Who we are
Introducing the consortium
NFDI4Objects is aimed at anyone who deals with the cultural heritage of 3 million years of human history, either professionally or privately, and at the same time faces the challenges of digital transformation and research data management. NFDI4Objects promotes the willingness to integrate the paradigm of Open Science into one’s own work and thus to strengthen the transparency and accessibility of research results.
Our community
Our community includes students, teachers, lecturers, researchers, practitioners and others interested in the scientific disciplines covered by NFDI4Objects.
These specialist disciplines include not only the fields of classical, prehistoric, and medieval archaeology, but also architectural history (building research), anthropology, ethnoarchaeology, geoarchaeology, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, archaeogenetics, paleopathology, archaeophysics, archaeometry, conservation, restoration, and provenance research. Museums, archives, heritage management organisations and other cultural heritage institutions are also part of our community. These specialised disciplines share a common methodological framework with strong interdisciplinary links and processes that generate extensive digital data.
All research data in NFDI4Objects is related to an object created or shaped by humans. These objects include artefacts, tools, bones, seeds, plant remains, textiles, buildings, burial chambers or ruins and landscapes. The data represents, for example, archaeological findings, landscape surveys and analyses, excavation and collection documentation or laboratory-based investigations of biological and ecological remains of past human activities.
Structure of the consortium
The aim of the consortium is to develop a joint strategy for research data management and to coordinate closely with neighbouring disciplines in other NFDI consortia. On the one hand, NFDI4Objects is a consortium funded by the Federal-State Agreement on the NFDI, and on the other hand, it is part of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) e.V. association.
In order to sustainably address the challenges of research data management, our consortium is divided into different bodies:
Spokesperson
The spokesperson for NFDI4Objects is Philipp von Rummel (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut). As spokesperson, he manages the administration of the consortium and chairs the Steering Committee. He is responsible for the application of the generally binding regulations of the management bodies, e.g. regarding procedures and elections. The spokesperson moderates all decision-making processes within the Steering Committee and the General Assembly and is elected by the members of the statutory working group in accordance with §22 (2) of the NFDI e.V. statutes. The elected deputy is Kai-Christian Bruhn (University of Applied Sciences, Mainz).
Main Applicant Institution
According to the requirements of the DFG application process of the NFDI, one institution must assume the role of main applicant. The main applicant institution is responsible for the administrative management and control of the consortium. For NFDI4Objects, this role is assumed by the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (Berlin head office). The main applicant institution also provides the spokesperson for the consortium.
Co-Applicants
Together with the main applicant, the co-applicants assume primary responsibility for the successful implementation of the work programme and provide the consortium, its partners and the participating communities with the overarching administrative and technical infrastructure for successful collaboration. They also assume partial responsibility for at least one task area and receive their own funds for this purpose, which are provided by the main applicant. Like the applicant institution, the co-applicants have also committed to making substantial contributions of their own.
An overview of the co-applying institutions can be found on our portal.
Participants
The participating institutions actively contribute to the NFDI4Objects work programme and network at many different levels – for example, with their expertise or contributions to software development. Participants are institutions that continuously take responsibility for project implementation, but to a significantly lesser extent than a co-applicant.
When taking on corresponding tasks, institutions can now be accepted as participants. If you are interested, please contact our helpdesk. Interested institutions can and should also become members of the NFDI Association and be assigned to specialist consortia.
An overview of the current participants can be found on our portal.
Supporter
Our cooperation partners have a great interest in the development of NFDI4Objects and cooperate with the consortium on a national and international level. Institutions that are not yet officially involved in NFDI4Objects can become supporters. If you are interested, please contact our helpdesk. Interested institutions can and should also become members of the NFDI association. It is also possible to assign new association members to specialist consortia.
An overview of the current supporters can be found on our portal.
Advisory Board
The Advisory Board consists of ten external, established scientists and advises NFDI4Objects on strategy and content. In addition, the members bring a national and international perspective to the strategic development of the consortium.
An overview of the current members of the advisory board can be found on our portal.
Coordination Office
The Coordination Office (CO) is headed by the managing director Christin Keller (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut). The CO provides administrative support to the consortium in decision-making processes and the organisational implementation of the work plan. To ensure a smooth interaction between the co-applicants, participants and task areas, positions for members of the CO have been established at co-applicant institutions.
An overview of the current staff in the coordination office can be found on our portal.
General Assembly
The General Assembly is the central decision-making body for the content and strategic direction of NFDI4Objects. It consists of one delegate each from the co-applicant institutions, the participants, and the professional societies and associations that support NFDI4Objects. Among other things, votes are held on new members, the Scientific Advisory Board and the results of the NFDI4Objects Commons Processes.
Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is the executive body of NFDI4Objects. It is chaired by the spokesperson. The spokespersons of the co-applicants are also members and are entitled to vote. The committee monitors and evaluates the progress of the work programme. Furthermore, it decides on the budget, scientific coordination, management and strategic planning of the consortium.
Task Areas (TAs)
Our seven Task Areas structure the various areas of responsibility within the consortium. They are each managed by two co-applicants. The exception is Task Area 7, which, according to DFG guidelines, is managed only by the main applicant institution. The task areas are geared towards the scientific and infrastructural needs of the research community and ensure long-term infrastructural support for the challenges of research data management. The TRAILs (Task-Related Activity for Implementation and Launch of Services) are implemented in the task areas, which put parts of the work programme into practice. However, a scientific examination of concrete fields of application for digital research practices takes place exclusively in a participatory and transparent manner in the community clusters and temporary working groups TWGs.
