DataPLANT participated in the recent Common Infrastructure Online Assembly

Wed Apr 17 2024

DataPLANT participated in the recent Common Infrastructure Online Assembly, the primary coordination platform for infrastructure development, held on the 17th April. In this setting all NFDI consortia convene to discuss shared interests on infrastructure development, joint services and the advancement of Base4NFDI. During the assembly, discussions revolved around various topics. DataPLANT provided input on a relevant topic, the shared by many required of a versioning software solution, a matter to be addressed by the consortia.

Timo Mühlhaus delivered a concise presentation on the DataPLANT DataHUB, a key component defined within our consortium but potentially relevant to other consortia as well. We utilize GitLab in dual roles: as a foundational service for software development and project management, and as a platform for effective data management dubbed DataHUB. This concept was previously showcased in a poster presentation at CoRDI 2023, where it garnered significant attention.

A lively discussion ensued during the assembly, touching upon several pertinent issues. Topics included concerns about publishing workflows using Git and repository systems like Invenio RDM, as well as considerations regarding the development of open-source software versus effective data management strategies. Additionally, the potential utilization of Git annex as an alternative to Git LFS was deliberated.

Further discussions during the meeting centered on various ongoing activities within Base4NFDI, providing an overview of the progress made in completing basic services phases and outlining the structure of forthcoming Basic Service Proposals. This provided relevant input for us how to proceed in this matter to submit mid of May. Updates on the activities of the Working Groups were also presented, alongside the election of spokespersons for the section. The meeting was well attended with over 100 participants from research institutions and universities all over Germany.

Further Links
Info - Section Common Infrastructure
Concept - Section Common Infrastructure
Registration - Section Common Infrastructure
Publication - PLANTdataHUB: a collaborative platform for continuous FAIR data sharing in plant research
Poster - GitLab as a tool for Research Data Management
Base4NFDI - Website