Of Ships in the Large Sea of Research Data. Report of the Project [email protected] in the Context of Building a National Research Data Infrastructure.

This contribution reflects on the experiences and outcomes of the [email protected] project (2022–2025), which aimed to establish research data management (RDM) structures across universities of applied sciences (UAS) in Rhineland-Palatinate. Using storytelling as a struc-tural tool, we outline the project journey - from initial team building and inter-university collabo-ration to the analysis of existing RDM landscapes and the development of sustainable, FAIR-compliant infrastructures tailored to the specific needs of the eight collaborating UAS. The focus of this contribution lies on practical support measures designed to promote the FAIR principles and strengthen data literacy in applied research. This includes measures to increase awareness and acceptance, as well as training and advisory services. Moreover, we address key challenges encountered along the way, including limited resources, staffing constraints, and institutional diversity, along with the strategies developed to overcome them. Finally, we examine the extent to which the collaboration with the NFDI and RDM community supported the development of local RDM structures — highlighting both synergies and redundancies that emerged from parallel developments. In presenting this trajectory, the contribution incorporates maritime allegories — an approach also used by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) at its status event in September 2024. In this vein, we portray the NFDI as a large cruiser navigating the seas of research data, while projects such as [email protected] represent smaller support ves-sels operating alongside. With the completion of the [email protected] project, the importance of small ships in providing orientation, support, and integration into the broader national RDM infrastructure for the UAS community continues to be significant. Hence, the contribution con-cludes with concrete recommendations on how the NFDI can sustainably support smaller initi-atives and networks like the UAS of [email protected]: by establishing decentralized anchor points, fostering targeted cooperation, and increasing responsiveness to the specific needs of UAS. These steps are vital to ensure that the collective journey toward cultural change in re-search data management continues without losing momentum.