NOVA.ID-RDM-CC

NOVA.ID Research Data Management Competence Centre

The NOVA.ID Research Data Management Competence Centre (NOVA.ID-RDM-CC) is established as the Competence Centre for Research Management of Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, with its primary mission to strengthen the NOVA research community by providing infrastructures, training, and guidelines for Research Data Management (RDM). Its main aim is to equip NOVA researchers, data stewards, and research managers with the skills, tools, and support necessary to adopt best practices in RDM, ensuring that research outputs are aligned with FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and with the values of Open Science.

By standardizing practices across NOVA’s diverse research units, the Competence Centre will promote a culture of transparency, reproducibility, and integrity, while also addressing sensitive data protection and intellectual property management. Through training programs, mentorship, and the creation of a community of practice, the Centre will professionalize data stewardship within NOVA and foster interdisciplinarity across its schools and research units.

Although its starting point is the NOVA community, the Centre will also serve as a reference at the national level, aligning with European Open Science initiatives and connecting NOVA to international research data management networks, thereby contributing to the visibility and impact of Portuguese research globally.

Partnership: This project is coordinated by NOVA.ID - Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT, with the participation of several NOVA Schools, including NOVA IMS.

NOVA IMS participates in the drafting of NOVA’s institutional Research Data Management policy, ensuring alignment with FAIR and Open Science principles and contributing to its integration with national and European frameworks. The work involves mapping existing practices, gathering input from different stakeholders, and supporting the production of recommendations that harmonize RDM across disciplines.

It also contributes to the assessment and mapping of infrastructures for secure and sustainable data storage and sharing. This includes analysing public platforms and local open-source deployments, and identifying methodologies that allow research data to be converted into open formats and described with appropriate metadata.

NOVA IMS is further involved in defining guidelines for the management of sensitive data. Its role covers the identification of risks in handling personal, health, or legal datasets, the recommendation of anonymisation and de-identification techniques to reduce re-identification risks, and ensuring compliance with GDPR and national regulations. The resulting guidelines will provide clear standards for secure storage, management, and sharing of sensitive research data.

In addition, NOVA IMS supports capacity-building and training activities, such as mentorship and tailored programmes for researchers and research leaders, as well as communication and outreach actions that promote the uptake and long-term impact of the competence centre.

Funding programme: Call for Expressions of Interest – RI/00139/2024 - Setting up Research Data Management Centers

Funder: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)

Total Funding: €220,500.00

Duration: 30 December 2024 – 31 December 2025