Several months ago, we announced a new initiative to address research data management needs across the University with the establishment of a new Research Data Management Core (RDMC). We are now pleased to provide the following exciting announcements on the RDMC’s progress: the appointment of Jonathan Crabtree as the core’s inaugural director, the rollout of the RDMC website, an update to RDMC service support, and fee information.
RDMC Inaugural Director
Reporting to Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Andy Johns, Crabtree will shepherd the RDMC into existence, drawing on several decades of data archival systems experience directing the Odum Institute’s Research Data Information Systems group.
Crabtree has worked at UNC-Chapel Hill for more than 30 years. During his time at the Odum Institute, he helped to establish a highly skilled team of developers and support staff responsible for building and maintaining data archival systems for social science research data, including the UNC Dataverse, which is now being used by researchers across the University and beyond. He was also involved in establishing the Global Dataverse Community Consortium, an organization that supports archives built on the Dataverse Project worldwide. He is the current chair of the CoreTrustSeal board, an international body providing certification and review for data repositories based on the Core Trustworthy Data Repositories Requirements.
Crabtree has an undergraduate degree in economics and master’s and doctorate degrees from the UNC School of Information and Library Science, focusing on trusted digital repositories.
RDMC Website
The new RDMC website is now live and includes guidance on getting started with research data management, planning for the data that will result from a grant-funded project, and navigating the parts of the pre-award process that pertain to research data management, including budgeting.
In addition to this guidance, the RDMC site maintains a knowledge base related to concepts, procedures, and other information related to research data management. There is also a service portal that makes it easy to request help or consultation with a member of the RDMC staff. Soon, several other applications currently under development will be made available to aid in understanding data management best practices and planning for data management throughout the lifecycle of a project. These will include a repository finder and a set of interactive tools that walk investigators through the research data lifecycle.
For more information, please visit the site at https://researchdata.unc.edu.
RAMSeS IPF Screen Rollout
Effective December 1, you may notice as you log into RAMSeS that there is a new screen in the internal processing form (IPF) to collect information about the research data projected to result from funded research programs. This upgrade to RAMSeS will enable the RDMC, Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), School of Medicine’s Sponsored Programs Office (SOMSPO) and others within UNC Research administration to better understand data management needs across campus and implement the plans that are increasingly being required for inclusion with grant applications by funder mandate.
For help with any part of filling in the requested information in the IPF while planning grants, please visit the RDMC website for guidance. You may also request support in the RDMC service portal by clicking on the “Need Help?” button at the top of the page.
RDMC Fee
Beginning November 2023, a new data management fee will be applied to most funded research projects, regardless of sponsor, to fund the critical infrastructure required to support research data management needs for the University. Specialized projects and projects with very large-scale data may require additional and tailored support that can be borne as direct costs on a project-by-project basis. A full listing of services covered by the RDMC fee is available on the RDMC website.
The new RDMC fee (expensed on account 559011) will apply to monthly modified total direct cost (MTDC) expenditures at 0.38%. The RDMC fee will be allocated to projects as part of month-end ConnectCarolina processes and should reflect on project financials by the first week of the following month. We encourage all research teams to continue budgeting for the RDMC fee during the pre-award process and follow guidance from OSP and SOMSPO. Please join us in welcoming Jonathan Crabtree and the Research Data Management Core to the UNC Research family. Together, we look forward to managing our data resources to the maximum benefit for the UNC community and the society we serve.
This message is sponsored by: Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research