Open Call for RDA Working Group Support Services

Jump to: Background | Who is this for? | What can you apply for? | Who decides and how we proceed? | Informational Webinar and Drop-in Session Slides | Limitations of the mechanisms | Application process | FAQs | Disclaimer | Informational Webinar (recording) | Contact us

August 2023

This open call is seeking applications from existing or potential Research Data Alliance (RDA) Working Groups (WGs) that wish to receive RDA TIGER support for their WG activities. The call will be  continuously open and has four selection rounds per year. Each round has a deadline by which the applications have to be submitted in order to be reviewed. 

The continuously open call for WG support has been expanded to include additional support mechanisms. Please read below for information about new opportunities!

The deadline for applications for this selection round is Thursday 30 November 2023, 16:00 CEST. 

All RDA WGs or potential RDA WGs that apply to receive support should meet the eligibility criteria set out below and will be evaluated by a selection committee. This includes existing WGs that have established processes and membership, as well as new WGs requiring support to kickstart their activity. The RDA WGs supported have to run according to the RDA WG processes, procedures and policies.

Background

RDA TIGER is a project funded by the European Commission. It supports RDA Working Groups that concretely align, harmonise and standardise Open Science developments and technologies globally. RDA TIGER services will facilitate and support coherent and consistent working group definitions and increase the impact of key European initiatives on the global level. More information can be found on the RDA website.

Who is this for?
RDA TIGER support services support and streamline the creation and operations of RDA Working Groups. The support mechanisms benefit RDA members with a highly developed idea for a Working Group, or for existing or newly formed Working Groups. Applications should be submitted by representatives of the Working Group, such as the co-chairs in the case of existing WGs, or prospective co-chairs for WGs in the pre-endorsement phase.  Applicants must be able to justify such representation (e.g., via co-chair status, or for starting groups, demonstrable community backing for the WG). 

A WG can apply for the support more than once, but applications in the early stage of the WG are more likely to be supported.

What can you apply for?

RDA TIGER provides Working Groups a range of services, which must be applied for separately (via the same application form):

1. Support for the Working Groups provided by the RDA TIGER personnel. Groups can choose from these services individually; however, they are intended to be provided as a complete package for the Working Group throughout the whole period of its operation. More details on these Support Services can be found on the dedicated RDA website page: https://www.rd-alliance.org/rda-tiger-services.

   1. Facilitation of the Working Group creation and operation. This is the main support mechanism for the RDA TIGER WGs.
   2. Communication support for WG activities, helping with internal and external communications.
   3. Landscape analysis and engagement service, helping to identify and engage other communities interested in the WG activities.
   4. Output support service, helping the group’s Recommendations and other outputs gain maximum visibility and impact.

2. Support for externally provided actions for the Working Group. The WG may require specific expertise or roles which cannot be provided by RDA TIGER staff to support its activities. Examples include (but are not limited to) hiring experts;,data collection, interviews, analysis, graphical design, or authoring and editing large documents. 

   In these contexts, the WG identifies a specific kind of expertise and describes this in their application. The RDA TIGER team then finds, contracts and funds the expert(s) to assist the Working Group. This service is dependent on the available budget.

   This support also includes larger activities, such as test-adoption of the Working Group outputs, or creating a test platform or a demonstrator of the WG output(s). In this circumstance, the RDA TIGER team, together with the WG members, create an open call published in the EU Grants Platform for organisations to apply to provide this Action for the WG (for example for ‘Adoption Grants’.. ). The successful organisation will then be contracted to contribute this action as a (mini) project.  Please note, for these larger grants, there will be a waiting time of several months from the initial application to provision of this type of grant due to the open nature of finding suitable organisations to provide these activities. It is therefore recommended that applications for support for external actions are submitted as early as possible in a Working Group’s life. This type of support  is dependent on the available budget. 

Who decides and how do we proceed?

