The presentation offes an outline of the background of the Swedish National Data Service, a national collaborative network for research data management at Swedish universities, aimed at giving researchers and students direct access to needed help when it comes to finding and re-using research data, as well as structuring, organising and sharing data they have work with themselves.

The presentation will feature the history and structure of the network, the shared effort involved in the collaboration, steps taken to secure a willingness to participate, and the structure of the local network access points at the different participating universities. The presentation will also introduce the next step in this process, the launch of the new portal Researchdata.se (scheduled for March 2025).

Effective management of research data is crucial, particularly in social sciences, where diverse and accessible data can drive meaningful progress. However, universities in Karnataka face several challenges, such as limited access to data, difficulty in collaborating, and a lack of integration across existing systems, which hinders researchers' work.

In this study, we explore the current state of research data repositories at universities in Karnataka and identify the key obstacles researchers face. To address these issues, we propose developing a unified research data repository using DSpace. This centralized platform will gather datasets from universities across the region, offering researchers a simple, streamlined way to access a wide variety of data.

The repository will be designed to be user-friendly, with intuitive tools for managing data, easy integration with other systems, and secure, role-based access. By encouraging data sharing and fostering collaboration, this platform will help spark innovation and make research more impactful.

Our vision is to fill the existing gaps and set a new standard for research data management in Karnataka. We hope our approach will inspire similar initiatives in other regions, helping to create a future where research data is shared, accessible, and beneficial to all.

Institutional repositories (IRs) play a crucial role in preserving and sharing scholarly outputs, yet they often operate in isolation, limiting their potential to support a truly integrated open data ecosystem. Through the Repository Readiness Project, led by the Data Curation Network (DCN), data stewards and repository specialists explored strategies for developing more interconnected and effective research data services.

The project culminated in the Summit for Academic Institutional Readiness in Data Sharing (STAIRS), which brought together over 100 institutional stakeholders including librarians, IT professionals, and administrators from Offices of Research from US academic institutions to address research data management challenges. Key findings reveal the critical need for cross-institutional collaboration, shared standards, and a more holistic approach to data sharing infrastructure. This research highlights that effective data management cannot be achieved by libraries or individual institutions in isolation but requires strategic engagement and an active community of practice within and across institutions throughout the research lifecycle.

In this presentation, we will provide background information on the project as well as recommendations for funding agencies, academic institutions, and research collaborators, focusing on three primary strategies: fostering cross-institutional collaboration, establishing centralized resource banks, and strengthening institutional data services.

In 2022, the annual Dataverse Community meeting theme was “Indigenous Data Sovereignty.” Following this meeting, Dataverse used an opportunity with the NIH-funded GREI repositories initiative and conversations with Local Contexts (LC) to start collaborating to advance Indigenous data sovereignty in the Dataverse-supported repository. The proof-of-concept integration allows data depositors to link to a Local Context Hub registered project or item(s) using a Local Contexts Project metadata block built into Dataverse and released in 2025. TK Labels and Notices are registered and maintained by indigenous authorities in the LC Hub site and appear on the Dataverse Dataset metadata and landing pages. This presentation will provide a technical overview of the LC Hub - Dataverse Integration Project and highlight potential community use cases and planned improvements