Collaborating From The Middle: Cultivating Everyday Practices From Within For Fulfilling Partnerships Beyond

What if the future of research data depends less on tools and more on our collective capacity to collaborate, decision-make, and lead together? How are data service professionals positioned to positively impact our own working conditions while also serving as models to influence our research data communities at large?

In this talk, two research data librarians of varied career stages will share real-world examples from their experiences, demonstrating how collaborative approaches in daily work can be modeled and applied in broader contexts to reduce tensions and enhance individual contributions. Drawing on organizational change theories and participatory decision-making methods, the speakers will present strategies and tools that data professionals at all levels can use to foster more inclusive, democratic work environments and improve interpersonal interoperability.

By intentionally shaping our work practices, we can cultivate research data services that reinforce the principles of Open, FAIR, and CARE, and that actively welcome colleagues, peers, and researchers from broadly diverse backgrounds into collaborative processes. In ongoing times of uncertainty and disruption, these are simple but transformative practices we have the agency to implement and proliferate, and we would like to see them in abundance across our organizations.

Objectives: 1. Provide real-world examples of collaborative practices that can scale from team to organizational and community settings. 2. Offer practical skills and adaptive strategies for coordination to facilitate shared decision making, coordination, and communication. 3. Connect the daily work of research data services to the facilitation of collaboration across job roles and disciplines, helping encourage resilient research ecosystems.