Strengthening Data Resilience – Through International Partnerships, Shared Responsibility and Closer International Coordination
How can research data and the associated infrastructures be safeguarded over the long term? Current international discussions make one thing clear: data resilience requires more than safeguarding endangered data repositories. Sustainable infrastructures, reliable partnerships and closer international coordination are essential.
Through its (interner Link), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) uses funding provided by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) to support both the safeguarding of research data at immediate risk and measures to strengthen its long-term availability and usability. The 14 projects funded to date illustrate the disciplinary breadth of the challenges involved and the importance of integration into national and European infrastructures. As the DFG announced in its latest (interner Link), proposals may also be submitted in 2027.
The need to look beyond short-term safeguarding measures was also discussed at the (externer Link), held in London from 6 to 8 October 2026 under the theme Shaping a Global Open Research Commons. At a (externer Link), the DFG contributed its perspective as a funding organisation. The discussion focused on the transition from reactive data rescue measures to the long-term development of resilient research data infrastructures. This requires not only technical redundancies and interoperable systems but also sustainable funding and governance structures. A key role is played by co-creation involving the research community, infrastructure facilities and funding organisations across national borders. The discussion also highlighted trust, ethical responsibility and equitable opportunities for participation as essential conditions for sustainable international cooperation and, consequently, structural resilience.
A discipline-specific example of international cooperation is provided by the (externer Link), whose (externer Link) was held in Cambridge on 7 and 8 October 2026. Through its 2026–2030 strategy, the GBC aims to strengthen the long-term sustainability of globally significant data resources in the life sciences and health research. To this end, it plans to expand its international and cross-sector collaboration with funding organisations, strengthen core biodata resources as part of the wider data ecosystem and pilot innovative sustainability models. The conference addressed these objectives, with participants discussing such topics as new collaborative funding approaches and partnership models. As such, the GBC offers an example of how international coordination and shared responsibility can contribute to the structural resilience of research data infrastructures.
One key conclusion to be drawn from these discussions is that structural resilience requires closer integration of national, European and international activities. This includes refining and interlinking existing infrastructures, for example through the NFDI and the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), and also establishing overarching coordination mechanisms. Given its international and cross-disciplinary networks, the RDA could potentially play an important role here, for example by identifying critical dependencies, sharing experience and good practice, and developing common standards and approaches to solutions.
These conclusions are fully consistent with the DFG’s (interner Link), published in March 2026. They emphasise that resilience is achieved not through national isolation but through interconnected, adaptable research data infrastructures that are sustainable over the long term. International cooperation is therefore not only a prerequisite for sharing research data: it is itself essential to data resilience.