Research data management commitment

Research data management commitment

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The NFDI4Energy Research Data Management Commitment is a shared, non-binding pledge to advance best practices in handling energy research data and build a sustainable research data culture by fostering transparency, interoperability, and continuous improvement. Individuals and institutions can formally subscribe to the non-binding commitment and join this growing movement, showing their support for better, more connected research.

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RDM Commitment on Zenodo

NFDI4Energy Research Data Management Commitment

Preface

The undersigned parties recognize that the transformation of the energy system toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions demands complex, interdisciplinary, data- and software-intensive research. As the energy sector evolves into cyber-physical systems integrating electricity, heat, mobility, and social participation, the importance of robust and transparent research data management becomes paramount. In this context, this commitment sets forth a shared framework and targets to strengthen the role of research data management and research software management in energy research. Furthermore, we facilitate a dialogue with all involved stakeholders in the community by producing interpretable outputs and, as far as possible, openly accessible outputs that bridge technical results with societal discourse. This commitment is informed by the vision of the NFDI4Energy consortium, which sees data and software as the scientific foundation for a sustainable energy future. The signatories of this commitment acknowledge the need to ensure traceability, transparency, and reproducibility in energy research and affirm their joint commitment to improving practices in research data and software stewardship, from project conception through to dissemination and reuse.

Research Data Management Commitment in Energy Research

Based upon the parties` communication so far, it is their understanding that the following principles are necessary for integrating research data management effectively in energy research:

  1. We ensure that all project proposals explicitly incorporate the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles for research data and software from the earliest planning stages, covering the entire research life cycle and plan sufficient resources for these purposes.
  2. We include comprehensive data management plans as a standard component of proposals, defining the lifecycle of data, models, and software, including access policies, licensing, documentation, and storage solutions.
  3. We employ recognized metadata standards and ontologies, as recommended by NFDI4Energy, to ensure semantic clarity and machine-readability of datasets and research artifacts.
  4. We deposit research data, models, and software in repositories and registries that use domain-specific metadata provided by NFDI to facilitate discovery and reuse.
  5. We follow best practice guidelines for research software engineering when we develop and/or use energy research software within our research projects.
  6. We integrate responsible data governance, including privacy, intellectual property rights, and ethical considerations, particularly when handling socio-economic or participatory data.
  7. We embed industrial perspectives in the design of data collection, model assumptions, and dissemination strategies.
  8. We strengthen energy researchers with FAIR and Open Data practices by supporting educational networks and the provision of educational materials that promote transparency and accessibility of research outputs as far as possible.
Conclusion

This commitment is a non-binding agreement intended to foster collaboration, mutual understanding, and continuous improvement in the management and handling of research data in energy research. The parties intend to work together to uphold the principles outlined herein, contribute to the evolution of a robust research data culture, and enable the successful digital transformation of energy research. The signatories will to periodically review and revise this commitment to reflect emerging best practices, technological developments, and evolving community standards.

Meet the signatories: Institutions

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Meet the signatories: Individuals

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Citation and feedback

You can cite the NFDI4Energy RDM Commitment as:

  • Werth, O., Ferenz, S., & Nieße, A. (2026). D7.1.7.1 NFDI4Energy – Research Data Management Commitment. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18347506

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info@nfdi4energy.org