Research Data Management

Charge

The Research Data Management and Planning Committee is charged with developing and sustaining a coordinated, university-wide strategy and service framework for the management, stewardship, sharing, preservation, and reuse of research data hosted and owned by Lehigh University.

As research becomes increasingly data-intensive, researchers face expanding federal and internal requirements related to data planning and management, sharing and interoperability, storage, security, documentation, reproducibility, preservation, and public access. Addressing these needs requires close coordination among the University Libraries, Information Technology Services (ITS), Information Security, Research Computing, the Office of Research, and other campus partners.

The Committee will assess and promote Lehigh's existing research data planning services, infrastructure, policies, expertise, and recommend a sustainable, collaborative service model. The goal is to provide researchers with clear and effective access to the data-related services they need at any stage of the research process.

Responsibilities

The Committee will:

• Assess Lehigh's research data planning landscape, including existing services, infrastructure, technologies, policies, expertise, and areas of responsibility.
• Identify researcher needs and service gaps related to data management and sharing plans, data storage, metadata creation, data sharing, preservation, and reuse.
• Develop a coordinated research data planning service model that connects researchers with appropriate expertise and resources across the Libraries, ITS, Information Security, the Office of Research, and other campus units.
• Evaluate research data infrastructure and tools, including storage and backup, high-performance computing, data repositories, persistent identifiers, and long-term preservation.
• Recommend approaches for supporting Data Management and Sharing Plans (DMSPs) and policies, and their compliance with funding agencies, publishers, and other research sponsors.
• Promote effective research data stewardship, including FAIR principles where appropriate, documentation and metadata standards, reproducibility, data citation, responsible sharing, and long-term accessibility.
• Coordinate approaches to sensitive and regulated research data in collaboration with appropriate University offices responsible for privacy, security, and regulatory compliance.
• Market and promote opportunities for research data education and consultation, including training, documentation, individual consultations, and integration of data management practices into research workflows.
• Recommend a sustainable governance and service structure for coordinating research data management and planning activities across the University.

Membership

The Committee will report to the University Librarian and the Associate Vice President for Information Technology Services. The Committee will be co-chaired by the Director of Library Technology and the Director of Research Computing. The co-chairs will coordinate the Committee's work, engage relevant campus stakeholders, and ensure alignment with Lehigh's broader research, technology, library, and institutional priorities.

Membership will represent key campus stakeholders involved in the creation, management, protection, analysis, sharing, and preservation of research data, including:

• University Libraries
• ITS, including Research Computing and Information Security
• Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
• Faculty and Graduate student representation
• Other campus units or subject-matter experts, as appropriate