Laying the Foundation: A Pilot National Research Data Bootcamp

Current research data management (RDM) training in Canada is largely based around ‘one-shot’ sessions focused on Data Management Plans (DMPs) and data deposits, and often misses key concepts and activities of computational reproducibility that are essential to maintaining data integrity throughout a project’s lifecycle. While there are other, more computationally-focused workshops offered nationally, feedback from participants suggests that these training sessions can be overly advanced and fast-paced for those new to these technologies.

To begin addressing this gap in data training, librarians and graduate students from four Canadian universities, supported by funding from the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, will pilot a week-long, 20-hour national data bootcamp, aimed at graduate students and early career researchers with little or no computational background. The bootcamp, that will be delivered in May 2025, will walk participants through the research data lifecycle using a mock project, and focus on connecting research data management best practices (documentation, storage, sharing, and preservation) to best practices in scholarly integrity (registrations and computationally reproducible workflows), which are intricately connected but oftentimes presented as separate practices. In addition to delivering the bootcamp, a key output will be robust and openly accessible asynchronous training materials for each session of the bootcamp. The broader vision for this program is to develop additional bootcamps in the coming years, which would aim to define “introductory”, “intermediate”, “advanced”, and “expert” level training, and provide a seamless educational trajectory in data and computational training.

This presentation will begin by introducing the context in which this pilot was developed, including gaps and opportunities in the Canadian training landscape. We will then discuss the process of developing and delivering the program, and will conclude by addressing lessons learned and future directions.