Progression Steps

Plans to Develop

• RFO takes first steps towards considering RDM issues and defining where it needs to act.
• RFO determines the scope of its activities, including looking to others for guidance and best practices.

Development Ongoing

• RFO sees effective RDM as part of its strategic objectives and develops a comprehensive strategy¹ to include policy, funding, technical infrastructure, and training as appropriate.
• RFO ensures that RDM objectives are developed within the context of related organisations.

Developed on organisational level

• RFO has an RDM strategy.
• RFO actively engages in RDM issues, including financial support for policy implementation, training, and, where appropriate, the provision of infrastructure for long-term data preservation.
• RFO is in dialogue and collaboration with related RFOs, RPOs, and RDIs at (inter)national level to advance practical RDM issues.

Progression Steps

Plans to Develop

• RFO outlines areas of policy and process for policy development that likely need to be addressed.
• RFO identifies relevant stakeholders within and outside the RFO in the policy development process.
• RFO reviews policies from related organisations to ensure consistency (where appropriate and possible).

Development Ongoing

• RFO has an initial RDM policy in place, including guidelines on when and how data should be made available and findable.
• RFO has established a policy review/revision date, recognising that the policy will need revision and refinement as organisational maturity increases.
• RFO consults with stakeholders on policy implementation and monitoring.
• RFO has established dialogue with RPOs and RDIs that collaborate with the RFO to ensure they are developing policies and procedures that reflect the requirements of the RFO.

Developed on Organisational Level

• RFO has a well-developed comprehensive RDM policy and supporting environment, including in research funding peer-review processes.
• RFO engages with a community of stakeholders for policy implementation, for example, through developing a process to monitor the ‘FAIRness’ of research data.
• RFO has a complementary community development process established as part of policy development, including the provision of RDM training and infrastructure.¹
• RFO works towards alignment of policies at (inter)national level through engaging with related organisations.
• RFO initiates monitoring exercises to measure policy impact.

Progression Steps

Plans to Develop

• RFO acknowledges that it has a role in ensuring that RDM activities, including services, are supported financially¹ and discusses with RPOs and RDIs what this should entail.
• RFO identifies relevant stakeholders within and outside the RFO in the policy development process.
• RFO makes some funding available but funding is not integrated into a comprehensive RDM strategy.

Development Ongoing

• RFO has defined an initial budget allocation for RDM and areas that should be financed. This might be a short-term, interim response awaiting effective longer-term plans.
• RFO funds RDM primarily on a project-by-project basis, without an overall investment strategy.
• Funding might be used to incentivise RDM activities within research projects.
• RFO actively explores opportunities for co-operation with other stakeholders to realise efficiencies and economies of scale.
• RFO foresees funding to support training and development of basic and domain-specific RDM skills and awareness raising for all researchers.

Developed on organisational level

• RFO acknowledges RDM as a fundable element of the research process.
• RFO has an enhanced, longer-term investment plan to support its RDM strategy, including the recognition that the RFO must provide funding for the development of training and for RDM infrastructure operations activities beyond the life of a given project or programme.
• RFO expects that supported RPOs and RDIs strive to gain best value for money through joint programmes, common systems and so on, and collaborates with other RFOs to achieve this.

Note: An RFO will probably not provide training for researchers, however, it will expect RPOs to ensure the researchers they support are effectively trained. In many cases an RFO will provide internal training for their staff.

Progression Steps

Plans to Develop

• RFO acknowledges the importance of RDM training.
• RFO consults with stakeholders (such as RPOs and RDIs) on likely training requirements.
• RFO identifies existing training available.

Development Ongoing

• RFO clarifies responsibilities for RFO, RPOs, and RDIs with the other organisations and develops training plans for RDM to crosslink to RPO curricula and training undertaken within RPOs and RDIs.
• RFO supports training development on basic and domain-specific RDM skills and awareness raising for all researchers.

Developed on organisational level

• RFO supports the community to develop expected RDM competency levels (in conjunction with RPOs and RDIs). This should include developing a common understanding of the benefits of FAIR data, and compliance with legal requirements (for example in relation to data protection).
• RFO expects training in effective RDM skills as a core element of support provided to researchers. It clarifies responsibilities for training with other organisations and supports the provision of specific advanced training.

Progression Steps

Plans to Develop

• RFO acknowledges that it has a role in supporting the technical environment for RDM, such as collaborating with other stakeholders (RPOs, RDIs, scientific communities) to identify appropriate standards, and through funding the use of RDIs.
• RFO establishes an internal awareness on management level regarding the allocation of appropriate resources.
• RFO considers the value of joint working shared services between RFOs, RPOs, and RDIs.

Development Ongoing

• RFO supports work with RPOs, RDIs, and research communities to identify appropriate metadata standards and required infrastructure and services.
• RFO has awareness building measures in place and aims to ensure that disciplinary differences with respect to RDM are recognised in an effective and efficient technical implementation.
• RFO develops mechanisms to support joint working, development of shared services, and so on, to help deliver economies of scale.

Developed on organisational level

• RFO acknowledges that RDM is an (inter)national shared endeavour, best achieved through federation of services, joint working, and joint facilities (such as EOSC).
• RFO has an RDM technical plan in place to ensure FAIR data. The plan includes the provision of RDM infrastructure and the promotion of interoperability as strategic choices.
• RFO agrees with all stakeholders on the limits of responsibility of the RFO, including specific allocation of funds and definition of responsibilities.
• RFO has established communication and co-operation channels with other stakeholders on a national level.
• Collaboration, shared services, and so on become the default. A default funding model should enhance existing provisions rather than developing new ones, unless there is a very clear business case for this.

Progression Steps

Plans to Develop

• RFO develops its agenda for research data, in collaboration with other stakeholders (such as government, RPOs).
• RFO plans and initiates a process to engage all stakeholders in the dialogue on the importance of RDM issues.
• RFO develops public statements of intent around the importance of research data and RDM.

Development Ongoing

• RFO has established communication pathways to engage RPOs, RDIs, and researchers supported by the RFO on the agenda for research data.
• RFO has developed communication materials to show how it addresses the issue strategically and to underline that RDM is a shared endeavour by all stakeholders.
• RFO has identified and highlighted best practices/projects from its funding activities and provides information about associated costs.
• RFO collaborates with other related organisations to help develop and advance the agenda for research data.
• RFO acknowledges that RDM is part of research processes and should not be seen as anything out of the ordinary.

Developed on organisational level

• RFO provides well-developed communication materials and pathways, stressing the importance of RDM, the roles of each key stakeholder, and the commitment of the RFO towards RDM (the agenda for research data).
• RFO clearly communicates the support RFOs offer for RDM capacity building and specialist careers development.
• RFO actively engages with the community to make RDM a shared endeavour across the RFO’s research community.
• RFO has established effective RDM as part of research processes and does not see it as something out of the ordinary.
• RFO uses the agenda for research data to communicate objectives to own researchers and staff and beyond.