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National Reserach Data Infrastructure (NFDI)

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Image: Anastasia Dulgier on Unsplash

In 2016, the German Council for Scientific Information Infrastructures (Rat für Informationsdienstleistungen, RfII) recommended in its position paper "Performance from diversity" [pdf, 1 mb] de (German) the establishment of a National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) , whereupon the NFDI funding program was initiated by the German Research Foundation (DFG) on June, 6th 2019.

The aim of the NFDI program is to improve management, long-term storage and accessibility of research data in accordance with the FAIR principles . The programme, which is financed by federal and state governments, will fund up to 30 consortia for a maximum of 5 years, initially.

On 26 June 2020 the Joint Science Conference (GWK) decided for the funding of nine NFDI consortia from the first application round ( press release ). The funding decision by the GWK on the applications for the second round took place in June 2021 ( press release ). The GKW will decide on the funding of Basic Service Initiatives as well as on the funding of the Specialist Consortia from the third round in November 2022 ( Information for Researchers ).

Videos about the NFDI Expand entry

In its video "What is the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI)" the DFG explains the position of the NFDI in the national research data landscape, its goals and its structure with a focus on the NFDI consortia and their challenges.

The DFG organizes the review process for consortia in the context of establishing the NFDI. In its video "The NFDI Review Process" the DFG explains how the review process in the second selection round will be conducted, what is expected from reviewers and presents some important background information.

The graphics from the two videos are provided by the DFG for re-use, eg in talks and presentations on the NFDI.

Information and documents from the DFG Expand entry
Discussion and position papers Expand entry
NFDI-related workshops Expand entry

Since 1 March 2020 Prof Dr York Sure-Vetter is the director of the NFDI. The directorate supports the consortia in organizational and networking efforts. Further information regarding the directorate can be found on the official NFDI website . Job offers from NFDI consortia are presented as well.

On 15 June 2020 the Leipzig- Berlin Declaration on NFDI Cross-Cutting Topics ("Berlin Declaration on NFDI Cross-Cutting Topics") was published. Therein 27 consortia declare their contribution to the joint development of defined cross-cutting topics and fields of action in the context of the NFDI.

NFDI consortia are funded in three rounds of calls for proposals. A large number of consortia submitted letters of intent to the DFG under the NFDI funding programme. Many of the consortia involve partners from Thuringia ( NFDI consortia incl. participants from Thuringia de ). Two of the NFDI consortia with participants from Thuringia (NFDI4Biodiversity and NFDI4Chem) were funded in the first application round ( press release de ).

The Research Data Management Helpdesk and the Thuringian Competence Network for Research Data Management support and connect the participating institutions.

NFI sections

In addition to the consortia, there are cross-cutting issues that are treated as separate  sections . These are:

  • section-metadata : (Meta) Data, Terminology and Provenance (->  Concept )
  • section-infra : Common Infrastructures (->  Concept )
  • section-edutrain : Training & Education (->  Concept )
  • section-ELSA : Ethical, Legal & Social Aspects (->  Concept )
Funding from the first round of calls for proposals (2019/2020) Expand entry

Twenty-two consortia submitted a proposal in the first round of application in 2019. Of these, nine consortia received funding, which began on 1 October 2020.

Funding from the second round of calls for proposals (2020/2021) Expand entry

In the second round of calls for proposals, 18 consortia submitted an application. According to their own information on the websites or via Twitter, ten consortia received a funding recommendation. The funding decision by the GWK on the applications for the second round will be in June 2021.

Funding from the third round of calls for proposals (2021/2022) Expand entry

The Joint Science Conference (GWK) has decided on eight consortia to be funded from the third call of proposals within the National Data Research Infrastructure (NFDI) at the beginning of November, 2022.

Here you can find the announcements of the  NFDI as well as the GWK.

 

Basic Service Consortia (2022/2023) Expand entry

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has published a schedule for the decision-making process for funding basic services in the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). The call for proposals for basic service consortia was published in January 2022. The final decision on funding will be made by the Joint Science Conference (GWK) in November 2022. Until then, the following steps are planned:

The text of the DFG announcement can be found here .

Vernetzung der NFDI Konsortien
Image: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
NFDI Consortia
General information on NFDI consortia
Logo NFDI4Chem
Image: NFDI4Chem
NFDI4Chem
Information on the NFDI4Chem and the local team
nfdi4biodiversity logo
Graphic: University of Bremen
NFDI4Biodiversity
Biodiversity Consortium in the NFDI
NFDI4Microbiota Logo
Image: NFDI4Microbiota
NFDI4Mircobiota
Microbiology Consortium in the NFDI
Information

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