Ten NFDI helpdesks are intensifying their collaboration with the Geo-Chem-Life Science Helpdesk Cluster in order to provide researchers with interdisciplinary support.
The Helpdesks of the NFDI Consortia have an important role: They are the first point of contact for researchers who need support in managing their research data – from the selection of suitable repositories to data protection issues.
Initially, the subject-specific helpdesks operated largely separately by discipline. In May 2024, ten representatives of geoscientific, chemical and life science NFDI consortia met in Bremen to discuss closer cooperation in user advice. The meeting marked the birth of what is now an active collaboration. A joint workflow for forwarding anonymised enquiries was established.
This dynamic and collaborative form of co-operation has now also been formally consolidated: In a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the ten consortia – DataPLANT, FAIRagro, GHGA, NFDI4Biodiversity, NFDI4BioImage, NFDI4Chem, NFDI4Earth, NFDI4Health, NFDI4Immuno and NFDI4Microbiota – have committed themselves to a long-term network. Under the title Geo-Chem-Life Science Helpdesk Cluster, an interdisciplinary support service for researchers with interdisciplinary concerns is being created.
The aim of the cluster is to make the initial contact between the scientific community and the NFDI more tailored, to pool resources efficiently and to make expertise from different disciplines flexibly accessible. Each consortium contributes human resources and nominates at least one person to actively participate in the network. Other consortia from neighbouring research areas are invited to join the cluster.
The text of the MoU can be found on Zenodo:
Memorandum of Understanding of NFDI consortia from Earth-, Chemical and Life Sciences to support a network called the Geo-Chem-Life Science Helpdesk Cluster, Version 1 (Bernard, L., Brück, M., Busse, C., Engel, J., Eufinger, J., Ewert, F., Fluck, J., Förstner, K., Fürst, J., Gauza, H., Getzlaff, K., Glöckner, F. O., Hunold, J., Koepler, O., Krooß, K., Lindstädt, B., McHardy, A. C., Mehrtens, H., Rey-Mazon, E., … Wetzker, C.), 2025. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15065070
This news article is an shortened version of an article by NFDI4Biodiversity. You can find the original with further information here: https://www.nfdi4biodiversity.org/de/news/helpdesk-cluster/
Other posts
Posts
Love Data Week 2026: NFDI participates in the international action week on research data
From 9 to 13 February 2026, Love Data Week will take place once again—an international action week that brings together researchers, infrastructures, and data-interested communities worldwide. In 2026, the focus is once again on the conscious, responsible, and sustainable handling of research data.
News ELSA Webinar Series about Research Ethics
Tackling various topics and questions ranging from “What is (research) ethics?” to “Should we care about the CARE principles?” the series aims to engage anyone interested in ethics.
NFDITalks 2026: Inspiring lectures on NFDI and research data
NFDITalks is a series of events dedicated to the future of data research. This year, there are once again many exciting topics from our network and beyond on the agenda.
Recent Comments