2024-11-25

New proposal templates

Base4NFDI is pleased to announce the release of updated proposal templates for both the Initialisation and Integration Phases, now available in ODT format. These updates include clarifications and enhancements to improve clarity and usability.The Initialisation Phase template (version 3.2) includes minor updates, such as new references to guidelines and handouts provided by Base4NFDI. The Integration Phase template (version 2.1) now requires a statement from proposing basic services outlining the efforts needed from consortia for integration of the service. Additionally, it features expanded references and further details on centrally organised activities by Base4NFDI to support the basic service teams during the integration phase.We extend our gratitude to the basic service teams, NFDI consortia, and our own team for their valuable feedback, which continues to shape these improvements. Base4NFDI remains committed to enhancing these templates and welcomes further suggestions at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

For detailed release notes, including information on prior updates, visit: 

Base4NFDI templates page. 

2024-11-25

Register now - Services Roadshow by Base4NFDI

IAM4NFDI quickly explained - Discover how IAM4NFDI is revolutionizing access to digital research resources! By connecting and expanding Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems, this initiative enables researchers across Germany and worldwide to seamlessly access tools, data, and services within the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI).Learn how the decentralized, federated approach ensures secure and easy integration with external platforms like the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), benefiting thousands of institutions and researchers globally.If you are supporting researchers in managing their data - watch this video to learn how IAM4NFDI can benefit you and your researchers!

WATCH THE EXPLAINER VIDEO BELOW: 

2024-11-25

User Conference 2024 – Bridging the gap between Basic Services, providers, and users

Thank you for participating in-person at Fraunhofer FOKUS Berlin and online in our first User Conference in Berlin 2024! To us, it was an inspirational, engaging, and fruitful one and a half days. It showed us where we stand and what’s ahead of us. While our in-person capacity was limited to 200, we were more than happy to welcome people online as well.
The goal was to showcase currently funded and future basic services, examine how particularly consortia can (technically) integrate the service, and find overlaps to services from the NFDI community. 


The interactive programme began with a keynote talk by Lilli Freda and Daniele Bailo (EPOS ERIC) about EPOS. EPOS is an open science, community-driven one-stop shop platform that collects and provides crucial data on natural disasters (e.g. tsunamis, earthquakes) with a standardised schema to facilitate decision-making for policy makers and politicians. Its multidimensional approach serves as an inspiration for our efforts in Base4NFDI (and NFDI as a whole). On the first day, the programme covered aspects of the services in the Initialisation phase (Jupyter4NFDI, DMP4NFDI, KGI4NFDI, nfdi.software). The service teams presented insights on how to connect the services with each other within Base4NFDI and in extend to the NFDI Consortia.
Additionally, the floor was opened to further fields, allowing for approaches that are not realised as a basic service as such (yet). The talks spanned from the Research Commons Approach as a potential opportunity for Base4NFDI to the challenges of setting up a sustainable Research Data Infrastructure to the meaning of archiving for research data (to name but a few).  

The presentations and discussions were complemented by a poster session, giving the participants a chance to get insights into even more topics. Furthermore, the informal evening reception enabled further discussions and hence, set the tone for the following day. 
The second day began with presentations about those basic services currently in the Integration phase (IAM4NFDI, TS4NFDI, PID4NFDI). The IAM4NFDI team began the session with exciting news, launching their explainer video. 

WATCH THE EXPLAINER VIDEO HERE: https://base4nfdi.de/projects/iam4nfdi

Generally, all talks were concerned with questions on how to align with other infrastructures both nationally and at European level.To end the 1st Base4NFDI User Conference on an exciting note, incoming services were presented, primarily focussed on optimising the understanding of RDM, e.g. via teaching and training, a digital data steward, and ontologies. 
Besides the talks, the UC4B was an opportunity to get together with the different stakeholders involved in the entire Basic service effort – within NFDI and beyond. Connecting the relevant people and supporting their communication was one of the efforts of this User Conference. We are already looking forward to the 2nd UC4B next year. See you there!

2024-08-13

Services Roadshow by Base4NFDI – Save the date!

Save the date already (!) to our new virtual series coming up on Dec 4, 2024 - the Services Roadshow by Base4NFDI!

Towards the end of the year 2024, it will be a great opportunity for all currently funded basic services under development to present themselves in 10 min + 5 min discussion to all of NFDI and everyone who’s interested!

