Tools & Resources

The LEARN Project has created the following freely-accessible materials to help Research Performing Institutions manage their research data.


Toolkit of Best Practice for Research Data Management

Our Toolkit includes 23 Case Studies covering topics such as Policy, Advocacy and Costs, a Model RDM Policy and an Executive Briefing in six core languages.

Overview of the Toolkit Navigate the Toolkit by audience Navigate the Toolkit by keyword Download the Individual Executive Briefings

Key Performance Indicators

LEARN provides a list of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that should help each individual research institution measure how successful they are being in implementing the recommendations of the LERU Research Data Roadmap and the Toolkit produced by LEARN.

Download the KPIs

20 RDM Best-Practice Recommendations

We’ve assembled 20 recommendations for Best Practice in Research Data Management, based on discussions at LEARN Project workshops in Europe and Latin America. The Workshops were held over the course of 2016/2017.

Download the Recommendations

RDM Readiness Survey & Dataset

Is your institution ready to manage research data? This self-assessment tool is based on the issues posed to institutions by the LERU Roadmap for Research Data. The survey has thirteen questions addressing the main elements to be taken into account in developing an institutional strategy for research data management. Each question has three possible answers representing a green, yellow or red light. The more ‘green light’ responses recorded, the readier an institution probably is for managing its research data.

Take the RDM Readiness Survey  Access the Dataset 

The Model RDM Policy

As part of the LEARN outputs a model RDM policy was developed alongside implementation guidance.

Model Policy for Research Data Management Guidance for Developing an RDM policy

Evaluation Grid for RDM Policies in Europe

The Library of the University of Vienna (leader of Work Package 3 of LEARN) collected and analysed over 40 European RDM policies in 2015/2016. This analysis grid gives a compact overview of many of these policies, plus a detailed evaluation of the selected policies with extensive comments.

Download the Evaluation Grid

Core Elements of a RDM Policy

This document can be used to help define research data, explain what RDM is, illustrate workflows, describe benefits and inform about funder requirements. Legal and ethical issues are considered, as are relationships with publishers.

Download the Core Elements Document 

RDM Glossary

This glossary has been compiled from the efforts of others and due accreditation to the various sources has been recorded throughout. The terms and definitions selected have been chosen to fit best with LEARN’s own aims.

Download the RDM Glossary

Summary of the LERU Roadmap for Research Data

This is a summary of the LERU Roadmap, a guide for any European university which wants seriously to engage with the potential and challenges of data-driven research.

Download the LERU Roadmap Summary 

Workshops & Final Conference

In addition to the above resources, LEARN has run a series of WorkshopsOur final event was our Final Conference in London on 5 May 2017.

Read more…