DAP Hero Competition: taking data management to new heights at CSIRO
VALA2022 E-Poster
Tracey May
- CSIRO
Christina Street
- Data Librarian, Information Management and Technology
- CSIRO
Amy Miniter
- Data Librarian, Information Management and Technology
- CSIRO
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Abstract
CSIRO’s Data Access Portal (DAP) is an international Core Trust Certified data repository that provides a secure platform for discovery, access and reuse of software and data assets. In 2021, CSIRO Agriculture & Food Data Champions, led by Dr Jen Taylor and the Research Data Support (RDS) team, devised a novel training method, the DAP Hero Competition, to foster a new learning culture at CSIRO. The Agile project management methodology was used to frame the project and implement activities. The competition itself was run over a three-month period.
The competition aimed to promote data stewardship through engagement with existing and novel approaches to training. The award categories motivated staff to develop their technical skills when working with legacy data, multidisciplinary data, large datasets and established data sharing as part of workflows. Entrants were encouraged to engage with a practical learning experience and to re-evaluate the time commitment required to create a deposit and safeguard data. A competitive, team-based framework and an attractive reward for winners provided the initial impetus for engagement. A superhero theme was chosen to demarcate the competition as quirky, fun and different from previous training approaches.
Training was presented as ‘coaching’ by members of the RDS team, rebranded as the ‘DAP Genius’. A sense of urgency was generated by creating a perceived shortage of training access by prioritising first responders for coaching ‘to help them win’. The DAP Genius ran Hacky Hours, gave live DAP demonstrations and offered one-on-one feedback for draft deposits. This approach successfully engaged with early adopters who contributed an initial flurry of entries. The provision of quality metadata was infused into the competition through a personalised review mechanism
from the DAP Genius who provided feedback on metadata to entrants via a call- back service. Entrants could opt-in to this process by indicating that they needed help with their deposits on their entry form. After this training, there was a noticeable improvement in the quality of metadata for entrants.
Despite conventional publicity delivered in high-profile meetings, entries plateaued at the halfway mark of the competition. A need was recognised to reignite interest and motivation to get people over the hurdle of learning and working the deposit process against a backdrop of competing demands. The project team innovated a series of ‘Sports Desk’ videos in which prominent staff commentated on the competition ‘leader board’ and “half time boundary reporters” interviewed teams dressed as superheroes on their motivations to use the DAP as part of their data management.
The DAP Hero Competition was an enormous success, adding 86 new deposits (2.5TB of data) representing a 46% increase of total Agriculture and Food datasets that had been contributed over a ten-year period. All entrants were required to have an ORCID, which resulted in the increase of ORCID uptake across Agriculture and Food. The competition highlighted the benefits of peer-to-peer learning, created positive associations for research data management and developed skills for career progression.
Biography
Tracey May is a Data Champion for CSIRO Agriculture and Food. As a member of the Research Data Support team, she utilises her experience with scientific data to help others with data management planning. Her focus is on creating a positive environment to support and nurture digital transformation.
Christina Street is a Data Librarian at CSIRO. As a member of the of the Research Data Support team, she assists with data management planning and driving cultural change to viewing and preserving data as a valuable asset. In addition, she provides support and training with the Data Access Portal, CSIRO’s permanent data archive and the Research Data Planner.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License