Fargo, N.D. — Kim Owen, advanced applications and outreach coordinator in NDSU’s Information Technology Division, and Michael Fary, enterprise data architect at the University of Chicago, co-wrote a white paper on “Developing an Institutional Research Data Management Plan Service.” 

The co-authors presented the paper at the 2012 Annual Educause Conference in Denver Nov. 8. In January, the paper was published in the Educause Library, an international repository for information concerning use and management of information technology in higher education. It also will appear in the February issue of the Educause Review Online. 
Owen and Fary, both members of the Educause Advanced Core Technologies Initiatives Data Management Working Group, co-wrote the paper to provide guidance on developing research data management planning services at higher education institutions. Their findings are based on a broad sampling of trends in these services at institutions across the United States and internationally. 

“With federal agencies now requesting specific information regarding data sharing and data management, higher ed campuses are keenly aware of the need to provide support services for research activities at all stages,” Owen said. 
At NDSU, staff members in the Libraries and Information Technology Division have formed a Research Data Working Group, which operates under the direction of Provost J. Bruce Rafert. The group aims to increase knowledge of best practices for long-term data management, raise awareness of data management resources and tools available at NDSU, and provide data management planning assistance to researchers. 

For more information about NDSU’s Research Data Working Group, go to www.ndsu.edu/research_data. To access an electronic copy of the white paper, go to www.educause.edu/library. 

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private research universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education