re3data - Indexing the global research data repository landscape since 2012

For more than a decade, re3data, the global Registry of Research Data Repositories, has helped researchers, funding agencies, libraries, and data centers to find, identify, and reference research data repositories. As the world’s largest directory of such infrastructures, re3data currently describes over 3,000 repositories on the basis of a comprehensive metadata schema. The service allows searching for research data repositories of any type and from all disciplines. Users can filter results based on a wide range of characteristics. The re3data descriptions are available as Open Data accessible through an API and are utilized by numerous Open Science services. 

re3data is engaged in various initiatives and projects concerning data management and is mentioned in the policies of many scientific institutions, funding organizations, and publishers. Notable examples include the European Commission, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Moreover, a diverse array of stakeholders utilizes data from re3data to augment their community services, such as the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) in Germany. Through its activities and features, re3data supports the discoverability of trustworthy research data repositories.

In our poster, we will reflect on the ten-year experience of running re3data and discuss ten key issues related to the management of an Open Science service that caters to research data repositories and their users worldwide. These encompass: 

1. Our ongoing commitment to openness,
2. the pivotal role of quality assurance in service operation, 
3. our proactive engagement with the global infrastructure and Open Science communities, 
4. the importance of interoperability to enable automated data flows, 
5. the necessity for continuous development, 
6. ensuring sustainability in the face of changing demands, 
7. the service's entrenchment in research data policies and other Open Science regulations, 
8. the emphasis on data reuse for re3data, 
9. the various research endeavors that utilize re3data, and 
10. the significance of public outreach efforts to amplify the visibility of such an internationally utilized service.