Strengthening career pathways for Data Stewards through CaSDaR
On 18 September 2025, the UK’s Research Data Stewardship community gathered for the launch of the Careers and Skills for Data-driven Research (CaSDaR) Network, a UKRI-funded Network+ project dedicated to professionalising the role of Data Stewards. The hybrid event, held at the Library of Birmingham and online, showcased presentations and active participation from diverse ELIXIR-UK members.
Bringing bioscience expertise to national discussions
Research Data Management (RDM) in biosciences is among the most advanced, providing insights that can guide other sectors. Representing ELIXIR-UK, Robert Andrews contributed to the opening panel, advising the CaSDaR coordination team on building national data stewardship capacity. Xenia Perez Sitja shared ELIXIR-UK’s experience in establishing local Data Steward networks and training initiatives, demonstrating how frameworks, competence models, and handbooks from ELIXIR-UK and ELIXIR Europe can inform UK-wide strategies. Both are members of the CaSDaR Managing Board and will continue to guide the project’s development while representing ELIXIR-UK members.
Collaboration across the UK data community
The programme featured insights from multiple UK organisations, including many that are ELIXIR-UK members: UKCEH, UCL, the University of Manchester, and the OLS/Turing Institute. The event highlighted the importance of professional recognition, sustainable career pathways for Data Stewards and collaborative knowledge sharing. CaSDaR also launched its first funding call to support new data stewardship activities.
ELIXIR-UK’s ongoing commitment
ELIXIR-UK continues to drive the professionalisation of research data roles, supporting career pathways, training and FAIR data practices across UK institutions. By contributing to initiatives like CaSDaR, ELIXIR-UK strengthens the UK’s research data ecosystem and ensures that the expertise of technical professionals is recognised as central to high-quality, sustainable science.
Notes to editors
About ELIXIR-UK
ELIXIR-UK is part of the European ELIXIR infrastructure, which supports life science research and its translation to medicine, the environment, and society. By integrating national bioinformatics resources, ELIXIR-UK aims to provide a sustainable infrastructure for biological information, ensuring that data is effectively managed, analysed and shared across the scientific community.
For further details, reach out to us at contact@elixiruknode.org
