Portage Fall Highlights

The Portage Network is pleased to share recent highlights of our work in support of research data management, including:

  • Updates on the New Digital Research Infrastructure Organization (NDRIO)
  • The Federated Research Data Repository (FRDR)
  • New DMP Exemplars and Sensitive Data Tools
  • Funding for Scholars Portal Dataverse
  • Portage operations + outreach

New Digital Research Infrastructure Organization (NDRIO) 

Portage is working towards successful integration into NDRIO, which will take place in April 2021. NDRIO is currently conducting a Canadian Digital Research Infrastructure Needs Assessment – all members of the Canadian research community are encouraged to participate. More information can be found at engagedri.ca.

Federated Research Data Repository (FRDR) 

More repositories have recently been added to the Federated Research Data Repository (FRDR) discovery service, which now indexes metadata for over 70 Canadian research data repositories. These new collections include open data from several Canadian municipalities, Statistics Canada Open License Dataverse, and several Canadian institutions using the Scholars Portal Dataverse platform. These new additions will help increase discoverability and reuse of these data. For the repository service, we have worked with Globus on a French translation of their File Transfer web app, ensuring that FRDR will be a fully bilingual service at launch. The FRDR team is also working on migrating to new production hardware in advance of a full service launch planned for early 2021 – more information about the launch will be coming soon. Need a refresher on how to use FRDR? Take a look at our instructional videos!

Expert and Working Group Activities

The Data Management Planning Expert Group is busy preparing for the launch of DMP Assistant 2.0; migration and user testing are complete and incorporation of feedback and final adjustments are now underway. The Exemplar DMPs Review & Development Working Group co-Chaired by Maggie Neilson (Acadia University) and James Doiron (University of Alberta) published six new DMP Exemplars, in English and French. These Exemplars cover a range of disciplines and research methods, highlight best practices for DMPs in those disciplines, and provide a reference point for researchers writing their own DMPs. New discipline-specific DMP Templates developed by the Portage community as part of a recent funding call have also been finalized,  and will be embedded in the DMP Assistant 2.0 as well as published in the Portage Zenodo Community.  

The Sensitive Data Expert Group published three new tools, in English and French, for researchers managing sensitive data: Glossary of Terms for Sensitive Data used for Research Purposes; Human Participant Research Data Risk Matrix; Research Data Management Language for Informed Consent. These tools are intended to help researchers understand research data in relation to the research ethics process, and have been well-received by the research ethics community.  Feedback on these tools is welcome!

Funding for Scholars Portal Dataverse to Acquire Repository Storage for Canadian Research Data

With support from CARL Portage, Scholars Portal Dataverse (hosted at the University of Toronto Libraries) recently added  over 275 TB of storage to provide Canadian libraries with increased storage capacity for research data. As a result of this investment, subscribing institutions will receive a larger base storage allocation, as determined by a tiered model.  This repository storage will be provided directly to researchers to support data deposit and discovery, and to ensure continued access to their research data. This support advances progress toward a national Dataverse service for researchers across Canada. A national Dataverse service will create opportunities for researchers to collaborate and enhance knowledge creation and innovation by ensuring that data, metadata, and code are FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable). For more information please contact dataverse@scholarsportal.info.

Portage Operations and Outreach

Portage recently announced the addition of several new members to the Portage Secretariat. These new positions will support and enhance Portage’s capacity to advance research data management in Canada, specifically in the areas of curation; data management planning; research intelligence; policy, privacy and sensitive data; and special projects such as a CoreTrustSeal Certification Pilot.

Our website was recently relaunched with a fresh new look, with a focus on accessible, responsive design, and clear, findable content. We hope you like what you see, and welcome your comments and suggestions!

The Portage webinar series continues with the aim to share best practices, guidance, and resources for research data management. This fall we are pleased to collaborate with Global Water Futures, Research Data Canada, and Research Data Alliance on webinars ranging from the TRUST Principles to curation and preservation. Webinars are free and open to all. Most are recorded and available on the CARL YouTube channel, with links to recordings and slides posted on Portage Training Resources.

The Fall has been a busy time with virtual events. Portage has taken part in the following:

  • CAUL-CBUA RDM Roadshow: Research Data Management – Update on National Developments, October 21 – Jeff Moon, Portage Director.
  • Making a Harvester Harvestable: Federating an OAI Endpoint Directly From Postgres, Access 2020, October 22 – Kelly Stathis, Discovery and Metadata Coordinator and Alex Garnett, Simon Fraser University Research Data Management and Systems Librarian.
  • Geodisy: a New Way to Discover Canadian Research Data, Access 2020, October 22 – Kelly Stathis, Discovery and Metadata Coordinator; Paul Dante, Geodisy Software Engineer; Mark Goodwin, Geodisy Metadata Coordinator; and Eugene Barsky, Head, University of British Columbia Research Commons. 
  • Portage, NDRIO, and RDM Update, Ontario Data Community, October 27 – Jeff Moon, Portage Director.
  • Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) in Canada panel discussion, CRKN Virtual Conference, October 27 – Kelly Stathis, Discovery and Metadata Coordinator.
  • A Practical Introduction to Research Data Management, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, November 10 – Jeff Moon, Portage Director; Jennifer Abel, Training Coordinator; Robyn Nicholson, Data Management Planning Coordinator; Nick Rochlin, Training Expert Group Chair; and Jane Fry, Training Expert Group member.
  • Birds of a Feather panel discussion, Leveraging Shared Expertise for Data Curation and Discovery, RDA 16th Plenary Meeting, November 11 – Lee Wilson, Portage Service Manager.
  • Canadian RDM Ecosystem, Acadia University, November 12 – Lee Wilson, Portage  Service Manager.
  • TRUST Principles in the Canadian Context webinar, November 17 – Jeff Moon, Portage Director; Lee Wilson, Portage Service Manager; Karine Burger, Project Officer; Robyn Nicholson, Data Management Planning Coordinator; Caitilín O’Hare, Communications Officer; and Jennifer Abel, Training Coordinator.
  • Data Curation Network and Portage community call, Conceptualizing Curation: A Conversation About Levels of Curation, Program Development, and Communication, November 17 – Erin Clary, Curation Coordinator.
  • Portage/NDRIO DM update, CARL Directors ‘Key Initiatives’ meeting, November 17 – Jeff Moon, Portage Director, and Lee Wilson, Portage Service Manager.

Keep up to date on Portage activities by checking out our news and events pages, and by following us on Twitter!

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