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Representatives from DKZ, NFDI, and state RDM initiatives met in Dresden to exchange ideas on data literacy and research infrastructures. The focus: sharing experiences, learning from one another, and developing joint approaches for sustainable support structures.

On March 30 and 31, 2026, a workshop on data literacy and digital research infrastructures was held at the SLUB in Dresden. The event was organized by Come2Data, one of the Data Competence Centers (DKZ) under the BMFTR funding program “for the establishment of data competence centers in science” for the research hub of Saxony.

The event brought together representatives from the eleven Data Competence Centers (DKZ) of the BMFTR funding lines, the National Research Data Infrastructures (NFDI), and the FDM state initiatives. After around two years of establishing the DKZs and nearly six years of developing the NFDI and state initiatives, the meeting provided an important opportunity to exchange experiences: Which support formats for researchers have proven effective? Where do challenges arise? What can we learn from one another?

The goal was to reflect on existing approaches and develop perspectives for the further development of data literacy and research infrastructures.
Data scientist Susanne de Vogel from the Data Science Center at the University of Bremen represented the DataNord team.

The focus was on discussing how researchers can be best supported in handling data—from data collection and management to analysis and reuse. It became clear that technical solutions alone are not enough; there is also a need for bridging work between different disciplines, methods, and requirements.

Susanne particularly contributed the perspective of research support units: entities such as data stewards and data scientists play a crucial bridging role between NFDIs and researchers, as well as between academic disciplines and data-driven methods. They help establish standards, build data literacy skills, and support researchers, for example, in implementing Open Science and FAIR practices.

On the second day of the workshop, the focus was particularly on the question of how to jointly create sustainable structures to ensure the continuity of these offerings and in which areas effective and meaningful collaboration is both possible and necessary.

A key outcome of the workshop is the shared intention to draft a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among all data competence centers. The workshop results are being documented and are intended to be made publicly available in the future.