One Platform, Many Pathways: Reducing Administrative Burden in RDM Through Service Integration

The administrative load on researchers is continuously growing. They are confronted with an increased demand to comply with administrative bureaucracy such as filling in Data management Plans (DMPs), Ethics forms, and much more. Most of these activities involve researchers filling in multiple forms, and sometimes these forms also require filling in the same information repeatedly. In the Netherlands, many universities are facing similar issues where the Research Data Management (RDM) landscape is getting diverse as more and more data management solutions are becoming available. Researchers are also confronted with several rules’ regulations and a wider formalization of RDM practices. This comes with new requirements around data management, including the requirement by funders to write a Data Management Plan. This paper presents the research data management platform developed at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), designed to reduce the administrative burden for researchers through automated task flows. This provides guidance based on the research lifecycle and connects with support and topic-related support staff. With the Research Data Management Administration Platform (RDMA), VU Amsterdam created a solution that integrates curation, tools, and services within the research project process. In this paper, we describe the co-creation design process, the challenges involved in scaling across faculties, and the implementation of the platform. We reflect on the importance of tools like the RDMA platform and its impact on the reduction of administrative bureaucracy, whilst offering a model and support for institutions seeking to embed such systems.