Beyond Infrastructure: making research support core to research
FAIR Research Data Management is increasingly formalised as a component of responsible research and a key enabler of Open Science. Dutch research institutes have established professional support services, organised in Local Digital Competence Centres, that support researchers across the entire data life cycle.
AULA 02.230 - Commissiekamer 3
These investments have resulted in robust services, impactful training, and well used information channels. Demand continues to rise, demonstrating clear value. Despite these successes, universities and medical centres now face severe budget cuts that threaten these carefully built services. Capacity for data and software support is declining, with shrinking teams, reduced training, and fewer stable contracts. As demand remains high, this trend undermines the sustainability of support infrastructures. This session will bring together support professionals, funders, and service providers to discuss these challenges. It will emphasise that research data and software management are integral to research itself, forming part of institutional core processes. We will explore how to better demonstrate their impact and strategic value, and why they must be treated as long term institutional investments.
The impact and strategic value of support services are well demonstrated. We have instruments to make the case for support services within institutes