PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

OF E-SCIENCE

Andrew Sallans

Head of Strategic Data Initiatives

University of Virginia Library

E-Science Bootcamp

Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia

4 March 2011

ROUND 2:

SCIENTIFIC DATA CONSULTING GROUP

December/January 2010: rethinking the

model

Budgetary pressures

Changes in organizational priorities

Emerging demand in research community

Spring 2010: decision to focus on data

May 2010: close of RCL, start of SciDaC

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WHAT’S HOT IN 2010?

Open data: growing governmental interest in

making publicly-funded research more

transparent and more available (NIH, NSF)

Broader critical review: greater interest

evaluating original research data (Nature)

Technological advances: sharing of research

results easier and faster (Repositories, Web 2.0)

Reuse/preservation of research data:

increased consideration of the cost and value of

research data and need to ensure its longevity

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“SCIENTISTS SEEKING NSF FUNDING WILL SOON BE

REQUIRED TO SUBMIT DATA MANAGEMENT PLANS”Press Release 10-077, May 5, 2010

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Current Policy:

o “To advance science by encouraging data sharing among researchers”

o Data obtained with federal funds be accessible to the general public

o Grantees must develop and submit specific plans to share materials collected with NSF support, except where this is inappropriate or impossible

On or around October 2010:

o All new NSF proposals will be required to include a data management plan in the form of a 2 pg supplementary document (peer reviewed)

o New policy is meant to be a 1st step toward a more comprehensive approach to data management

o Exact requirements vague

THE CHALLENGE FOR INSTITUTIONS

Data is expensive

Time, instrumentation, inability to reproduce

Increasing regulation

Granting agencies and journals require

submission

Inadequate training

No formal data management curriculum

Preservation is not a priority

For most researchers, preservation takes time

away from the work that is rewarded

(publication, teaching) 5

SO…WHO’S GOING TO TAKE THIS ON?

Researchers?

VPR?

CIO?

OSP?

UL?

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WHY THE LIBRARY?

Neutral: works across the entire institution

Strong in relationship building: has

experience fostering discussion and relationships,

and cultivates an existing support network

Intellectual Property experts: has dealt with

copyright, can translate to data

Service-oriented: uniquely positioned as an

intellectual service unit within the institution

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GETTING STARTED…

Take what we learned in the RCL experience and

apply it to the focused demands around data

Steps:

Conduct a stakeholder analysis

Make a short term plan (12 months)

Develop clear priorities

Refine and standardize consulting methods

Communicate heavily

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STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS (ABBREVIATED)

Internal

Researchers

Graduate Students

Grant Administrators

Deans

VP/CIO

VPR

OSP

UL

External

Funding agencies

Broader research

community

“The Public”

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SHORT TERM PLAN

Survey OSP to match grant holders with

regulations

Educate/engage subject librarians

Build political awareness/support

Build partnerships with

local/national/international groups

Resource requests:

Staffing commitment

Travel/partnership support

Promotion of initiative to institution10

CLEAR PRIORITIES

1. Data interviews/assessments

2. Response to NSF Data Management Plan

(DMP) Mandate

3. Leadership on data for the Institutional

Repository (IR)

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CONSULTING METHODS

Interviews/assessments

DMP templates

LOTS of documentation

Constant and continuous refinement of process

Adherence to core principle of helping the

researcher improve process (not approaching it

theoretically)

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COMMUNICATE HEAVILY

Internal

Inform staff of processes, priorities, and progress

Keep stakeholders engaged

Reach the consumers from many angles

External

Discuss and share experiences with colleagues at other

institutions

Create partnerships to share, build upon resources and

experiences, collaborate on tools

Networking (Twitter, LinkedIn, listserves, conference calls,

conference presentations)

Bottom line: this is a big culture shift, and you do have to

say the same thing many times in different ways13

HOW TO MAKE THIS WORK…

Librarians as partners

o Consult with and advise researchers

o Provide leadership to the institution

o Work with existing data organizations

In order to succeed, librarians need to:

• Build and develop specific expertise

• Facilitate communication

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TIME OUT: NSF DMP UPDATE

Now effective January 18, 2011

Some earlier proposals also require DMPs (even

some in early December)

Broad guidelines, but directorates may have

specific guidelines for their community

Uploaded as 2-page supplemental document in

FastLane (with specific format requirements)

Formally peer-reviewed, and will require status

updates in all progress reports

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UVA SCIDAC NSF DMP RESPONSE

UVa Library’s Original Request

Develop boilerplate for researchers to use in proposals

SciDaC Group’s Response

No boilerplate, successful proposals need customized plans

Our approach involves:

Knowledge across many communities (“translational” opportunities)

Leadership on policy/infrastructure development

Development of a template that simplifies writing the plan

Principles

Must be easy for researcher

Must be supportable by available UVA resources/infrastructure

Must be able to be followed-through on if grant is awarded16

ONGOING ISSUES

Training: how do you train librarians to meet

these new needs?

Buy-in: how do you get effective buy-in from

people around the institution?

Scalability: how do you scale this to support all

of the researchers who need support?

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TRAINING LIBRARIANS

UVa Library Staff Model

Scientific Data Consultants

Subject Librarians

Current Training Model

Brown Bag Data CurationDiscussions

Data Interviews

Goals and Objectives

Build Data Literacy

Create Collaborative Opportunities

Establish the Library for Data Preservation

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BUY-IN BY THE INSTITUTION

Regulations are helpful

Partnerships between key stakeholders:

University libraries (UL)

Central IT (CIO)

Research Office (VP for Research)

Sponsored Programs/Research

Strategic investment: take ownership, allocate

resources, and demonstrate capability

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SCALING UP TO MEET DEMAND

Time: NSF research support alone is going to be very time consuming (UVA had about 140 proposals over the past year, 44 in November alone)

Funding: work with leaders to find money

Redirection/reallocation of grant overhead dollars

Write-in of library staff on grants

Strategy: decide how to invest

How might units be reorganized?

How could staff resources and expertise be refocused?

What external partnerships would add value?20

WRAP-UP

Libraries are well-positioned to play a vital role

in research data support

Open Data initiatives are a call to action

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QUESTIONS?

Please feel free to contact me with questions at

als9q@virginia.edu or 434-243-2180.

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