• What is the problem/issue being addressed?
Managing Knowledge assets for research and innovation in the 21st century
The problem
Research data is the new currency of the digital age. From sonnets to statistics, and genes to geodata, the amount of material being created and stored is growing exponentially. However, the LERU Roadmap for Research Data identifies a serious gap in the level of preparation amongst research performing organisations. This gulf is prominent in areas such as policy development, awareness of current issues, skills development, training, costs, community building, governance, disciplinary/legal/terminological and geographical differences.
The solution
This LEARN Deliverables and Outputs will help decision and policy makers identify sound solutions. In addition, stakeholders can follow the LEARN Toolkit of Best Practice Case Studies, all of which will help organisations to grapple with the data deluge. LEARN also provides a self-assessment survey.
• Why is it important for society?
The amount of data which Society produces is growing exponentially. As one commentator has said: ‘Like the physical universe, the digital universe is large – by 2020 containing nearly as many digital bits as there are stars in the universe. It is doubling in size every two years, and by 2020 the digital universe – the data we create and copy annually – will reach 44 zettabytes, or 44 trillion gigabytes. (
https://www.emc.com/leadership/digital-universe/2014iview/executive-summary.htm(opens in new window)). Without order, there will be chaos and Society will literally be crushed by the amount of data it creates.
This is why the LEARN proved to be so important. LEARN deliverables and outputs will enable Society to bring order to chaos – through well-founded policy development, Executive briefings which deliver wise solutions to the challenges posed by Research Data Management (RDM), and tools which allow RDM stakeholders to organise the data being created. Society will benefit from the order that LEARN helps to create, delivering possibilities for new discoveries which will support Society in the great challenges it faces, such as health, migration and global warming. LEARN will also enable national and European economies to react more quickly to new developments, creating prosperity and employment for European citizens in the process.
• What are the overall objectives?
The overall purpose of LEARN is to develop the LERU Roadmap for Research Data to build a co-ordinated global partnership for research-performing organisations.
The main outputs are:
• Model Research Data Management policy
• 5 Workshops in Europe and Latin America
• 1 Final conference in Europe
• Toolkit to support implementation
• With Case Studies grounded in issues from Workshops
• Executive Briefing in five core languages
• Self-assessment Survey tool to measure level of preparation for RDM
The objectives of each Work Package are as follows:
The objective of Work Package 1 is to hold 5 Workshops (a) Advocating the use of the LERU
Research Data Roadmap and (b) Collecting case studies and best practice for the new LERU Toolkit to support the implementation of the Roadmap.
The objectives Work Package 2 are:
a) To ensure that LEARN’s results are disseminated to the appropriate audience through appropriate communications channels, in order to maximise the project’s impact.
b) To draw attention of regulators at national and EU levels, SMEs and corporates to help move the project results out into the marketplace.
C) To organise a Final Conference which will act as an international shop window for the project outputs and outcomes.
The objective of Work Package 3 is to develop a model RDM policy for use by research-performing organisations, a policy which takes into account the needs of research funders. Research funders have been instrumental in encouraging compliance to Open Access requirements in the field of publications.
The objectives of Work package 4 are:
a) To establish Key Performance Indicators against the Recommendations in the LERU Research Data Roadmap and against advocated Actions in the new LERU Toolkit which will enable those institutions using these documents to measure success in their Implementations
b) To disseminate and analyse an online Questionnaire internationally asking universities and research institutions which Recommendations they could implement from the Roadmap and Toolkit, based on an Executive Briefing.
Work Package 5 is tasked with the effective administration, management and governance of the LEARN project.