The applications go through a peer review process, after the decision is made by the RDA TIGER project Selection Committee, which has members from RDA TIGER beneficiaries, key stakeholders and RDA organs. The project prioritises the following kinds of applications:

For all applications for all types of support: 

1. Eligibility of the proposal (i.e. proposed by an existing WG, or an RDA member community, applicants can represent the community)

2. Expected Output of the WG and its impact. This is particularly in the respect of the RDA TIGER project priorities:

   1. Creating mechanisms and tools for creation, sharing, management and re-use of research outputs (e.g. data, software, publications, workflows, protocols, and methodologies);
   2. Facilitating scientific multidisciplinary cooperation;
   3. Efficient handling or providing seamless access to large volumes of research outputs;
   4. Increasing FAIRness, openness and quality of scientific research in Europe and globally;
   5. Creating meaningful monitoring and research evaluation mechanisms, enabling better reproducibility, validation and re-use of research outputs, or improving pathways for communication of science to the public.

3. Planned impact  of the WG on the Open Science landscape. WGs which contribute to one or several of the following areas are prioritised:

   • Supporting Open Science principles, (e.g. FAIR, CARE, or TRUST or as defined by UNESCO)
   • Strategic goals outlined in the RDA’s current strategic plan, and/or
   • The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). This may include internationalisation or standardisation of existing EOSC outputs and/or creating new outputs that respond to an EOSC priority.

For the Facilitation Support, in addition to the above points, the following aspects will be evaluated:

1. Expected international interest of the potential WG
2. Implementation: how the WG will meet its aims and objectives
3. How the WG will add value to existing work in RDA and contribute to relevant international activities. 
4. Statement of Intent: A description of what what you hope to get out of the RDA TIGER Support Services provided by TIGER personnel. What value will RDA TIGER add to your WG?

For the externally provided support services  the priorities are:

1. Expected impact of the proposed action to the WG outputs: expected impact and importance of the proposed additional work in the context of the expected WG outputs and the overall landscape in which the WG operates. 
2. Available resources in comparison to requested budgets/services.
3. How realistic the timeline is and eligibility of the grant requested.
4. 4. The output and impact of the WG as indicated above.

The successful applications can be subject to additional negotiations with the applications, e.g. regarding details of the needed support, or budgetary restrictions.

Informational Webinar and Drop-in Session Slides

Are you thinking of applying for Facilitation Support for your RDA WG? The RDA TIGER team scheduled two drop-in sessions over the summer to answer any questions and provide support with submitting your application before the next evaluation round, with a deadline of 30 November 2023. If you missed the sessions, you can watch the recording of our informational webinar, and refer to our slide deck for further information. 

Limitations of the mechanisms

As the RDA TIGER is a project funded by the European Commission via the Horizon Europe programme, and the support mechanisms have the following limitations:

• The supported Working Groups should have a significant participation from the Horizon Europe member or associated countries. WGs with importance to European policy goals (e.g., EOSC or research assessment reform) are prioritised.

• No direct support (e.g., via travel grants) can be given to citizens of or to organisations registered in the EU sanctioned countries. Such grants can only in exceptional cases be given to countries outside of the Horizon Europe partnership, Associated, or collaborating countries. Similar restrictions are placed on supporting meetings in countries outside of the Horizon Europe countries.

Application process

One person should apply on behalf of the whole WG. The applicant should be a nominated or current co-chair or a member leading the WG activity that has support of the group.

There is ONE form to use for all RDA TIGER Support Services. Applicants need to: download, complete and return the accompanying Word file (found in the 'attachments' section at the bottom of this page) to email address: RDATIGERCalls@rd-alliance.org.

FAQs

What support can RDA TIGER provide for RDA Working Groups via this call?

