1. NRF Knowledge Management Corporate
Research Data Management Infrastructure
Open Data Transition Roadmap
9-11 October 2017, RAW2017, Cape Town
NRF Knowledge Management Corporate

2. NRF: Research Support and Knowledge Networking Databases
South African Data Archive (SADA)
Current and Completed Research Projects (Masters & Doctoral)
National Electronic Theses and Dissertations Portal
NRF Funded Projects Database
Forthcoming Conferences Database
South African Professional Associations Database
Data Resources in Africa
Digital Initiatives Register and Heritage Repository
SANAP Bibliographic Database
The South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) Bibliographic database
NRF Research Equipment Database
NRF Institutional Repository

3. Open Science: Open Access, Open Data
Open science is the movement to make scientific research, data and dissemination accessible to all levels of an inquiring society:
student
established researcher

4. What is Research Data Management?
“Research data management concerns the organisation of data, from its entry to the research cycle through to the dissemination and archiving of valuable results. It aims to ensure reliable verification of results, and permits new and innovative research built on existing information."
Digital Curation Centre (2011)
Making the Case for Research Data Management

5. Five Common Themes for Funders

6. What do the funders want?

7. Data Management fundamentals

8. Context
NRF needs to play a leading role in the development of Research Data Infrastructure for publicly funded research in South Africa
The NRF needs to establish a set of architectures in a distributed environment, preferably utilising NICIS infrastructure but not limited to it
This task has significant overlap with work being funded by DST and executed via the NICIS agencies (SANReN, DIRISA, CHPC) - but it is not the same

9. NRF’s Role in National Research Data Infrastructure
The role of knowledge management in the NRF is a cross-cutting compliance function aimed at developing, supporting and maintaining a knowledge-based organisation by facilitating access to and utilisation of data management and information systems.
Continue to drive compliance through the roll-out of the Open Access manadate;
Support the digital curation of research outputs according to international standards and guidelines;
Provide support for various repository databases and national information portals or platforms

10. NRF & Data Intensive Research Initiative of South Africa
NRF and DIRISA will serve to as agents and responsible authority of the RDMI roadmap in South Africa
DIRISA is funded to provide largely hard infrastructure for research data, but also participates in systems and software development, as well as a proposed involvement in research management and capacity building

11. Practical Steps
Develop and Publish a Vision for Research Data Management – Role of DIRISA – Multiparty Agreement with HEIs, Research Councils, etc – Insist on Open Governance
Establish Implementation Vehicle – Driven by NRF – Project Team, evolve into National Facility over time – Include National Facilities as ‘nodes’
Implement RDM Layer – Project Already Approved – Funding - DIRISA
Implement Infrastructure of Last Resort (‘SADA’) – Project Already Approved – Starts with Data Management Planning (DIRISA Collaboration) – Migrate to Global Open Source Base
Initiate Working Groups, and collaborate with Research Data Alliance, OpenAIRE etc.

12. Digital Curation Framework of Research Data

13. What is Needed, and What Exists Already?

14. Mapping: Workflow & Implementation

16. Why Research Date Management ?

17. Research data should be made open and accessible
Research data must be managed to the highest standards throughout their lifecycle in order to support excellence in research practice:
All those engaged in research at the institutional level must take responsibility for managing RDM
University should provide services, facilities, training, support and guidance on RDM
Research Committee, Deans and Directors should have ultimate responsibility for RDM

18. Why Does RDM Matter?

19. NRF’s Open Access Mandate: Compliance
NRF, in pursuit of its Open Mandate (Open Science and Open Data), will be requiring new grant recipients to:
provide Data Management Plans (DMPs) for all grant applications, and
on completion of grant-funded research, provide Proof of Deposit (POD) for Datasets

21. Conclusion
NRF is a signatory to Aligning Repository Networks: International Accord

22. Lazarus Matizirofa
Acting Executive Director: Knowledge Management Corporate (KMC)