United by Data: Helmholtz and the NFDI

The Helmholtz Centers conduct data-intensive research with large-scale infrastructures, such as particle accelerators, satellites, research vessels, and aircraft. As such, the Helmholtz Association has developed strong expertise in managing research data and ensuring its accessibility and reusability. The Helmholtz Open Science Policy provides a framework for all researchers within the Helmholtz Association [1], while research data policies at individual centres guide them in making their data FAIR and open [2]. Research data and research data management (RDM) are gaining increasing importance, driven by their scientific, societal, and economic potential. Helmholtz researchers are actively involved in many national and international efforts that contribute to the establishment of high-quality standards and infrastructure, most notably through the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). Helmholtz Centers are members in 21 out of 26 subject-specific NFDI consortia [3]. In addition to these, several Helmholtz Centres are actively involved in Base4NFDI projects, which provide basic services and infrastructure to support the NFDI in Germany. At the international level, Helmholtz Centres participate in various projects that contribute to the development of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) [4], as well as a wide range of discipline-specific initiatives. Through re3data, a global registry of research data repositories, Helmholtz plays a crucial role in promoting the discoverability and accessibility of research data. More than 100 repositories listed in re3data can be assigned to Helmholtz centers [5], underscoring their importance in enhancing RDM practices and ensuring that research data can effectively be managed and shared within the NFDI and EOSC ecosystems. Across the Helmholtz Association, numerous community-specific initiatives have emerged to address diverse RDM challenges, strengthen internal networking, and foster synergies among stakeholders. One example of such an initiative is the Research Data Commons, a joint effort by the Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration (HMC) and the Helmholtz Open Science Office. Launched in December 2024, this event series offers a forum for Helmholtz researchers and staff to share experiences, solutions, and best practices in RDM. The inaugural event focused on FAIRness, data visibility, and data quality and highlighted how Helmholtz platforms and infrastructure can serve as a central component of the NFDI framework [6]. This contribution will outline the different institutional, national and international activities around research data and RDM within the Helmholtz Association, illustrate how different stakeholders and initiatives interact, and provide examples of how RDM collaboration can be implemented in practice. References [1] Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft (Ed.) (2022): Helmholtz Open Science Policy. Version 1.0. Approved in the 119th General Assembly of the Helmholtz Association on 20-21 September 2022, Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft, 9 p. https://doi.org/10.48440/os.helmholtz.056 [2] https://os.helmholtz.de/en/open-research-data/research-data-policies/ [3] https://os.helmholtz.de/en/open-research-data/helmholtz-in-the-nfdi/ [4] https://os.helmholtz.de/en/open-research-data/helmholtz-in-eosc/ [5] https://os.helmholtz.de/en/open-research-data/research-data-repositories/ [6] Genderjahn, S., Meistring, M., Curdt, C., Heel, L., Juckeland, G., Kubin, M., Lorenz, S., Vleugel, M. (2025): Forum Helmholtz Research Data Commons: Fostering FAIRness, Enhancing Visibility, and Ensuring Data Quality, Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration (HMC) and Helmholtz Open Science Office. https://doi.org/10.48440/os.helmholtz.081