• Support for WG co-chair tasks and activities  (e.g., facilitation, administrative, logistical)

• WG Case Statement and work plan creation for not-yet created groups^*

• Liaison with the RDA’s Technical Advisory Board (TAB) for not-yet created groups 

• Increased WG engagement (e.g., identification and engagement of potential members and co-chairs )

• Support for finalising outputs and related ongoing maintenance activities via the RDA TIGER Facilitation service which supports the ‘last mile’ of WG output creation (note: this does NOT refer to creating outputs which is a responsibility of WG co-chairs).

*For more information on creating an RDA WG see this page.

Is there a closing date?

There is no formal closing date for this call. The call will be open continuously during the life of RDA TIGER, however, there are selection rounds whereby the Selection Committee reviews and selects four WGs to be supported.. While the call remains open, we recommend that applicants check the selection round deadlines noted above when planning their application for support, particularly  if their requirements relate to RDA Plenary deadlines.

What are the eligibility criteria for applying WGs?

Applications should come from individuals on behalf of an existing or potential WG. Applications can come from any member of the WG regardless of the country where they are based. Individuals from the RDA TIGER consortium can be members of an RDA WG but cannot actively apply for RDA TIGER support.  

RDA community members that apply should highlight that they have (i) a concrete idea for a WG, and (ii) community support. For example, members may have held a Birds of a Feather (BoF) session at an RDA Plenary and have decided to proceed with the creation of a WG, or may be in the initial stages of establishing a WG. If you are unsure of whether you qualify to receive support from RDA TIGER please contact RDATIGERInfo@rd-alliance.org.

 

How will the applications be selected and evaluated?

Applications for support will be evaluated by the RDA Selection Committee panel. The panel will ensure there are no conflicts of interest and a fair selection process The Selection Committee is a group of people from the RDA TIGER consortium, EOSC Association and the RDA Governance (TAB and Secretariat). All evaluation activities will be conducted in line with the Guiding Principles of the RDA.

 

To be eligible, all WGs have to have an international component in their membership. The following criteria and weighting will be used to fairly and transparently evaluate the applications. 

Criteria	Topic	Weighting as a percentage
Excellence (OS)	EOSC and OS connectivity or RDA Strategy	25%
Excellence (Impact)	Impact on the OS landscape	25%
Implementation	Implementation and international Connectivity	50%

What is the process for RDA TIGER Open calls?

RDA TIGER intends to have a series of ongoing calls, open throughout the lifetime of the RDA TIGER project. Working Groups will be able to apply at any point in time. Applications will be reviewed at four stages each year by the Selection Committee, and outcomes will be communicated to applicants within a month of the Selection Committee meeting. The start date is expected in July, depending on the needs of successful applicants.

The four call selection round deadlines are:  

• 31 May 2023, 2024, 2025 
• 31 August 2023, 2024, 2025 
• 30 November 2023, 2024 
• 27 February, 2024, 2025

How many Groups will be supported through this first evaluation period?

Up to four RDA WGs will be selected  to receive RDA TIGER facilitation support during the first selection round (deadline 31 May 2023). 

Will there be more RDA TIGER open calls?

 

This call is about providing Support Services for the RDA WGs which include hands-on facilitation. There will be additional RDA TIGER calls for different types of support mechanisms in the coming months.  If you are a recipient of support during this call you are still eligible for receiving other RDA TIGER grants. 

RDA TIGER is still in its pilot testing phase and not all the services are expected to be fully functioning until early 2024. 

Can WG apply for further RDA TIGER calls?

Yes. RDA WGs are eligible to apply for further types of RDA Support Grants in the future.

I have more questions. How can I contact the RDA TIGER team? 

You can contact us at RDATIGERInfo@rd-alliance.org.

Disclaimer

The decision of the Selection Committee on any specific application to a given round is final.  Groups can re-apply if an application has not been successful. If your application is a resubmission, this must be clearly indicated.

Informational Webinar

If you missed the RDA TIGER Open Call informational webinar you can catch up with the recording below: 

Contact us

If you have any questions regarding the RDA TIGER project, the Facilitation Support Service or any of the other services on offer by the project please contact us at RDATIGERInfo@rd-alliance.org.