Pipeline Newsletter - January 2026

Welcome to the DCC Pipeline newsletter!

Our monthly newsletter features news updates from the community, information about DCC work and services as well as important dates for your calendar. We hope you enjoy!

At a glance...

In this edition of Pipeline, we announce the closing keynote speakers for IDCC26, open the Digital Research Infrastructure webinar series and share news of the upcoming International Love Data Week.

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DCC News

Closing Keynote Speakers for IDCC26 Announced!
We are delighted to announce Mikala Narlock and Dr Lynda Kellam as our closing keynote speakers at this year’s International Digital Curation Conference (IDCC)!  
 
Mikala Narlock is the Director of Research Data Services at Indiana University, specialising in data curation and digital preservation. She is the co-founder and a steering committee member of the Data Rescue Project (DRP), playing a crucial role in engaging various community groups to advance data stewardship practices.  
 
Dr Lynda Kellam is the Snyder-Granader Director of Research Data & Digital Scholarship at Penn Libraries, University of Pennsylvania. She leads initiatives on research data management, digital scholarship and is an enthusiastic advocate of FAIR principles. 
 
Learn more about our keynote speakers and register to attend on our website. 

Artefactual Systems Inc sponsoring IDCC26 
Artefactual Systems Inc are returning to sponsor IDCC for a second time after sponsoring IDCC24 in Edinburgh two years ago.

Artefactual Systems Inc is a Canadian-based professional services and open-source software development company. Their company is dedicated to the stewardship of open source digital access and preservation software. 

Learn more on our sponsors on our website.

Resource of the month

Open Infrastructure Checklist for Research Performing and Research Funding Organisations
The Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) Working Group Towards Open Infrastructures for Responsible Research Assessment (OI4RRA), co-chaired by OpenAIRE and the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), have developed a practical checklist to support institutions in aligning their infrastructures with their policy objectives. The checklist supports decision-makers in assessing transparency, interoperability, governance, data integrity, and responsible metrics. It effectively guides organisations to align with the values of the OI4RRA Framework, promoting the adoption of trustworthy, community-governed open infrastructures. 

The checklist can be accessed via Zenodo. 

From the community

10,000 data collections: nearly six decades of data impact
A two-part blog written by the UK Data Service, an IDCC26 sponsor, discusses the journey of the service reaching 10,000 data collections now available to view through their Data Catalogue. The blog explores why it matters and how it sets the stage for the next chapter of data innovation and impact. 

The two-part blog can be accessed via the UK Data Service website.   

For your calendar

DCC’s Digital Research Infrastructure webinar series: Getting to know the Physical Sciences Data Infrastructure (PSDI)
15:00 – 16:00 CET, 4 February 2026 | Online
Join us to learn about the Physical Sciences Data Infrastructure (PSDI) which is funded by UKRI and provides access to tools, services, data, and guidance resources to support UK researchers working in the Physical Sciences in making their research data accessible and reproducible. 

This is the first in a series of DCC webinars that will introduce participants to a range of digital research infrastructures available in the UK, Europe and beyond. Each webinar will provide an overview of the research infrastructure and the services, tools and techniques it offers to advance research, foster collaboration, and support data management, curation and sharing. These webinars are free and open to all but will be most useful for Data Stewards and those in research support roles in research performing organisations to help increase their awareness about the range of infrastructures available to researchers in different domains.

Register for the webinar through our Eventbrite webpage.

Save the Date for the next webinar in the series which will take place on 11 March 2026 and will introduce BioFAIR. 

Get involved in the DRI Webinar Series
If you work on a research infrastructure project or initiative and are interested in being a guest speaker, please email us - info@dcc.ac.uk.   

An introduction to Open Preservation Foundation’s CLOUDViPER, a cloud-native Virtual Research Environment
16:00-17:00 CET, 20 January 2026 | Online
OpenAIRE are hosting a new series of calls that dive into the makings and workings of one of the world’s largest Scholarly Knowledge Graphs where attendees can give live feedback suggestions to the OpenAIRE team. 

Learn more about the webinar via the Open Preservation Foundation website and register your place.

Online Webinar promoting 2026 DAFNI Fellows Opportunity
13:00 – 14:00 CET, 21 January 2026 | Online Webinar
The Data & Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI), part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, is launching a new Fellowship Programme starting in April 2026.   Each Fellow will become an ambassador for DAFNI, being involved in sustainable research, promotion of your research, building networks across government, industry and academia. The team are hosting a webinar on 21 January to provide more details about the application process, funding available and key deadlines.

Register for the webinar to learn more about the DAFNI Fellowship Programme.

International Love Data Week
9-13 February 2026 | Online
Love Data Week is an international celebration of data, taking place every year during the week of Valentine’s day. Universities, nonprofit organisations, government agencies, corporations and individuals are encouraged to host and participate in data-related events and activities.

Learn more and get involved in International Love Data Week by visiting the ICPSR website.

...and finally

It could be said that 50% of the DCC’s work has always been about digital information at risk. We can view digital curation as an activity that simply increases the value and usefulness of something that already has some use and value, but we’ve also always had to stress that failure to undertake some minimal curation activities when information is created or later on can result in effective loss. If something isn’t adequately documented, if it’s missing key provenance information or if we no longer have the tools needed to access it then it’s been lost through neglect. 

But we’re all aware that much data at the moment is under threat not because of neglect but because of deliberate decision-making that many would categorise as malicious in intent. Anyone who was present in Brussels last October to see Shelley Stall, AGU Vice President, speak of the critical situation in the USA and the need for international cooperation for data resilience can have been left in no doubt about the urgency of the situation. I’m pleased that our most recently announced keynotes for IDCC26 in Zagreb next month will bring us another perspective on the issue. We at the DCC are doing what we can to work with others to make swift progress on the protection of data of global importance.

Kevin Ashley, DCC Director