Currently, we have seven services that will explain e.g., their service, target group, how we'll use it, and (plans for) connectivity to EOSC:

IAM4NFDI
PID4NFDI
TS4NFDI
KGI4NFDI
DMP4NFDI
Jupyter4NFDI
nfdi.software
..to be continued

S ave the date – Dec 4, 2024, 2pm, online. Zoom link to be announced.

..and if this roadshow proves itself useful, we will install it permanently and consider to run it twice a year.

See you there!

2024-07-12

Base4NFDI at PIDfest 2024 in Prague

In June 2024, our Service Steward for PID4NFDI, Jana Tatscheck, visited the PIDfest in Prague at the Czech National Library of Technology (NTK), along with the PID4NFDI team. 

PIDfest is a newly established international conference series solely dedicated to persistent identifiers (PIDs), their usage, further development and community networking. This year it was hosted for three days by i.a., NTK and the ARDC (Australian Research Data Commons) and was the first of many PIDfests to come.

As PIDs are a working example of all FAIR principles, they are a vital piece of infrastructure and crucial for its implementation in Research Data Management (RDM) and Open Science. In addition to the persistence, PIDs' rich metadata are yet to be discovered and require more attention and awareness in the future.

The PID4NFDI team presented their project in context of the German national PID strategy pursued by the PID Network Deutschland e.V.  and discussed their ideas in multiple unconference sessions. Base4NFDI gladly expanded their knowledge about PIDs and network with other national initiatives beyond the NFDI. Base4NFDI was also happy to support our basic service teams on site and enjoyed the first in-person meeting with the team to discuss the current project and strengthen the team work.  

PIDfest, see you next time! 

2024-07-11

Announcing the Base4NFDI International Advisory Board

Base4NFDI is delighted to announce its International Advisory Board (IAB) is now in place. The board reviews the overall status of Base4NFDI and gives recommendations for the development and strategic operation. Internationalisation of the future Base services and interoperability within the Open Science landscape are some of the key objectives of Base4NFD, and the initiative has a dedicated set of activities to define and promote our services and outputs beyond national borders.

The world-renowned experts coming together in the IAB represent research commons and national data infrastructures, and bring a wealth of knowledge around critical issues such as EOSC and international interoperability.
Carole Goble (University of Manchester), Hilary Hanahoe (Research Data Alliance), Rosie Hicks (Australian Research Data Commons), Klaus Tochtermann (Leibniz Information Centre for Economics), and Mark van de Sanden (SURF Data Preservation Services) have kindly agreed to be member of the IAB to provide strategic advice to Base4NFDI on status and development of our project.

The IAB has already initiated important conversations around strategic and technical interoperability, critical international networking, and building effective services. Base4NFDI is proud to have such an impressive group of experts operate as the IAB and we are very much looking forward to their valuable input and our future collaboration!

2024-07-08

New Basic Service accepted for Initialisation: nfdi.software

Base4NFDI is delighted to announce that the basic service proposal nfdi.software has been accepted for funding of the Initialisation Phase following the Consortia Assembly’s decision!

This marks a growth in the NFDI’s initiative to build basic services for consortia and demonstrates a step forward in the efforts to create RDM-enabling services from across the German research landscape.

nfdi.software aims to design, implement, and test a central marketplace for research software to improve the accessibility of NFDI research data via domain-specific software and enable more complex reuse of metadata and software.

Congratulations to the basic service team!

We are looking forward to what's ahead of us and encourage the NFDI community to join this endeavour by actively participating in the NFDI sections!

2024-06-18

IAM4NFDI - 2nd Call for Incubators

We would like to remind you of the Call for Incubator Projects for the IAM4NFDI Project. There’s still time until June 30th, 2024 to submit your ideas. Please note the information below for further details about the process.

The IAM4NFDI team is looking forward to your ideas!

~ German version below ~

Do you have an AAI-specific use case that you need support to implement? Then this is your chance.

As part of the IAM4NFDI project, we have planned so-called incubator cycles in order to be able to react flexibly to the wishes of future users. With the incubator cycles you have the opportunity to bring in your ideas and needs for the NFDI-AAI and, thus, help shape its development.
The second incubator cycle starts on August 1st, 2024 and we hereby call for applications. Please note the submission deadline is June 30, 2024. We look forward to your feedback and suggestions!

