From Framework to Practice: Using the RDA MaLDReTH model to Design Workflow-Centric Research Infrastructure

The fragmentation of research tools across research lifecycle stages creates significant barriers to adoption of FAIR data practices and outcomes. While numerous specialized tools exist for individual phases—data management planning, collection, analysis, and preservation—the lack of vertical interoperability between them introduces hurdles for researchers that compromise both productivity and data quality.

The MaLDReTH model addresses this challenge by systematically mapping research tools to lifecycle stages, creating a foundation for understanding where vertical interoperability is needed and which tools need to work together. By categorizing tool types and identifying their functional relationships across the research data lifecycle, MaLDReTH enables infrastructure developers to design and assemble solutions that facilitate workflows covering the entire research data lifecycle. The MaLDReTH model is already being used by universities and national research organisations, as a reference for assessing the research infrastructure they provide.

RSpace, a solution built with vertical interoperability at its heart, embraces the MaLDReTH approach to create solutions that integrate into researchers' workflows and hence lead to adoption of research tools and infrastructure. RSpace already integrates workflows that connect DMP tools directly to active research and publishing/archival workflows, and thereby bridging planning, active research, and data sharing. Moreover, RSpace can serve as a research data management hub through its integration with institutional storage systems and compute resources such as the Galaxy platform, enabling researchers to move seamlessly from data collection through analysis to preservation as part of their research workflow.

This MaLDReTH-guided approach offers significant benefits for tool developers, researchers, and infrastructure providers. For tool developers, MaLDReTH serves as a blueprint for delivering seamless workflows that span multiple tools and lifecycle stages. For researchers, improved vertical interoperability between tools and services reduces friction when operating across lifecycle stages, improving productivity and compliance with institutional data policies. For infrastructure providers, this approach delivers higher cost-efficiency and better return on technology investments through increased adoption rates and more efficient resource utilisation.

In this poster we illustrate how to use the MaLDReTH framework to identify additional integration opportunities with solutions like RSpace, particularly in connecting emerging research infrastructure services and addressing gaps in current tool ecosystems and paving the way towards broader research commons development.

References

-              https://www.rd-alliance.org/groups/mapping-the-landscape-of-digital-research-tools-ii-maldreth-ii/activity/

-              https://www.rd-alliance.org/groups/rda-ofr-mapping-landscape-digital-research-tools-wg/activity/