As one of the first steps in the ARP project, a survey examining knowledge and needs related to research data management in the research network showed that researchers need further knowledge and research support assistance to implement effective research data management. Since 2023, ARP ambassadors have played a key role in placing research data in the ARP, supporting researchers within their institutions, promoting the ARP Data Repository, and teaching modern research data management and repository use.
The first call for applications for the ARP Ambassador Program in March 2023 aimed to train and support advisors in response to these needs, in addition to promoting the use of the ARP Data Repository infrastructure. As data managers for the projects and research involved in the call for proposals, ARP ambassadors began to develop mechanisms for managing their institutions' research data in collaboration with ARP experts.
The 2024 call for proposals, as a continuation of the program launched in the previous year, aimed to retain existing ambassadors and recruit new ones. Our ambassadors received comprehensive training, during which they gained a thorough understanding of the components of the ARP Repository, and acquired up-to-date knowledge of the entire research data management process.
Thanks to this, they were able to help many of their colleagues, for example when the 2024 NKKP calls for proposals suddenly required the submission of a much more detailed and complex research data management plan than before. This innovation led to a sharp increase in demand for expert support.
Several of our ambassadors are members of the HUN-REN Data Steward Network, which launched on 1 October 2024. As members of this network, they further deepen their knowledge and support their colleagues' research data management activities at their institutions, while other ambassadors outside this network also remain available to answer questions from those who turn to them.
In this year's 2025 ARP Ambassador Program, we are testing how multiple data stewards can collaborate effectively in large research centers.
Since the program's 2023 launch, 18 ambassadors have implemented diverse projects that reflect the diversity of the research network in terms of both theme and format, with the mentorship of the ARP Team. The Ambassador Program is a key area of ARP's knowledge dissemination and awareness raising activities, and we will continue to shape it based on the actual needs of researchers in the future. In the fourth cycle in 2026, we will increase the visibility of HUN-REN ARP by training and involving additional advisors.