The project governance of FDM-NDS
As part of the application process for the State Initiative Research Data Management Lower Saxony (FDM-NDS), the applications of the initiative’s three pillars were reviewed by the Scientific Commission of Lower Saxony (WKN). A key recommendation from the reviewers was the development of a governance structure.
During the first year of the FDM-NDS project, an appropriate governance framework was developed and coordinated with all project partners. At its core, it provides an overview of the involved committees, their composition, and the definition of responsibilities.
The steering committee
The goal of the steering committee is the strategic development of the state initiative. In doing so, the activities of all three pillars, as well as related research data management (RDM) projects, are taken into account.
Currently, the focus is on developing evaluation criteria for the interim evaluation after three years of project duration. Another key aspect will be the strategic consideration of the role of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) and the integration of the project into NFDI structures.
During the steering committee meetings, there is an exchange with Hochschule.digital Niedersachsen (HdN). The meetings take place semi-annually. The committee consists of representatives from all universities in Pillar 1, as well as one representative each from three institutions in Pillar 2 (HAWK, TU Clausthal, Hochschule Osnabrück).
In the constitutive meeting of the steering committee, Robert Strötgen was elected as the committee’s spokesperson, and Diana Schmidt as the deputy spokesperson. The spokespersons regularly report to higher-level committees, such as the permanent LHK Commission on Digitalization, on the project’s progress.
Robert Strötgen
Executive Director of the University Library of the Technical University of Braunschweig
Speaker of the Steering Committee FDM-NDS
Diana Schmidt
Research Officer at HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen
Deputy Speaker of the Steering Committee FDM-NDS