From Competition to Collaboration: Fostering a Data Sharing Culture for Collaborative Team Science: Insights from the NIH HEAL Data Ecosystem

Open, accessible research data provides a foundation for scientific discovery and paves the way for team science-based collaborations. Despite clear benefits to data sharing and increased emphasis on making federally funded research outcomes public, data sharing hesitancy remains common. We will explore that hesitancy, discuss what can be done to improve data sharing and explain how to encourage better scientific collaboration through large-scale data sharing efforts like the one in the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative. We will highlight work underway in the NIH HEAL Data Ecosystem (HDE) to engage with NIH HEAL-funded investigators and promote data sharing, exploring practical strategies research data administrators and stewards employ within the HEAL Data Ecosystem to overcome hesitancy and create a culture of data sharing to benefit collaboration and knowledge integration within and across scientific research teams seeking to end the opioid crisis.

Panelists:

Brandy Farlow, M.A. — Research Proposal and Documentation Specialist, Renaissance Computing Institute

Brandy Farlow is a Research Proposal and Documentation Specialist at RENCI (UNC Chapel Hill), where she also helps organize team science events and activities, hoping to better understand the science of team science. She holds a bachelor’s in English, a master’s in Mathematics Education, and is pursuing a PhD in Leadership, focusing on leadership in science collaborations.

Dr. Heather Barnes — Data Curation SME, RTI International

Dr. Heather L. Barnes currently works with the HEAL Data Stewards group as a Data Curation SME. In addition to her role at RTI, International, her professional background includes serving as Digital Curation Librarian at the Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University. She earned her MS in Library Science and PhD in Information Science from UNC Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science (SILS).

Dr. Mary Hannah Currin — Research Data Analyst, Center for Data Modernization Solutions, RTI International

Mary Hannah Marshall is a research data analyst in the Center for Data Modernization Solutions at RTI International. She works on a number of NIH funded projects, assisting with data sharing and management efforts. She is a certified data management professional and holds an ALA accredited degree in information science from UNC Chapel Hill.