Connecting Research Data Across NRW

The statewide research data repository for North Rhine-Westphalia

DataPublication.nrw is a shared service for the public universities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Researchers publish their data here with a DOI, curated and citable for the long term.

Technically ready · Spaces for the participating universities are being set up

Universities involved Get in touch

Participating universities

  • Bielefeld University
  • Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts
  • Bochum University of Applied Sciences
  • Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences
  • FernUniversität in Hagen
  • FH Münster University of Applied Sciences
  • Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences
  • South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences
  • TH Köln
  • University of Cologne
  • University of Siegen
  • University of Wuppertal

What is DataPublication.nrw?

Funders, publishers and universities increasingly expect research data to be published according to the FAIR principles. Building and running a repository of one's own takes a lot of effort, especially for small and medium-sized universities.

DataPublication.nrw combines infrastructure, quality assurance and advice in one statewide service. Each university gets its own space in its own corporate design and stays visible with its data.

DataPublication.nrw is one of the statewide research data management services in NRW (in German) and part of the state concept for research data management of DH.NRW (in German). Together they support researchers through the whole research data lifecycle.

Circular diagram “Infrastructures for research data” (in German). In the centre the research data lifecycle with project planning, collection and generation, analysis and processing, access and discoverability, archiving, and publication and reuse. Around it the statewide services DataPublication.nrw, git.nrw, Coscine, FDM:Storage.nrw with DataStorage.nrw and DataArchive.nrw, JupyterHub.nrw, sciebo and LZV.nrw.
Statewide research data management services along the research data lifecycle. Figure: FDM.NRW, CC BY 4.0

  • Statewide service

    Funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, run by the University of Bonn together with RWTH Aachen University.

  • Open source

    Built on Dataverse, research data repository software used by institutions around the world.

  • A DOI for every dataset

    Published data stay findable and citable for the long term.

  • Connected

    Data are stored in FDM:Storage.nrw. An interface now being built will let researchers publish directly from Coscine. Further services can connect through the API.

  • Central quality assurance

    The team in Bonn organises formal checks, review and support for researchers, with as little extra work for the universities as possible.

  • Support from Bonn

    From setting up the space to training and support. Each university decides how much it takes on itself.

From dataset to publication

  1. Collect

    Researchers put together their data and documentation and upload them to their university's space.

  2. Describe

    Structured metadata, a licence and a description make the dataset findable and reusable.

  3. Publish

    Before publication, each dataset goes through a formal check and a review. The DataPublication.nrw team helps with any questions.

  4. Cite

    The dataset receives a DOI and a suggested citation. Later changes are published as a new version.

Progress

DataPublication.nrw has been under construction since January 2026. We are setting up a space for each participating university, first on the test system. Once the service is in production, this page will also show the published datasets.

News

  • DataPublication.nrw at the TRA workshop in Bonn

    We attended the workshop “Great Data, Great Science” at the Wissenschaftszentrum Bonn and talked to participants about DataPublication.nrw.

  • DataPublication.nrw at the DSgG meeting in Cologne

    We took part in the “Data Stewardship in Germany” community meeting at the University of Cologne and talked to data stewards from other institutions about DataPublication.nrw.

  • A visual identity of its own

    DataPublication.nrw has a logo. Its four tiles stand for collecting, describing, publishing and citing.

As of: 06 Oct 2026

Universities involved

Twelve universities declared their participation during the proposal phase and help shape workflows, policies and exchange formats. The service is run by the consortium partners, the University of Bonn and RWTH Aachen University.

Universität zu KölnUniversität Bonn Universität WuppertalHochschule BochumHochschule Rhein-WaalFH MünsterFernUniversität in HagenFachhochschule SüdwestfalenUniversität SiegenRWTH AachenTH KölnHochschule Bonn-Rhein-SiegUniversität BielefeldHochschule Bielefeld

Key

  • participating university Gets a space of its own at DataPublication.nrw.
  • consortium partner Runs the DataPublication.nrw service.

All universities

  • Bielefeld University
  • Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts
  • Bochum University of Applied Sciences
  • Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences
  • FernUniversität in Hagen
  • FH Münster University of Applied Sciences
  • Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences
  • RWTH Aachen University consortium partner
  • South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences
  • TH Köln
  • University of Bonn consortium partner
  • University of Cologne
  • University of Siegen
  • University of Wuppertal

A space of its own for every university

Each university gets its own start page at DataPublication.nrw, with the logo, colours and typeface of its corporate design. Faculties, institutes, projects or thematic communities can have sub-spaces of their own below it.

Show all 12 spacesShow less

Views from the test system, work in progress as of

Not at a participating university but curious? Explore the demo space

Get involved

DataPublication.nrw is open to all public universities in North Rhine-Westphalia, including those with a repository of their own, for example through interfaces or joint publications. How further universities join formally is currently being agreed. Feel free to get in touch now: we will note your needs and come back to you as soon as the process is settled.

  1. Contact

    You name a contact person for DataPublication.nrw at your university and tell us what you have in mind.

  2. Clarify needs

    Together we clarify which data are to be published and how much advice and curation your university provides itself.

  3. Agree the framework

    The legal and organisational basis for taking part, such as roles and responsibilities, is currently being worked out.

  4. Own space

    Your university gets a space in its own corporate design, your contacts are introduced to the service and researchers can publish.

Would your university like to join, or do you have questions? Write to us

Timeline

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia funds DataPublication.nrw from January 2026 to the end of 2029.

  1. 2025

    Concept and proposal

    Proposal within the state's digitalisation initiative, letters of intent from the participating universities.

  2. 2026

    Build-up

    Test and production systems, connection to FDM:Storage.nrw, quality processes, onboarding material and the spaces of the participating universities.

    We are here

  3. From go-live

    Operation and onboarding

    First publications, support for the universities, onboarding of further universities.

  4. Until end of 2029

    Evaluation and establishment

    External evaluation and establishing the service at the universities. A second project phase is planned from 2030.

Contact

The DataPublication.nrw team at the University of Bonn answers questions about the service, about your university taking part, or about the state of the project.

Mailing list
News about the project and the start of onboarding (in German). Subscribe to the mailing list

Operation and funding

Operation

The University of Bonn leads the consortium. Its Research Data Service Centre handles coordination, quality assurance and the operation of the repository. RWTH Aachen University develops the interface to Coscine.

  • University of Bonn
  • RWTH Aachen University
  • Research Data Service Centre
  • Hochschulrechenzentrum (HRZ)
  • ULB Bonn

Funding

Funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of its digitalisation initiative.

  • Ministry of Culture and Science NRW

Context

Digitale Hochschule NRW accompanies the project as part of the statewide strategy for higher education. FDM.NRW provides organisational and conceptual support within the university network.

  • Digitale Hochschule NRW
  • FDM.NRW