Project of establishing an Open Research Data (ORD) label at University of Lausanne (UNIL)
Creators: name: Jambé, Carmen
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Library sciences
subject: Open Science
subject: Research Data Management
subject: Open Research Data
subject: FAIR Principles
subject: Data Stewardship
subject: Data Stewards
subject: Research assessment
subject: Research skills
subject: Incentives and rewards

description: [N.B. This project is the result of reflection work carried out as part of the "Data Steward" certificate course 2023-2024 at the University of Vienna.]

This project is a concept proposal for an “Open Research Data (ORD) label” and a plan for its implementation at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). The aim of this label is to highlight and reward the competences of the entire UNIL research community in research data management (RDM), in the implementation of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) principles and in open research data (ORD) practices. It is an initial response to the lack of formal recognition by research institutions of the efforts, practices, and competences of researchers, although several initiatives, particularly at European level, are seeking to establish a common framework of competences.

This ORD label may also be considered as an instrument for raising awareness, encouraging, and fostering a change of culture towards more open, collaborative, and data-driven research practices within the Universities. Indeed, it has been observed that despite the initiatives put in place by the institutions (e.g. establishment of RDM strategies, policies, guidelines, dedicated websites, DMP reviews, training, workshops, events, etc.), researchers still encounter difficulties in implementing the FAIR principles and there are still barriers to opening data. Furthermore, the absence of formal recognition and reward of RDM, FAIR and ORD competences and practices does little to encourage trained researchers and/or specialists to get involved in a collective effort to bring about a genuine change in culture. For such a change to occur, it is essential that researchers have a tangible interest in it. Therefore, the label, which is based on a series of objective evaluation criteria, acts as an incentive by arousing both interest and support. It thus becomes a vector of motivation and transformation of practices thanks to an institutionalised reward mechanism.

The introduction of such a label would have significant benefits for UNIL, its RDM support services, its support staff (i.e. data stewards, data curators, research engineers) and its research community. For the former (i.e. the support staff), the label should allow them to be as close as possible to the problems faced by researchers and to publicise and promote their role within the academic community. For researchers, such a label would allow them to assess the extent to which their work is (or is not) in line with institutional principles and policies, using an instrument that is both objective and positive, i.e. that highlights the skills they have acquired or are in the process of acquiring.

Finally, for the wider RDM community, both at national and European level, this project can serve as a source of inspiration for developing similar rewarding initiatives in the various academic institutions (e.g. universities, public funding bodies, policymakers, disciplinary research communities/consortia). In addition, it can contribute to the development of common reference criteria and their harmonisation for evaluating researchers’ RDM and ORD competences, something that is still rather incomplete and underdeveloped and yet seems to be gaining in importance.