Long-term NFDI funding strengthens research data management at UW/H
The new agreement between the federal and state governments secures the National Research Data Infrastructure until 2038 and creates better conditions for the further development of research data management and research at Witten/Herdecke University.
With the new Federal-State Agreement (BLV) on the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI), the Federal Government and the Länder set the course in July 2026 for the long-term development of research data management in Germany. For Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H), the agreement means, above all, greater planning certainty and new prospects for the strategic expansion of its research data management (RDM).
The National Research Data Infrastructure aims to ensure that research data is discoverable, accessible, interoperable and reusable in the long term, in accordance with common standards. This is intended to facilitate the further use of scientific findings, ease interdisciplinary collaboration and promote innovation.
Witten/Herdecke University has been an active member of the NFDI since summer 2025. Among other things, it is involved in the NFDI4Health consortium as well as in the Common Infrastructures, Internationalisation and ELSA sections. The decision to extend the NFDI until 2038, with annual funding of up to 98.7 million euros, will strengthen this collaboration in the long term.
For research data management at UW/H, the agreement creates a reliable foundation for the long-term development of existing structures. Measures that were previously often set up on a project-by-project basis can now be planned more strategically and established on a permanent basis. This facilitates the further expansion of advisory services, expertise and technical infrastructure.
At the same time, the agreement underlines the importance of common standards for the handling of research data. Research data should continue to be secure, interoperable and usable across disciplines. Issues such as data sovereignty and ethical, legal and technical frameworks are thus becoming increasingly important – particularly for the health, nursing and social sciences, which form a key focus of Witten/Herdecke University.
Since November 2024, UW/H has been systematically expanding its research data management. The new federal-state agreement supports this approach and strengthens the long-term development of a modern research data infrastructure. In doing so, it creates important conditions for sustainable, transparent and future-proof research at Witten/Herdecke University.
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