Members of the Data Curation Network met with the Portage Curation Expert Group on March 26, 2021 for a joint meet-up to discuss potential future collaborations. To kick-off the event, Portage executive director Jeff Moon introduced the history and work of the Canadian based Portage Network which has recently joined NDRIO. Portage helps researchers meet RDM needs and brings together librarians and others who support them. A major initiative is their Network of Experts which includes groups such as the Curation Experts.

Next, Lisa Johnston presented on behalf of the DCN community of 12 US institutions. In addition to our curation work, we shared out on our special interest groups which are community driven opportunities to collaborate and research specific topics, such as end user satisfaction, human subjects, institutional outreach and communications, and racial justice.

Then we moved into breakout rooms where attendees brainstormed ways to build connections between the two groups in ways that we can grow together. Possible areas of collaboration between our groups include:

  • Interest in and importance of social justice and equity work.
  • How can the approach that each network is taking inform the other?
  • Communication and value – in Canada and US, but also outside of our borders.
  • Similarities & differences may be different between different countries, but frameworks can be common and adapted.
  • More conversation going forward!

We will explore more ways to collaborate and stay tuned for upcoming events!