Facilitating Service Development: The Role of Service Stewards in Base4NFDI

Base4NFDI was founded in March 2023 and is the joint initiative of all 26 NFDI consortia. The goal is to establish and foster interdisciplinary basic services for the whole NFDI-wide community. To ensure a smooth interplay and exchange of information between Base4NFDI and the basic service teams, a new role was established: the Service Stewards (SERs) [1]. This role is essential in connecting the social and technical aspects of service development, acting as a "critical glue" that facilitates communication and collaboration[2]. Service Stewards are one of the main pillars of Base4NFDI, offering vital support to research data management (RDM) services under development, from their early stages through to the ramp-up stage [3]. Our goal is to bridge the gap between the supporting Base4NFDI staff, the service developer teams, and the NFDI consortia, ensuring that services are not only aligned with the needs of the NFDI community but also developed with a strong focus on quality and compliance. At Base4NFDI, we have a dedicated team of seven Service Stewards [3], each focused on specific areas crucial to service development. We work closely with the service teams and consortia, offering practical guidance and support throughout the development process. Together, we ensure services are shaped by real needs and requirements, fully equipped to meet NFDI demands and support researchers in their RDM challenges. Key areas we focus on: 1. Coordination and Communication: We facilitate seamless information exchange and collaboration between basic services and NFDI consortia, ensuring that all stakeholders remain informed and aligned throughout the service development lifecycle. 2. Legal and Compliance Support: Navigating data protection and compliance can be complex. We provide expert legal guidance to ensure services meet all relevant regulations. This minimizes risks and supports long-term sustainability. 3. Networking and Stakeholder Engagement: We connect service teams with key stakeholders across the NFDI ecosystem, fostering collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and innovation. These connections help services evolve to meet the needs of NFDI and the broader research community. 4. Feedback and Quality Assurance: We gather insights from consortia and end users to help service teams continuously improve services. This feedback loop ensures that services remain relevant and effective, aligned with the scientific community's needs. 5. Promotion and Outreach: We raise awareness of Base4NFDI services by participating in conferences and outreach activities to make our services well-known and accessible to researchers and institutions across Germany and beyond. Ultimately, the goal of our efforts as Service Stewards is to support the creation of reliable, essential basic services that are vital to the NFDI and the broader scientific community. By doing so, we aim to reduce fragmentation in the development of RDM services and strive to provide researchers across Germany with solutions designed to meet their needs, comply with local regulations, and support long-term sustainability. Through our support, we contribute to building basic services for RDM that are robust and aligned with the evolving demands of the national and international research landscape.