News-Article

At the 75th meeting of the German Data Forum (RatSWD), our coordinator Lena Steinmann presented the Data & Digital Science Community (DaDiSC) together with partners from Kiel and Hamburg. The discussion focused on sustainable structures for data-intensive research.

As part of the founding team of the Data & Digital Science Community (DaDiSC, https://dadisc.org), the Data Science Center (DSC) presented the initiative on February 27 at the 75th meeting of the German Data Forum (RatSWD). DSC Coordinator Dr. Lena Steinmann introduced the goals, structure, and future perspectives of the nationwide community alongside Prof. Dr. Dirk Nowotka and Dr. Martin Semmann.

The RatSWD advises the German federal government and the governments of the Länder on the development and improvement of research data infrastructure for the empirical social, behavioral, and economic sciences. It is part of the “KonsortSWD” consortium within the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI).

Strengthening Structures for Data-Intensive Research

DaDiSC emerged from a bottom-up process and connects Data and Digital Science centers as well as related initiatives. Its aim is to pool methodological expertise, practical experience, and competence development across institutions, foster exchange, and enable collaboration.

Data-intensive research and AI-supported methods are evolving rapidly. At the same time, many institutions still lack sustainable structures, reliable career paths, and permanently established competence frameworks. Expertise is lost, projects begin in isolation, and innovation potential remains untapped.

Data and Digital Science institutions provide continuity in this landscape: they connect infrastructure, methodological development, application, and skills development – helping to secure the long-term foundation of data-driven research.

During the exchange with the RatSWD, the initiative was presented and discussed particularly in the context of the social and economic sciences.

The DSC’s Contribution

Through its involvement in DaDiSC, the DSC brings the perspective of structurally embedded Data and Digital Science centers into the national dialogue. The goal is to systematically integrate data science methods into disciplinary research and to establish sustainable competence structures.

The recently published position paper of the community – which has already been featured in a separate article on our website – provides an important foundation for this dialogue and outlines key strategic needs for research, teaching, and infrastructure.

We would like to thank the RatSWD for the constructive exchange and for the opportunity to contribute the perspective of the Data & Digital Science community to this strategic discussion.