In the autumn of 2024, teams of data stewards started working at leading Latvian universities. This initiative is implemented by the Higher Education and Science IT Sharing Services Center (VPC) within the framework of the project “Support for the implementation of open science in practice, as well as creating solutions for research data sharing and participation in the European Open Science Cloud”, which is financed by the European Union Recovery Fund.
Data curators are research support specialists whose main goal is to promote high-quality and responsible research data management, implementing the principles of open science and providing support to researchers at all stages of the research data life cycle. Their tasks include:
- providing consultations on the development and implementation of data management plans
- assistance in data storage, documentation and sharing
- development of guidelines and regulatory documents
- organisation of informative and educational events
- support in data deposit and ensuring open access
The Latvian Data Stewards Network currently unites data stewards from four universities – the University of Latvia, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Rīga Stradiņš University and Riga Technical University – as well as the VPC.
The common goal of data stewards is to promote the implementation of research data management and open science principles in Latvian higher education and research institutions. They provide support to researchers, doctoral students, academic and administrative staff at all stages of research – from data planning and structuring to documentation, storage and sharing. Data stewards act as an interdisciplinary support resource, helping to develop high-quality, sustainable and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) research data management practices.
To ensure high professional quality, data stewards regularly improve their skills by participating in various trainings, experience exchange events and international initiatives. In parallel, they actively develop research data management systems in their institutions, developing guidelines, procedures and instructions, as well as organising informative and educational events for researchers and support staff. This work is a significant contribution to ensuring effective and sustainable research data management in Latvia and promotes the implementation of open science principles in practice.
