A message from Yuan Li, University Scholarly Communication Officer and Director of Open Scholarship and Research Data Services, and Emre Keskin, Assistant Vice Provost and Managing Director for Research Data Strategy
Each year, Love Data Week invites the global research community to reflect on how data are created, managed, cared for, shared, and sustained. This year’s theme “Where is the Data?” asks a deceptively simple question that sits at the heart of responsible, impactful research and is a way to get people thinking about data’s journey from collection through storage, and preservation. Good research data management is a continuous, end-to-end process, not a single action or tool. It involves thinking intentionally about data from the earliest stages of a project—how data will be created or collected, organized, documented, protected, analyzed, shared, and preserved—through the full research lifecycle. By taking a holistic approach, researchers can work more efficiently, meet policy and ethical obligations, and ensure that their data remain discoverable, accessible. understandable, usable, and valuable over time.
At Harvard, this question resonates deeply. Research data live in many places: in repositories (including archival repositories, analog and digital), in active research environments, in public records, in computational systems, and sometimes in fragile or overlooked formats. Ensuring that data are findable, accessible, usable, and preserved over time requires not only technology, but coordination, stewardship, and shared responsibility.
Harvard Library, in collaboration with partners across the University, especially the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) and University Research Computing (URC), is committed to helping researchers answer the question “Where is the data?” at every stage of the research lifecycle. One example is our work on public data conservation, which focuses on identifying, preserving, and providing access to at-risk public datasets that are essential for research, teaching, public policy, and public knowledge. These efforts reflect a broader commitment to data stewardship as a public good, especially at a time when data provenance cannot be taken for granted.
Another key initiative is Harvard Research Data Connect (HRDC), a collaborative effort among Harvard Library, University Research Computing, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. HRDC is designed to help researchers navigate Harvard’s complex data ecosystem by connecting them to computing infrastructure, tools, services, and—most importantly—people. The initiative focuses on linking researchers with staff experts and strengthening staff-to-staff connections across the University. In doing so, HRDC helps ensure that research data are not only securely stored, but also properly supported, understood, and responsibly managed. The overarching goal is to enable higher-quality research outputs by improving access to the data, tools, and expertise required for data-intensive research. Currently, HRDC is focusing on two projects: RSpace and Data Discovery. RSpace is an electronic lab notebook (ELN) that supports the management and documentation of research data within active research workflows. Through HRDC, we are developing technical support services, documentation, training, and outreach to encourage broader campus adoption. The Data Discovery project, which is still in the early stages of development, seeks to address the very question of “Where is the data?” Its goal is to create a system that enables the Harvard community to discover and access data, whether generated by Harvard researchers or acquired through third-party licenses and purchases.
In addition to these specific collaborative initiatives, Harvard Library provides a wide range of tools, services, and data-related training to the Harvard community. Together, these efforts reflect a shared goal: to ensure that data are visible, discoverable, connected, and cared for, rather than siloed or lost. During Love Data Week, we invite you to join us for workshops, events, and conversations that explore where data live, how they move, and how they can be better supported throughout the research lifecycle. These sessions are designed to be practical, collaborative, and relevant—whether you are generating data, analyzing it, managing it, sharing it, or helping others do so.
Asking “Where is the data?” is not only a technical question, but a shared responsibility. It invites us to think critically and holistically about discoverability, access, sustainability, and stewardship, and to recognize the people, systems, and partnerships that make research data usable and trustworthy over time. Through continued collaboration across the University, we can ensure that data remain a foundation for discovery, transparency, and public knowledge—today and in the future.