Two strands, one goal: advancing open research and data management

As researcher engagement and collections manager at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), Maria Follett is responsible for the collections and digital content team, and researcher engagement. So, when faced with a two-strand project to promote open research and evaluate research data management at the university, Maria lacked the time to fully advocate for the long-term changes that could benefit the organisation.

Maria applied for, and secured time-limited funding from within the university and hoped to create a fixed term post to carry out the work. However, by the time the funding was approved, Maria knew that starting the recruitment process from scratch would take too long and risked putting their funding in jeopardy.

“At that point, it was suggested that we get a Jisc consultant in to help. It really impacted our initial conversations because we hadn't a clue what we wanted from a consultant, as our planning had been predicated on a full-time (fixed term) post. All we knew was that we had a fixed pot of money and six months to spend it.”

Open research - looking for guidance

Although she wasn’t yet sure of the full changes needed, Maria was clear about one thing: the university wanted to produce an open research statement. Maria knew that a clear and straightforward statement would lay the foundation for strategy, policy, advocacy, and budgeting for LJMU.

Maria was also committed to ensuring that researchers had a voice in its development and could see themselves reflected in the final statement. This was also important to gain genuine buy-in and ownership across the community.

Our digital preservation consultancy also offered an important level of impartiality to conversations with staff in the research office, including the pro-vice chancellor for research, and at least one researcher in each faculty. Maria was particularly impressed with the consultancy’s work in this area.

“In a short period of time, Jisc’s conversations captured the essence of LJMU, where we were as a university with open research, and what it meant to us. It also really helped us to be ambitious and show where we could go with this project.”

“Without Jisc we wouldn’t have had that direction. We would have put something in place, but it wouldn't be the piece that it is now. Collaborating with Jisc gave us a statement that we refer to constantly, and that now sits in our policy documents at university level.”

Moving forward with research data management

Maria was the only dedicated resource for research data management, so anything in this area formed part of her role. The university had a desire to move research data management forward and to ensure adequate support, but were unsure of the next steps.

“We knew we had made a good start,” Maria said. “But then we plateaued and we didn't know what to do or what else we needed to cover.”

Our consultancy team looked at the plans from the beginning with fresh eyes, assessing where it was already working and what areas needed to be improved. They tested the university’s workflows and connectivity to highlight the outstanding requirements.

Yet again, Maria found this independent, external expertise invaluable:

“They met our researchers to find out where the gaps in knowledge were. I wouldn't have been brave enough because these are people I work with. Jisc could come in and ask the questions without people feeling uncomfortable or under pressure. These conversations really highlighted the lack of awareness across the university, in terms of what our direction was for research data management.”

One of the key recommendations to come out of the consultancy’s work was that a senior leader needed to take ownership for this strand of activity, and this has now been resolved internally at LJMU.

A further outcome of the consultancy work for both of these projects was approval for Maria’s request for an increase in staffing levels, giving her an additional full-time member of staff and increasing one part-time position to full-time.

“We have taken the advocacy plan that Jisc put together for us, along with the recommendations. We've been working through the recommendations and we’ve ticked almost all of them off, so it hasn't stopped for us. The project is still very much living, breathing, and relevant to us and we still use it when we speak to the pro-vice chancellor for research. It really shows our progress, what we've been doing and where we're going.”

Looking back, Maria said one of the most rewarding things was the confidence the Jisc consultancy gave her and her team.

“Their report presented the work we’d done in a positive light, which really helped us and gave us confidence in what we were doing as a team. That endorsement meant we pushed for the funds we needed.”

Maria also appreciated the guidance and direction our consultancy provided.

“We were very upfront about our budget and our timeline and Jisc took us on in our uncertain state! They worked out the time we would need given our budget, and they reassured us that it was possible to do something meaningful in that period.”

Maria would recommend the consultancy approach to other organisations looking for guidance.

“You're buying invaluable experience and a ready-made skillset. You don't have to line manage or set objectives; you’re getting a team with expert knowledge who will do a thorough job.”

Further information

• Find out more about our digital preservation consultancy and dynamic purchasing system (DPS).
• Find out about our research systems consultancy and research management systems DPS.
• Read our member story about the consultancy’s work with the University of Aberdeen.