Call for Proposals

RDAP 2023

Building on Experience: Centering Communities in Data Creation and Access

We welcome proposals that encourage discussion on research data access and preservation in communities. We are interested in exploring the idea of communities as broadly as possible.  This can include but is not limited to:

• How you engage with and build communities in your data environment.
• How you have expanded on past successes in data management, access, and preservation services.
• How you are making data accessible for a wider range of communities.
• Empowering communities to take ownership of their data.
• New community-centered projects, service areas, or ideas for research data.
• How data projects, services or research are being reshaped at higher education, industry, government and other research data stakeholders.

Presenters are invited to think about how they are reshaping existing research data practices, systems, services, and technologies as we move towards a more inclusive and thoughtful future. Preference will be given to proposals that critically engage research data systems, technologies, and practices that are traditionally considered neutral. The committee challenges presenters to think about these research data issues in the context of systems of oppression and exclusion (including but not limited to racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and classism), labor and hierarchies, and capitalism and profit models.

We welcome proposals from both first-time RDAP presenters and those who provide a follow up on a project previously presented at RDAP. 

We also welcome submissions from employees of sponsors and will evaluate them using the same methods as other submissions. However, submissions will not be considered if they focus only on demonstrating or selling a sponsor’s specific product. 

Types of proposals

• Presentation, 15 minutes

• • The talk should be on original research, a project, or present a perspective. Each talk will have one presenter (the primary presenter, unless other presenters are listed. Max three presenters). The RDAP Summit organizers will group the talk with others around a similar theme.

• Lightning talk (pre-recorded with live Q&A), 5 minutes

• • The lightning talk can be on any subject and can focus on a perspective, a work-in-progress, or a completed project. Each talk will have one presenter (primary presenter unless other arrangements are made). Lightning talks will be pre-recorded, with a live Q&A during the Summit.

• Poster

• • Propose a poster that would be presented virtually. Poster presenters will have the opportunity to chat one-on-one with RDAP Summit attendees through the conference platform.

• Discussion Panel, 45min

• • Propose a moderated 3-4 person panel that will engage in a live conversation with each other and with the RDAP Summit attendees on a topic. Proposal must include a moderator and three example questions that may be discussed.

• Workshop, 3 hours or less (including a short break)

• • The workshop should be interactive, educational, and noncommercial. Education and Resources committee members are available to help facilitate a virtual, hands-on workshop if needed.

Evaluation criteria

The committee will consider 1) the currency and relevance of the topic to the field, 2) appropriateness of the proposal for the session type, 3) impact of practices, conclusions, or recommendations (if applicable), 4) evidence of critical engagement & ethical research (if applicable), 5) organization and clarity, 6) applicability to the conference theme. Workshop proposals will also be evaluated based on their learning outcomes. Lightning talks can be shorter and more informal and the committee will evaluate them with that in mind.

All submissions will be masked with the author(s) name(s) and institutional affiliation(s) removed prior to review. To allow for anonymous masked review, author names, institutional affiliations, and address information must be absent in the summary section of the submission form. The Conference Planning Chairs reserve the right to edit summaries containing any author, institutional, location, or company names for the purpose of eliminating identifying information before sending the summary to reviewers. You are urged to anonymize your summary yourself, because the Conference Planning Chairs cannot guarantee the resulting quality if changes must be made after submission. One simple way of anonymizing the summary is replacing any identifying information such as institutional affiliation with the generic descriptor in brackets. For example, instead of Data University, use [institution] or [university].

Finally, we expect:

• Diverse participation in presentations or panels. Diversity includes - but is not limited to - race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, ability, role or specialty, disciplinary approach, or environment.

• All original research and projects are conducted using ethical practices, including informed consent and community participation in community-based research.

• If using presentation aids, presenters are expected to provide accessible materials or work with our accessibility coordinator to make their materials accessible prior to their presentation on the conference platform.

Rubric

Please view the full rubric used to evaluate the proposals for detailed evaluation criteria.

Timeline

• Proposals will be accepted through November 04, 2022. 

• Decisions will be sent on November 28, 2022 week of December 5, 2022.

• Deadline to accept is December 16, 2022 December 30, 2022.

Publication opportunities

RDAP and the Journal of eScience Librarianship (JeSLIB) are pleased to continue their partnership for RDAP Summit 2023.

All RDAP Summit 2023 presenters are encouraged to submit proposals for a special issue in JeSLIB. Commentaries are also welcome for publication in JeSLIB from first time and veteran attendees.

JeSLIB is a peer-reviewed, open access journal that publishes full-length papers, eScience in Action articles, reviews, commentaries, and video articles. For more information see JeSLIB’s Guidelines for Authors. 

Submit

Submissions require the contact information of all presenters, the proposal type, the title, summary (max 300 words), a brief statement about what informed your involvement in this topic, and three or fewer keywords describing the proposal. Workshop proposals will require learning outcomes. Panel proposals will require three example questions that may be discussed.

Submissions are now closed.

More information

You can view the 2022 RDAP program as well as other past RDAP programs. 

RDAP Summit is an independent conference through the RDAP Association, which provides accessible and affordable opportunities to connect with the research data support community.

Presenters will receive complimentary conference registration.

Send your questions to the RDAP Conference Chairs: rdapsummit@rdapassociation.org