New help for early career researchers to manage and share data

We’re introducing training to help you manage and share your research data. We’ve teamed up with Springer Nature to offer a series of 2-day workshops, and the first workshop will take place next month.

When we asked our researchers what the perceived main barriers to data sharing are, uncertainties about what data can be shared, how to handle copyright and intellectual property, lack of time to prepare data, and difficulties in finding the right repository were among their main concerns.

With timely data sharing becoming ever more important to maximise the value of our research, we’re working to make sure that our applicants and funded researchers have the support they need to meet modern requirements.

A tailored workshop

With a two-day workshop led by Nature Research Academies, we will provide you with training on the principles and practices of data sharing, and answer the questions you have as you plan for managing and sharing the data from your research programme .

The first workshop will take place on 9 and 10 May at the Springer Nature Campus in London, and is open to researchers who are currently funded by CRUK. Two further workshops are planned for July and September this year.

Our surveys of researchers show that many feel that there is not sufficient training or advice to support research data management. We’re delighted to have the opportunity to partner with CRUK to offer their researchers practical support that will increase data sharing and best practice .

-Iain Hrynaszkiewicz, Head of Data Publishing at Springer Nature

The workshops have been specifically tailored for early career cancer researchers, including postdocs and junior PIs, and especially clinical and population research fellows. At the end of the training, attendees will feel more confident and knowledgeable about how and where they should store and share their data, and how to ensure this is reflected in future funding applications .

General topics included will cover:

• Complying with data sharing policies
• Preparing Data Management Plans
• Creating valuable metadata and understanding metadata standards
• Copyright and data
• Approaches to sensitive data sharing
• Creating reusable tabular data

Breaking the barriers to data sharing

At CRUK, we have a data sharing policy in place to ensure that all data arising from the research we fund are made available as widely and freely as possible to maximise public benefit. We believe that d ata sharing, as well as good data management and ensuring that data are reusable, are important to ensure that new research is built upon previous work .

It’s our policy that all data be considered for sharing and made as widely and freely accessible as possible while safeguarding intellectual property, the privacy of patients and confidential data. We’re delighted to be partnering with Springer Nature to ensure our researchers are well equipped to do this.

–Dr Fiona Reddington, Head of Population, Prevention and Behavioural Research Funding at CRUK.

But we also recognise that researchers may face challenges in managing data, adhering to regulatory requirements, or ensuring data security and patient confidentiality. Most researchers also feel that they do not get sufficient credit for sharing data. This workshop is one of several initiatives with which we’re help ing researchers overcome these challenges and comply with our policy while being recognised for their efforts.

The outcome and feedback from the workshop will also be used to identify gaps in clinical data sharing and will inform our future activities in this space .

If you’re interested in finding out more about our upcoming workshops, contact Dr Paola Quattroni, Research Funding Manager for Data.

[email protected]