43 Association of Research Libraries Research Library Issues 298 2019 interdisciplinary agriculture researchers internationally, working with the DWG to review the survey instrument and assist with its distribution.9 The University of Maryland team also worked with NAL to create USDA data management plan (DMP) guidance on the NAL website, including encouragement for researchers to make use of data management planning services offered through their university libraries.10 Another subset of the DWG organized a workshop in 2018 called “Driving Innovation through Data in Agriculture (DIDAg),”11 funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). DIDAg, a Food and Agriculture Cyberinformatics and Tools (FACT) Initiative workshop for researchers and librarians, focused on data management and publication for agricultural economics and dairy agroecosystems. The workshop addressed long-term goals and supporting objectives for the two research domains, including the following: Shared understanding of existing policies and resources related to public access to data and agricultural data management Clear expectations for research data management and publication in selected research domains, both so that researchers can plan for them and so that information professionals can support them Improved cyberinfrastructure, training materials, and business models A road map for supporting the next generation of data-intensive research in agricultural economics and dairy agroecosystems Most recently, the DWG has created a reviewer checklist associated with USDA DMP guidelines. Some USDA program officers have vetted the checklist, and the DWG hopes that the checklist will be provided to grant proposal reviewers as a resource, much like the data management planning guidance is referenced in grant application guidelines, in addition to being used as a training tool for researchers.12
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