KonsortSWD - NFDI4Society - II (KonsortSWD II)

KonsortSWD, the NFDI4Society, supplies research data management (RDM) solutions for the social, behavioural, educational, and economic sciences. Building on the successes integrating the RDM landscape more closely through services during the first phase, KonsortSWD's mission is to further strengthen, widen, and deepen the research data infrastructure for the study of human society. It aims to be the RDM platform for its communities.

KonsortSWD builds on the established and very successful network of currently 41 Research Data Centres and leverages RatSWD (German Data Forum) to universally involve its communities. Central to its mission are its three overarching, strategic aims: A) Make RDM part of the research routine in KonsortSWD’s disciplines; B) consolidate reputable services, improve user-friendliness, and address new needs; and C) anchor RDM structures and advance “OneNFDI”. These aims will be realised through ten central objectives, ranging from refining data quality criteria to strategically extending national and international networks. 

KonsortSWD's work program is structured into five Task Areas: 1) Involving Communities; 2) Advancing FAIRness; 3) Enhancing Competences; 4) Integrating Data; and 5) Governance and Sustainability. Each Task Area comprises several measures designed to achieve the consortium's objectives. Crucial components include the German Data Forum (RatSWD), the Committee for Research Data Infrastructure (FDI Committee), training activities, and services to improve data findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability (FAIR). The consortium will continue to prioritise close collaboration with its diverse stakeholders, including individual researchers, academic associations, and Research Data Centres (RDCs). Internationally, KonsortSWD will strengthen ties with other national RDM initiatives and continue to participate in the Research Data Alliance (RDA) and the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) and build links to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). 

Within NFDI, it will continue to actively contribute to cross-cutting topics, foster multidisciplinary use cases, and support the development of basic services. Sustainability is a key focus for the second funding phase: KonsortSWD will develop business models for its services to ensure the long-term viability of its offerings. The consortium's governance structure, centred around the Steering Committee and the five Task Areas, will be optimised to support these efforts.

KonsortSWD actively consolidates its service portfolio, ensuring that established services consistently meet the community's evolving needs while developing new services to address emerging demands. By leveraging its strengths, expanding its reach, and proactively adapting to the dynamic landscape of RDM, KonsortSWD is poised to make significant contributions to its disciplines and the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) in the coming years.