already realised data management infrastructure.

Across these categories, links may be made to existing or planned international infrastructure such as Zenodo, EUDAT, DataCite, ORCID, etc.

In addition to reporting, the pilot project’s end product must consist of concrete infrastructure, for example storage or a digital tool that can be tested online (URL).

Proposals may not be made for actual research projects.

Evaluation criteria are listed in section 5.


3. Proposers A pilot project should be rooted in (at least) one research group. Each project must solve significant problems for the researchers in relation to data management, and the problem owner must be an active researcher affiliated to a Danish university who is clearly committed to the project and its results.

The pilot project must be proposed in a binding partnership between at least three universities, and it may also include archives and research libraries. The pilot project is expected to be organised as an open consortium or similar which involves relevant and interested parties.

The main proposer submits the proposal on behalf of the project partners who provide overall co-‐financing of at least 50% of the budget for the entire project period. The main proposer must enclose signatures from everybody responsible for subbudgets of the pilot project – for example head of department, head of IT (CIO) and head of library.

All interested parties, irrespective of age, gender, religion or ethnic affiliation, are encouraged to apply.


4. Formulation of proposals The proposal must be sent as a single PDF file to the email address [email protected] with "DM pilot project proposal" in the subject line. The title of the proposal must be included in the file name.

The proposal must be in Danish or English and consist of:

A. Cover sheet (maximum 1 page) B. Detailed description (max. 7 standard pages) C. Budget D. Letters of support and any other appendices

Re A: Cover sheet A completed cover sheet form "DM pilot project Cover sheet" must be applied as front page, i.e. the cover sheet must not exceed 1 page.

The cover sheet form is available for download at http://www.deic.dk/datamanagement/projekter_og_piloter/pilot_projektcall

Re B: Detailed description The project description must not exceed 7 standard pages, excluding appendices.

The following instructions should be used as the basis for the wording of the project description so that, as far as possible, all the items are covered.

1 Description of the infrastructure

1.1 Nature, purpose and context An account should be given of the infrastructure's nature, purpose and scope, including which part of the research data life cycle (see Appendix) it addresses and how it does so, and which research areas and potential or specific users it targets.

An account should be given of the infrastructure’s topicality and relevance, including its possible relationship, synergy or competition with existing or planned national or international infrastructure.

In list form, indicate which technologies and standards the solution is planned to use.

1.2 Academic rooting On the basis of the fact that the project must be rooted in (at least) one research group, and that the infrastructure must solve major problems for the researchers in relation to data management, describe how the problem owner (an active researcher affiliated to a Danish university) is committed to the project and its results, and which specific problems the infrastructure solves for the problem owner and the research group (or groups) he or she represents. An account should also be given of how the infrastructure supports and promotes research on a more general level.

2 Organisation and execution of the pilot project

2.1 Project organisation and formation of a consortium An account should be given of the consortium’s project organisation and governance.

The pilot project should ideally be organised in an open consortium consisting of at least three universities, which may also include archives and research libraries. In addition, an attempt should be


made to involve all relevant and interested parties. Consequently, an account must also be given of how the pilot project intends to realise this involvement.

2.2 Project plan, deliverables and success criterias An overall project plan and timetable for the pilot project should be outlined, including the most important milestones for the user-‐based development and testing. Describe the deliverables, their associated success criteria, and how these will be measured.

2.3 Host institution(s) and partners State the name(s) of the hosting institution(s).

An account should be given of services and facilities that the host institution(s) and the partners are expected to deliver in connection with the pilot project’s execution, including the distribution and location of legal and financial liability and employer’s liability.

3 Vision for permanent infrastructure

3.1 Host institution(s) and partners An account should be given of the intended location and intended overall organisation of a future national infrastructure, including a description of public and private domestic and/or foreign players that are expected to participate in the building and/or operation of the infrastructure.

3.2 Services, finance and liability (business model) An account should be given of services and facilities that the host institution(s) and any business partners are expected to deliver after commissioning of the infrastructure.

An account should be given of the location of the legal, financial, operational and developmental liability.

An account should be given of sustainable financing as well as the related investment profile for preparation, establishment and operation divided into budget items and participating parties.

3.3 Management of the infrastructure A description should be given of the intended management structure, etc. of the future established infrastructure, including a description of composition, role, formal competence and responsibility and managerial relationship with the host institution.

An account should be given of the expected function and composition of any advisory bodies for the infrastructure, such as a scientific advisory committee or user groups.

Re C: Budget A proposal must contain a completed template "DM pilot project Budget for proposal" (Excel spreadsheet).

The budget template is available for download at http://www.deic.dk/datamanagement/projekter_og_piloter/pilot_projektcall

Re D: Letters of support and any other appendices As a minimum, signed letters of support must be attached from the institutions that act as main proposer and co-‐proposers.

The letters of support must indicate that the institutions are willing to provide the required co-‐financing of the pilot project. Other appendices may be attached as required.


5. Evaluation criteria An application will be evaluated in accordance with the project's fulfilment of the following criteria:

1. The project must only develop research data management infrastructure.

2. The project solution may address only a part of the research data lifecycle, but should take into account other possibly related parts, including dissemination.

3. The project must be rooted in (at least) one research group. The project must solve major problems for the researchers in relation to data management, and the problem owner must be an active researcher affiliated to a Danish university who is clearly committed to the project and its results.

4. Development and testing of the product of the project must be user-‐based.

5. The project must be proposed in a binding partnership between at least three universities, and it may also include archives and research libraries.

6. The task, which the pilot project aims to perform, must demonstrate added value in addition to the existing task portfolios of the institutions concerned.

7. The project's end product must be sufficiently mature to either be able to form the basis for subsequent applications to, for example, NUFI for funds for the establishment of an operational national infrastructure, or render probable that an immediate commissioning is possible.

8. A sustainability plan, including financial sustainability, over an extended period of time must be included in both the project application and the final reporting.

9. The project solution must be based on generally accepted technical standards with a view to ensure software, system and platform compatibility and interoperability.

10. The project solution is expected to use Open Source technologies, and, where this is not possible, proprietary software may be used if it uses open standards.

If a criterion cannot be fulfilled, this must be explained in the proposal.

In addition to the above criteria, it will be emphasised that the entire portfolio of successful proposals represents variation across the main academic areas.


6. Processing procedure DeIC Board of Directors and DEFF’s steering group has the final authority to grant funds. There will not be a peer-‐review process – instead the process is the following:

— The proposals for data management pilot projects are received and processed by the DM Forum secretariat, which then submits the proposals to the DM Forum.

— DM Forum has the overall task of preparing the basis for decisions about the prioritisation and possible financing of the pilot projects, i.e. make recommendations to the data management Change Advisory Board.

— The data management Change Advisory Board evaluates the proposals and communicates its recommendations on the implementation of the national pool of funds for data management pilot projects to the DeIC Board of Directors and DEFF’s steering group

— The DeIC Board of Directors and DEFF’s steering group decides which proposals for pilot projects that will be granted funding.

— It is expected that the DM Forum secretariat will announce in early 2016 which proposals has been granted funding.

Information about DM Forum’s rules of procedure can be found at http://www.deic.dk/datamanagement/nationalt_DM_forum.

Please note that the proposer does not have ownership of the proposal. For instance, efforts may be made to incorporate additional institutions in the pilot project's open consortium.

Attention is also drawn to the fact that the DM Forum secretariat reserves the right to publish the submitted proposals.


7. Contact information Questions of a general nature on the call text and processing of pilot project proposals may be sent to the chair of the National Forum for Research Data Management, Henrik Pedersen [email protected]


Appendix: Life cycle model

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