What do you have to do?
- Please look at the attached description of the process. (See IncubatorProcess2)
- Completely fill out the attached template (See Incubator-Template), describe your incubator project idea and send it to us by mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Present your idea to the Main Incubator Board (MIB) on July 11th (details to follow) in 5 minutes and answer any remaining questions. Please send us the presentation afterwards.
- Your support and participation in the implementation of the incubator cycle is essential – please, plan for this and ensure that you can contribute during the period before submitting your idea.

Please also have a look at our website if you have any further questions about the IAM4NFDI project.
We check all submissions and, if necessary, reserve them for following incubator cycles. The selection of incubator projects is made in consultation with Base4NFDI and depending on our available capacities.

If you have already submitted an idea in the first cycle and received feedback that you have been earmarked for the second round, you do not have to submit your idea again - if it has not changed.We will let you know by July 31, 2024, whether your incubator project idea can be implemented in the next cycle.

Best regards,
The IAM4NFDI project team

~~~

Im Rahmen des Projekts IAM4NFDI haben wir sogenannte Inkubator-Zyklen eingeplant, um flexibel auf die Wünsche der zukünftigen User_innen reagieren zu können. Über die Inkubator-Zyklen habt ihr die Möglichkeit, eure Vorstellungen und Bedürfnisse an der NFDI-AAI in das Projekt einzubringen und die Entwicklung dieser somit mitzugestalten.

Der zweite Inkubator-Zyklus startet am 01.08.2024 und wir rufen hiermit zur Bewerbung dafür auf. Bitte beachtet die Einreichungsfrist bis zum 30.06.2024. Wir freuen uns auf eure Rückmeldungen und Vorschläge! 

Was müsst ihr tun?
- Bitte schaut euch die angehängte Beschreibung des Prozesses an. (Siehe InkubatorProzess2)
- Füllt das angehängte Template (Siehe Incubator-Template) vollständig (auf deutsch oder englisch) aus, beschreibt in diesem eure Inkubator-Projektidee und schickt es uns per Mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. zu.
- Präsentiert eure Idee in 5 Minuten vor dem Main Incubator Board (MIB) am 11. Juli (Details folgen) und beantwortet noch offene Fragen. Die Präsentation lasst ihr uns im Nachgang zukommen.
- Eure Unterstützung und euer Mitwirken bei der Umsetzung des Inkubator-Zyklus ist wesentlich – bitte plant das ein und stellt sicher, dass ihr in dem Zeitraum mitwirken könnt, bevor ihr eure Idee einreicht.

Schaut auch gerne auf unsere Webseite, wenn ihr noch weitere Fragen zum Projekt IAM4NFDI habt.
Wir prüfen alle Einreichungen und merken sie ggf. auch für folgende Inkubator-Zyklen vor. Die Auswahl der Inkubator-Projekte erfolgt in Rücksprache mit Base4NFDI und in Abhängigkeit von unseren verfügbaren Kapazitäten.

Wenn ihr im ersten Zyklus schon eine Idee eingereicht und die Rückmeldung bekommen habt, dass ihr für die zweite Runde vorgemerkt seid, müsst ihr eure Idee – wenn diese sich nicht verändert hat - nicht erneut einreichen.

Ob eure Inkubator-Projektidee im nächsten Zyklus umgesetzt werden kann, teilen wir euch bis zum 31. Juli 2024 mit

Viele Grüße
IAM4NFDI-Pojektteam

2024-06-03

New Initialisation and Integration Phase Proposal Templates

Base4NFDI is thrilled to announce the release of updated versions of our proposal templates. The new versions are now available for download on the Base4NFDI templates page. 

Please use this template for the upcoming rounds!

Firstly, the Initialisation Phase template has been updated to version 3.1 (link). This minor update includes more detailed information on the requirements for the finalisation of the initialisation phase, providing clearer guidance for setting up work plans to the proposal teams.

The more significant update concerns the Integration Phase template, now available in version 2.0 (link). This major revision introduces enhanced orientation and structure for reporting the status and results of the initialisation phase and outlook for successful finalisation. This reporting is the basis to decide whether the service design and prototype are ready for the integration phase.

Additionally, we have placed a stronger emphasis on community engagement and communication with consortia. This update stems from feedback gathered during a workshop held with representatives from all consortia at the beginning of this year. For example, services are now required to provide a fact sheet that offers a quick overview of their planned service design, contact information, integration requirements, and other key details.

These updates aim to improve the overall transparency and process of our decision process, ensuring that all consortia have the necessary information to stay up-to-date on basic service developments.

Base4NFDI remains committed to continuous improvement and appreciates the valuable feedback from our community in shaping these enhancements.

You can find the detailed release notes, including the last release notes, here.

2024-04-29

RDA 22nd Plenary: Local Action – Global Connection 

