The Research Data Access and Preservation Association (RDAP) Summit 2023 was a huge success, with attendees from various academic institutes, research centers, and respective industries. The event brought together researchers, data managers, librarians, and other experts to discuss the latest trends in this field.

The key theme of this summit was “Building on Experience: Centering Communities in Data Creation and Access” which beautifully addresses inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) emphasizing the importance of including all voices and perspectives in the creation and use of data. When communities are centered on data creation and access, it ensures that the data reflects the diversity of the people it is meant to represent. This can help to improve the quality of the data and make it more useful for decision-making. Additionally, centering communities can help to build trust and relationships between data users and the communities they serve. There is no doubt that centering communities in data creation and access is an important way to promote IDEA and create a more inclusive and equitable society.

These are some of my takeaways from the sessions like repositories, teaching, outreach, and research data management ecosystem:

• Approach to design responsible conduct of research training;

• Data quality and various pertinent elements;

• The different aspects of building a reliable data repository;

• How librarians at a range of institutions are helping a specific discipline like humanities navigate the digital infrastructure by building stronger ties with their respective scientists; and

• Implement a mentorship program and build scalable analytical tools to facilitate research engagement with web archives with scholars.

I found the closing note very informative and insightful, especially in showing the steps to getting from a librarian to a research data advisor and combining data and computing. Moreover, this was my first time attending a virtual poster display which I found productive. The platform was Whova, an all-in-one event management platform that creates engaging and interactive events like this.

This summit provided a wealth of information and resources that will be helpful to all professionals engaging in this field. My gratitude goes to the RDAP for organizing such a successful event. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to attend this year, and I really appreciate it.