About FRDN
The Flemish Research Data Network (FRDN) is a network of 36 Flemish research performing organizations that collaborate on Open and FAIR data. This way, it supports individual institutions to implement the Open Science policy of the Flemish government, and to connect with international initiatives, such as the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).
We are on a mission.
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Who are we?
The Flemish Research Data Network (FRDN) develops the preconditions necessary to motivate and enable researchers from Flemish research performing organizations to exchange and reuse (FAIR) research (meta) data. This contributes to the integrity, quality, and efficiency of research and thus to accelerating innovation in society.The FRDN is a network of 36 Flemish research performing organizations who work together on Open and FAIR data.
In pursuit of its mission, the FRDN's working groups and project groups strive to align with international organizations like EOSC, UNESCO, and the European Commission, which are committed to promoting Open Science. These international organizations contribute to the goal of Open Science in various ways, such as making policy recommendations, supporting infrastructure development, and setting standards for researchers and research institutions.
The FRDN collaborates with regional and national initiatives in Flanders and Belgium to advance the open and FAIR data agenda. This collaboration forms a unified effort that transcends the impact of individual parts, creating a collective force to drive positive changes in research data practices.
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Our mission
As a network and community of research data professionals, we support Flemish research institutions in implementing the (Flemish) Open Science policy by coordinating and facilitating peer-to-peer learning, collaboration(s), and co-creation, and by shaping the prerequisites for making research (meta)data interchangeable and reusable. During this process, we help research organizations in supporting their researchers to implement Open Science practices and we provide input for policymakers to facilitate this process.
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Our vision
By joining forces and co-creating the necessary building blocks for Open Science, we support Flemish research institutions in enabling researchers to exchange and reuse FAIR and/or open research (meta)data. This way, we contribute to the integrity, quality, and efficiency of research, and thus to accelerating research impact and innovation in society.
Our Values
The governance and activities of the FRDN (in order to complete our mission) are guided by a set of core values.
Professional and reflective
The network is high-quality, self-learning, result-oriented and agile. It focuses on scientific integrity and the advancement of expertise, and is able to tackle the challenges in a rapidly evolving (international) landscape.
Collaborative and responsive
The main strength of the network is to build a community across institutions, focused on solving practical problems. We focus on interaction between research data professionals and build solutions together with those directly involved.
Inclusive and complementary
We make full use of the heterogeneity of the network. In this way, researchers from knowledge institutions and from different disciplines in Flanders, can advance towards Open Science.
Open and transparent
Knowledge institutions work together on common goals in an open and transparent climate. It is clear how and why decisions are made as we strive for maximum knowledge sharing within the network.
Innovative and research-oriented
As a network, we want to introduce innovative practices that put Flanders on the map in the international (Open) Science landscape. Conversely, we wish to implement the latest international and European developments on Open Science in the Flemish framework. Researchers are the sounding board for solutions and developments that take shape in the FRDN.
These values are the result of a participatory process involving all members of the network.
FRDN's Strategy
FRDN is dedicated to advancing Open Science by fostering the sharing and re-use of Open and FAIR research data. To achieve this mission, FRDN has formulated four strategic goals. Click below to delve into FRDN's vision on Open Science, Open & Fair Data, and gain insights into the four Strategic Goals driving their mission forward.
