Available Results and Resources

• Visit the Research Data Management Wiki
• Read an article about the project
• Interview with Thomas Metz (IRRI), Project Leader
• See also a Power Point presentation by Thomas Metz at the Web2forDev event 2007 in Rome
• Project proposal: Good Practices for Managing Research Data (162 kb)

Overview

“There is still little experience in using wiki technology within CGIAR Centers to support communities of practice or institutional change processes. The openness and visibility of a wiki is often seen as a risk, rather than an opportunity for increased participation and collaboration in communities of practice.” – Thomas Metz, Project Leader
 
Most research conducted by CGIAR Centers depends on the collection of primary research data.  Effective and efficient research data management requires special skills and experience, but there is seldom a systematic approach to teaching and training new staff to manage research data, or to update existing staff on new methodologies and technologies.  Skills and experiences are often scattered among Center staff with different specializations, such as database managers, programmers, data analysts, data managers, principal investigators, executing scientists, etc.  Good practices are often not recorded in the form of institutional guidelines and training materials of practical relevance for day-to-day research data management work or the induction of new staff members.

Objectives
This project developed, collected, recorded, and applied good practices in research data management at IRRI, and also initiated and supported communities of practice for research data managers.  In turn, this enabled scientists to produce better quality research and release their primary data as global public goods that will be available and usable for future secondary use. This effort will add value to current CGIAR research for future generations.

Lead Administrative Center
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

Project Leader
Thomas Metz, Senior Scientist, Research Informatics, IRRI This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Project Status
Finalized