You can find an overview of all our task areas on our portal.
About the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI)
The NFDI aims to systematically develop, provide access to and network research data for the entire German science system. Users and providers are working together in consortia to design the national research data infrastructures.
Research data is a valuable treasure trove for our society. With the help of research data, new insights can be gained that enable innovation and strengthen Germany as a centre of knowledge. Currently, much research data is neither searchable nor interoperable, and thus cannot be reused or further utilised. The National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) aims to change this and to tap into new potential for generating knowledge and for interdisciplinary linking. The federal and state governments have recognised the opportunities offered by modern research data management (RDM) and are providing the NFDI with up to 90 million euros annually up to and including 2028.
In the Digital Strategy for Germany, the NFDI is ascribed a central role in advancing research: “In this data space, we want to collect, organise and make information available.” Under the umbrella of NFDI, all scientific disciplines are to be united in consortia, associations of different institutions within a research field. Universities and research institutions throughout Germany are working together to establish standards for their communities and beyond. This unique bottom-up process is designed to ensure that solutions are created that are truly popular and widely compatible. Relevant data should be made available according to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable). The non-profit organisation Nationale Forschungsdateninfrastruktur (NFDI) e.V., based in Karlsruhe, was founded to coordinate the activities involved in establishing a national research data infrastructure.
The NFDI includes 26 consortia and the Base4NFDI consortium of consortia. The consortia were selected in a science-led process managed by the German Research Foundation (DFG). They cover a wide range of scientific disciplines: from cultural studies, social sciences, humanities and engineering to life and natural sciences.
Cooperation with other consortia
As a multidisciplinary consortium, NFDI4Objects has many points of contact with other consortia. In data collection and the types of data that arise, there is a lot of overlap with natural and life science consortia of the NFDI such as NFDI4Earth, NFDI 4Biodiversity, GHGA and FAIRagro. Examples include data from landscape surveys, the analysis of soil samples, the breakdown of old genome data or the examination of animal bones or plant remains.
At the same time, there are many similarities, especially in the interpretation of data sets, with the humanities and cultural studies consortia such as NFDI4Culture, NFDI4Memory and Text+. The collaboration with the humanities and cultural studies consortia of the NFDI has been particularly intensive since the NFDI’s beginnings. Read more at Humanties@NFDI.
As a multidisciplinary consortium, we are also always interested in new trans-consortial collaborations and partnerships. Please feel free to contact our Coordination Office.
BASE4NFDI
Today, research data is often stored in many different places, is difficult to find and is only available for a limited time. The NFDI aims to improve the findability, accessibility and reusability of research data. Base4NFDI integrates and establishes basic services as common, interoperable solutions. Existing services will be adapted or extended to be usable by researchers from other disciplines. This avoids parallel developments, since many scientific fields have similar requirements for a range of research data management services.
All institutions in the scientific community (and beyond) can actively participate in the development and implementation of these services by submitting proposals. A panel of experts selects the proposals of the development teams for Base4NFDI, which are then funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). These teams also receive support and guidance in areas such as development, implementation and training. After development, the NFDI base services are offered to the scientific community on a permanent basis. Base4NFDI is thus actively contributing to the systematic opening and networking of the German research system.
Sections
Although the individual NFDI consortia are dedicated to research data management in a wide range of disciplines, such as natural, cultural or social sciences, they have many common topics. Sections are legally dependent departments of the NFDI Association, in which these cross-cutting topics are addressed across the boundaries of the consortia.
Cross-cutting issues are identified and prioritised with representatives of the consortia. The strategy-led process, which is initiated by the NFDI directorate and the NFDI consortium assembly, leads to the establishment of sections if there is broad agreement. The association members work together in the sections to develop cross-consortium standards, metadata standards and formats.
The following sections have been set up by the NFDI Association’s Scientific Senate:
- Common Infrastructures (section-infra)
- Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects (section-ELSA)
- (Meta)data, Terminologies, Provenance (section-metadata)
- Training & Education (section-edutrain)
- Industry Engagement (section-industry)
More information about the sections can be found on the NFDI e.V. homepage
Humanities@NFDI
Humanities@NFDI (“Memorandumsgruppe”) is a cooperation between the humanities and cultural studies consortia within the National Research Data Infrastructure. In order to best meet the diverse needs of the highly differentiated research landscape in the humanities, the NFDI consortia NFDI4Culture, Text+, NFDI4Memory and NFDI4Objects drafted a Memorandum of Understanding in 2019. This memorandum was amended in 2020 (https://zenodo.org/records/4045000). The four consortia want to work closely together in the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI e.V.) to best meet the needs of research data management and provide each other with constructive support. With the memorandum, they have committed themselves to bringing about a cultural change in the way research data is handled in their respective communities.
Since then, the Humanities@NFDI cooperation has been working closely together on workshops, training courses, services and events, as well as in the NFDI’s sections, working groups and committees, in order to jointly represent the needs of the humanities and cultural studies in their respective communities within the NFDI and to create synergies. The Humanities@NFDI cooperation can be reached at: humanities@lists.nfdi.de.