Entering new territory: Experiences from the GesundFDM project

The applied health- and care related sciences present a unique case in the establishment of research data management (RDM) infrastructure. Firstly, while the subject area suggests a background in the life sciences, the research methods which are primarily used, usually stem from the social sciences. Accordingly, these subjects neither fit into the DFG subject area structure, nor can they be attributed to a specific NFDI consortium. Secondly, they are mainly located at universities of applied sciences (UAS), whose traditional focus is on teaching and awareness, activities and infrastructure concerning RDM are still developing (as shown by the EVER_FDM study). However, rich data corpora are being generated in these fields, making it crucial to address them with RDM measures. How can structures for RDM be established in an area that has not yet systematically come in contact with it? This was the challenge faced by those involved in the BMBF-project GesundFDM, which aims to promote RDM in the applied health and care-related sciences. During the three-year project, various solutions were developed and piloted. In our contribution, we would like to present selected products and learnings. In a first step, 34 qualitative interviews with researchers were conducted to assess their RDM needs and current practices. The results were used to develop measures in the following areas: - Awareness: Community events, user stories, website - Information: Anonymization, informed consent, metadata - Data stewardship: Concept for implementing data stewards, data steward pilot projects - Repositories: Comprehensive list of relevant repositories and data centers - Education and training: Spring school for students in health- and care-related subjects - Subject-specific recommendations for data management: Developed in cooperation with associated professional societies The focus in all these measures was to provide a carefully selected and comprehensible introduction to various RDM topics tailored to our specific target group. This also includes pointing out selected standards and resources by the NFDI consortia and other institutions, if available. With this approach, progress could be made on different levels. With our contribution we would like to present our solutions and reusable products for the health- and care-related sciences as well as offer insights on ways to introduce new fields working with social scientific methods to RDM.