Cultivating Health Data Ecosystems

The Research Data Access and Preservation (RDAP) Summit will be held virtually, April 13 to 15, 2026. Workshops are scheduled for April 12.

• The RDAP Summit is a three-day event for all who work toward management, access, and preservation of research data. There will be associated workshops, for a small additional fee, on April 12, 2027.
• Summit proceedings include presentations, lightning talks, panels, and keynotes. Optional social activities are also offered.
• The theme for the RDAP Summit 2027 is Cultivating Healthy Data Ecosystems. We encourage proposals that explore how to build strong connections, respond to challenges, and support the people and practices that help data work succeed.
• Accepted presentations, lightning talks, posters, and panels will receive one (1) free registration per session, and any remaining presenters will receive a discounted registration based on membership status.
• Scholarship will be available through the RDAP Awards Committee.  Learn more at our scholarships page.

The theme for the 2027 RDAP Summit is Cultivating Healthy Data Ecosystems. A healthy data ecosystem depends on the interconnection of people, tools, systems, and communities working together to meet the needs of the communities we serve.

At this year’s Summit we will identify the changes and challenges affecting research data brought by artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology changes, policy developments, and evolving community needs. Presenters will also share their own methods for forging stronger connections and responding to these challenges.

A strong data ecosystem is able to adapt to uncertainty and change to meet patrons needs. However, this adaptation requires data professionals who take on multiple roles and need to update their skills and knowledge in order to meet transdisciplinary data needs. All of this is at a time of uncertain and reduced funding at many institutions. We invite presenters to share strategies for sustainable growth and development in an environment where many are asked to "do more with less," putting individuals and systems at risk of burnout and stress.

Join us as we explore how to create research data environments that are strong, sustainable, welcoming, and useful for the future.

Please note that the proposal form this year includes a question asking whether AI was used to create your proposals. The use of AI is not a part of our evaluation rubric and will not impact the committee’s decision to accept or reject the proposal. We are trying to better understand the usage and determine whether the use of AI is something to be considered when evaluating proposals in the future.

We request that submitters limit themselves to one proposal per format type.

We 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 - The talk should be on original research, a project, or present a perspective.
• Lightning Talk (pre-recorded with live Q&A) – Can be on any subject and can focus on a perspective, a work-in-progress, or a completed project.
• Poster - Posters will be presented virtually, and presenters will have the opportunity to chat one-on-one with RDAP Summit attendees through the conference platform.
• Panel - A moderated three-to-four-person panel that will engage in a live conversation with each other and with the RDAP Summit attendees on a topic.
• Workshop – The workshop should be interactive, educational, noncommercial, and appropriate for an audience of at least 25 attendees. The Education and Resources Committee members are available to help facilitate 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 and ethical research (if applicable), 5) organization and clarity, 6) applicability to the Summit 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, submitters must provide a de-identified copy in the title AND summary sections of the submission form. The Summit Planning Committee 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, as the Summit 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, the Committee expects:

• 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 the appropriate committee to make their materials available to attendees prior to their presentation on the conference platform. The materials will be uploaded to the ISDP repository to help ensure the usability of the works in the long term.

Rubric

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

Timeline

• Proposals will be accepted through November 13, 2026
• Decisions will be sent on December 21, 2026
• Deadline to accept is January 19, 2027

Publication Opportunities

RDAP and the Journal of eScience Librarianship (JeSLIB) are pleased to continue their partnership for the RDAP Summit 2027.

All RDAP Summit 2027 presenters are encouraged to submit proposals for a special issue in JeSLIB. Commentaries are also welcomed 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 (maximum 300 words) – a complete version and de-identified copy. Workshop proposals will require learning outcomes. Panel proposals will require three example questions that may be discussed.

The Submission Form is open and available through November 13.

More Information

Feel free to view the 2025 RDAP Summit proceedings, as well as other past RDAP programs.

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

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