The Data Stewards Project has come to an end, but the Latvian Data Stewards Network established during the project, along with the support provided to researchers, will continue.
Thanks to the support of the Ministry of Education and Science, a delegation agreement has been concluded that will enable the continuation of the work initiated during the project in the fields of research data management and Open Science until the end of 2028.
This means that researchers, academic staff, as well as master's and doctoral students will continue to have access to consultations and practical support in managing research data. Data stewards will assist with preparing Data Management Plans (DMPs), organising and documenting research data, selecting the most appropriate solutions for data storage and publication, and providing guidance on issues related to data accessibility, licensing, and the responsible use of research data.
Dedicated data steward teams are available at the University of Latvia (UL), Riga Technical University (RTU), Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU), and the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU). Researchers from all other Latvian research institutions will receive data steward services from the Association "Shared Service Centre for Information Technologies in Higher Education and Science."
Training sessions, seminars, and other professional development activities will also continue, helping researchers implement good research data management practices in their daily work. The latest updates can be found HERE.
At the same time, the Latvian research data repository, DataverseLV, will continue to be maintained and further developed. It enables researchers to securely store, describe, and publish research data, making it discoverable and, where possible, available for reuse.
The signed agreement will ensure the continuation and further development of the project's key achievements:
- The Latvian Data Stewards Network;
- Consultations and practical support for researchers;
- Training on research data management and Open Science;
- The DataverseLV repository and its related services.
The delegated tasks will be carried out until 31 December 2028 by the Association "The Higher Education and Science Information Technology Shared Service Centre".
The conclusion of the project therefore does not mark the end of the work of the Latvian Data Stewards Network. Instead, it marks the beginning of the next phase, in which the knowledge gained, the partnerships established, and the services developed during the project become long-term support for Latvia's research community.
The full text of the delegation agreement is available on the Association's website.