The 22nd Research Data Alliance’s Plenary meeting is going to be a fully virtual event! From 14 May until 23 May 2024 people from all over the world are invited to attend the 22nd Plenary, focussing on Local Action – Global Connection. Aligning with the four themes of RDA’s strategic plan, collaboration and engagement with RDA’s global community through the sharing of local experiences, best practices and recommendations will be the core pillars of the plenary.

Important! Many of the themes and challenges overlap those which the NFDI consortia are tackling. Alignment and working together in an international collaborative context could be an important factor in co-developing recognised recommendations. Topics covered for example are: 

• National PID Strategies
• Engaging Researchers with Data
• Global Open Research Commons
• Data Management Plans
• Data Policy Standardisation and Implementation
• Collaborating Internationally for Regional Benefit
• Life Science Data Infrastructures
• Software Source Code

Much like NFDI, RDA is a warm and welcoming community: The plenary offers different types of sessions, including introductory sessions, Working and Interest Group sessions, Communities of Practice sessions, as well as Birds of a Feather sessions. Take a look at the programme and check out which sessions you’d like to join! Whether you are already an active part within the RDA or a total newcomer, the RDA P22 is an opportunity to both share your expertise and learn from others. With its diverse programme and impressive range of speakers, you should not miss this opportunity to connect globally! 

Registration will be open until 23 May 2024. You can register here. 

Also: For the next plenary, the Call for Sessions is out. This in-person event will take place in the capital of Costa Rica, San José.

2024-02-28

Research Data Alliance Tagung 2024 in Potsdam

The RDA Deutschland Tagung 2024 took place 20/21 February at the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ). The RDA DE Association, in cooperation with the State and Library University Göttingen (SUB) and the Helmholtz Open Science Office, organised a versatile event, including two interesting keynotes and a number of talks covering a broad range of different topics. Furthermore, projects and initiatives were given the opportunity to present their work during a poster session. Base4NFDI was represented with two posters: An introduction to Base4NFDI , and another poster specifically dedicated to our Section Liaison Officers and Service Stewards .

Due to the pandemic, this year’s RDA DE Tagung was the first in-person since 2020. The event was framed by an opening keynote “Die Eckpunkte der europäischen Datenstrategie” given by Renate Nikolay, and the closing keynote “Who owns your data? Who should benefit from it? The effect of UN policy decision on biological data management” by Dr. Amber Hartman Scholz. Both keynotes drew attention to the multiple challenges that data collecting, storing, and reuse have on several levels, primarily focussing their talks on ethical issues.

The variety of talks, spanning from repositories and archives, RDA’s current strategic plan to digital emergency preservation, invited the audience to lively discuss each topic and served as a formidable basis for in-between conversations over a coffee and during the poster session. Each poster was briefly introduced in a ‘Minute Madness’ where the authors could advertise their work. While our introductory poster to B4N attracted people who were interested in which basic services they could potential use for their own work – both within and outside NFDI consortia –, our poster about the Service Stewards and Section Liaison Officers raised questions about how which support a basic service team can expect from those two groups of staff and how their expertise can best be utilised for cooperation between the different stakeholders.

For our work in B4N, the RDA Deutschland Tagung was an interesting and useful insight into an active and intrinsically motivated community whose activities and outputs will continue to play a major role globally. We are looking forward to strengthening our bonds with the RDA and overall international players.

Our Base4NFDI team at RDA Deutschland Tagung 2024.

2024-02-23

New Initialisation Proposal Template

Base4NFDI is excited to announce the release of version 3.0 of our proposal template for the Initialisation Phase - the first of three phases for Basic Service candidates. The new version is now available for download here  and on the Base4NFDI templates page. 

Please use this template for the upcoming rounds!

Changes:

• A Significance Abstract was added to succinctly articulate the added value of their proposed Basic Service to a non-technical audience.
• Revised information regarding maximum funding.
• More specific information on collecting Letters of Commitment.
  
  Find all changes detailed in the release notes here .

This update is a result of valuable feedback gathered from various proposal teams and NFDI Consortia, coupled with insights gained from our experiences within Base4NFDI. Our aim is to streamline processes and enhance clarity. Our commitment to refining templates is an ongoing endeavor, and we encourage you to share your suggestions with Task Area 3 by reaching out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We value your input and look forward to continuously improving the proposal process!