Report on the 76th Meeting of the German Data Forum
On the 11th and 23rd of June 2026, the German Data Forum (RatSWD) held its 76th meeting, initially online and then, just under two weeks later, at the Langenbeck-Virchow-Haus.
The first part of the 76th RatSWD meeting took place online on the 11th of June 2026. The agenda included, amongst other items, the reports from the FDI Committee and the 10th meeting of the KonsortSWD Advisory Board. In addition, the RatSWD reviewed the RatSWD election held in March, the DFG funding initiative to safeguard endangered data collections and strengthen data resilience was presented, and the RatSWD’s policy work was discussed in detail.
The second part of the 76th German Data Forum meeting focused on getting to know one another, sharing experiences gained so far, and looking ahead together to the next three years. On this occasion, the incumbent RatSWD members of the 8th term met the newly appointed members of the 9th term on 23 June 2026, immediately following the 10th Conference on Social and Economic Data (10|KSWD) in Berlin. During the meeting, current issues and developments relating to quality assurance at research data centres were discussed, along with ideas and potential topics for the RatSWD’s future work. Not only in view of the RatSWD’s current political priorities – notably the Research Data Act – and the future structure of the NFDI, the forthcoming term of office, starting on the 1st of July 2026, promises to be a busy period.
In conclusion, the Deputy Chair of the RatSWD, Dr Daniel Vorgrimler, bid farewell to the outgoing council members Prof. Dr Thorsten Faas, Prof. Dr Johannes Hartig, Prof. Dr Hubert Knoblauch, Prof. Dr Poldi Kuhl, Prof. Dr Ingrid Miethe, Prof. Dr Kerstin Schneider, Prof. Dr Laura Seelkopf, Prof. Dr Mark Trappmann, Prof. Dr Joachim Winter and Dr Heike Wirth, and paid tribute to their dedication. Earlier, at the close of the 10|KSWD, he had also thanked the outgoing Chair, Prof. Dr Kerstin Schneider, in the Historic Lecture Theatre of the Langenbeck-Virchow-Haus for her outstanding commitment as Chair of the RatSWD to research data infrastructure.
