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Become an ARC Reviewer

ARC Reviewers help ensure the quality of published Annotated Research Contexts (ARCs) and promote FAIR research data. They review submitted ARCs for their research community, provide feedback to authors, and contribute to community-specific quality assurance.

By becoming an ARC Reviewer, you actively support your research community and help establish best practices for publishing FAIR research data.

Becoming an ARC Reviewer is particularly useful if you are responsible for research data management or quality assurance within a research community.

Typical candidates are Data Stewards or Research Data Managers supporting:

  • Excellence Clusters
  • Collaborative Research Centres
  • Graduate Schools
  • Research Infrastructures
  • Core Facilities

However, the role is not limited to these positions. Anyone who actively supports FAIR research data management within a research community and is interested in reviewing ARCs is welcome to apply.

Becoming an ARC Reviewer benefits both you and your research community.

  • Faster reviews for your community

    As an ARC Reviewer, you can help ensure that submissions from your research community are reviewed in a timely manner. Reviews are carried out by people familiar with the scientific context and community-specific requirements, resulting in a more efficient review process.

  • Stay informed about community submissions

    ARC Reviewers receive an overview of submissions assigned to their research community, making it easier to coordinate reviews and monitor publication activities.

  • Define community-specific validation rules

    Every research community has its own standards and best practices. As an ARC Reviewer, you can contribute community-specific validation packages that automatically check submitted ARCs before review. This helps authors identify issues early and improves the overall quality of published ARCs.

If you would like to become an ARC Reviewer, please register your interest by completing the application form below.

Apply to become an ARC Reviewer

After submitting the form, your application will be evaluated. We will then get back to you with the next steps.

If your application is successful, you will receive an email with further instructions, including:

  • information about the ARC review process,
  • access to your reviewer account,
  • onboarding material and documentation,
  • information about the review workflow,
  • guidance on contributing community-specific validation packages, if applicable.

If you are unsure whether becoming an ARC Reviewer is the right fit for you or your research community, please don’t hesitate to contact the DataPLANT team.