Source: Own illustration
How can data management planning and research data management be more closely integrated without duplicating form filling, copying, and manual transfers? This is precisely where a new incubator comes in: Coscine and RDMO are being technically linked for the first time. Together with DMP4NFDI, an interface is being developed over six months that will simplify workflows and merge processes. Find out what this will look like in this article.
Coscine & RDMO – Less Copying, More Integration
Until now, Coscine and RDMO have operated independently of each other from a technical standpoint. The current workflow for many Coscine users looks something like this:
- Fill out the data management plan in RDMO.
- Create a project in Coscine.
- Copy and paste project metadata multiple times.
In terms of content, the two services complement each other perfectly. RDMO supports structured planning, while Coscine supports implementation and research data management. This means that researchers are well equipped for project planning and execution. However, the lack of a technical link leads to additional work, susceptibility to errors, and interrupted processes.
The new incubator project provides a remedy here. In the future, researchers will be able to import metadata required in Coscine for the creation of a project from their data management plan via a programming interface.
“RDMO Button” in Coscine
The workflow for many Coscine users will look something like this in the future:
- Fill out the data management plan in RDMO.
- Start project creation in Coscine.
- Press the “RDMO button.”
- After entering a token, import the project data into the metadata mask.
The manual copying effort is largely eliminated. Instead of parallel work steps, both services interlock and enable seamless research data management already in the planning phase.
Cooperation With DMP4NFDI – Six-Month Incubator
As a core service of NFDI4ING, Coscine is participating in the current incubator cycle of the NFDI base service DMP4NFDI. In this format, the DMP4NFDI team is working with NFDI consortia to develop new functions for data and software management plans. The Coscine incubator builds on preliminary work that has already been done and continues this work in cooperation with others. It started in January 2026 and will run until the end of June. In the first phase, the focus is on the NFDI4ING RDMO instance and the NFDI DMP catalog in order to implement the development in a realistic and targeted manner.
After completion of the incubator, further developments are possible: the integration of additional RDMO catalogs and instances, as well as additional options for exchanging metadata between the tools – for example, a “Coscine button” in RDMO.
Learn More
Would you like to receive regular updates about Coscine? Then visit the Coscine website and subscribe to the Coscine newsletter to stay up to date once a month.
If you have any questions about Coscine or research data management, the RDM team at RWTH Aachen University is happy to help.
Responsible for the content of this article are Michèle Robrecht and Arlinda Ujkani.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.