Data Policy

2. Definitions

Actors: Actors are all researchers and employees involved in the research process at ZALF who have an existing employment relationship with ZALF.

Research data (RD): RD comprise all data that arise or have arisen in the scientific work process as a result of the intellectual activity of the actors. They may be generated through digitisation, source research, experiments, measurements, surveys, simulations or interviews and are described with metadata.

Research data management (RDM): RDM is the continuous process of managing, curating, publishing, registering (DOI) and archiving RD throughout their entire life cycle.

Data management plan (DMP): A DMP enables the structured documentation of the handling and use of RD during and after a research project.

Embargo: An embargo is a limited period of time that may be granted to actors in order to exercise the right of first use of research data.

Research project: A research project is an undertaking at ZALF or with ZALF participation whose aim is to generate new findings along a research question.

Metadata: Metadata are structured, standardised contextual information about RD and their characteristics. The metadata standards used by ZALF when publishing RD are mandatory and increase discoverability and scientific reusability.

Reusability: In the sense of the ZALF Open Access Strategy and the FAIR principles, this means the ability to download, copy, distribute, process by machine and use RD without major financial, technical or legal restrictions.

Personal data: Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

3. Scope

This policy on handling RD applies to all actors and research projects at ZALF and to all research data collected or generated at ZALF. Specific agreements with third-party funders take precedence over this policy.

Relevant to this policy are the ZALF statutes of 2016-03-01, the principles for handling research data of 2017-07-11 and the Leibniz Association policy on handling research data of 2018-11-29.

4. Rights to data and licensing

To ensure the reusability of RD, the guideline on good scientific practice in the Leibniz Association and, in the case of personal data, ZALF's data protection policy must be observed and documented in the DMP.

All RD are subject to the existing copyright, usage and exploitation rights within the meaning of the legal provisions. ZALF holds the usage rights to RD. ZALF supports the publication of and open access to RD insofar as this is not prevented by legal provisions, funding conditions or contractual agreements with third parties.

ZALF's RD are provided with a licensing model that defines access rights and restrictions. Special obligations arise for reasons of confidentiality and with regard to data protection provisions under the GDPR, the Federal Data Protection Act and sector-specific regulations.

5. Handling research data

With the entry into force of this policy, all research projects are required to prepare a DMP as early as possible, submit it to the RDM working group and keep it up to date.

Before RD are collected, their later reusability must be clarified. The DMP should document the appropriate and applied licences, contracts and other legal bases such as publication, anonymisation and the rights of third parties.

All actors involved in the collection of RD are responsible for their correctness and quality.

All RD are published in the ZALF repository or other qualified infrastructures after an appropriate embargo period has expired. When RD are published in external infrastructures, the RDM working group must be informed and metadata for those RD must be provided.

For all research data already collected at ZALF in the past, the rules of this policy apply accordingly insofar as retroactive application is possible. If further specifications outside this policy become necessary, they may be implemented with the help of the RDM working group.

6. Responsibilities

The Executive Board is responsible for establishing and amending this policy as well as setting strategic goals for RDM. The Executive Board ensures that appropriate resources for RDM and the infrastructure required to implement this policy are available to all actors.

The Data Protection Officer advises and supports on questions and adjustments regarding data protection provisions under the GDPR, the Federal Data Protection Act and sector-specific regulations.

The RDM and DIS working groups support the actors in creating DMPs and administering them, structuring RD, transferring them to the ZALF repository, describing them with metadata, complying with embargo periods and publishing RD, and they provide the infrastructure required for this.

All leaders of research projects as well as researchers working on their own responsibility are responsible for implementing and complying with this policy.

7. Entry into force and duration

This policy enters into force on 2023-01-01 and replaces the policy of 2021-09-21. It applies for an indefinite period.

References

1. Leibniz Association: Open and FAIR Data
2. Guideline on the handling of research data (DOI)
3. The FAIR Data Principles
4. Principles for handling research data: ZALF internal (RDM working group)
5. ZALF statutes
6. Research data guideline 2018
7. Guideline on good scientific practice 2019
8. Data protection policy of the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) e.V.: ZALF internal (RDM working group)
9. GDPR
10. Federal Data Protection Act