The Partnerships for Data Innovations (PDI): Facilitating data stewardship and catalyzing research engagement in the digital age

For agricultural research to seize the potential of data-driven technologies, profound changes are needed in the full spectrum of data management, highlighted by a shift of researchers, institutions, and agencies toward a culture of data stewardship. The USDA-ARS established the Partnerships for Data Innovations (PDI) in 2019 to achieve this transformation from within. From the onset, PDI has integrated its customer–partners in developing and implementing state-of-the-art digital tools, leveraging off-the-shelf technologies when advantageous. In its short life, PDI has transformed more than 100 projects, from projects catalyzing collaborative efforts and underpinning information management to those salvaging end-of-life data repositories. Empowered by this active inclusive partnership and through sharing digital solutions on a “Digital Research Workbench” within the ARS Agricultural Collaborative Research Outcomes System infrastructure, PDI hopes to accelerate agricultural research through standardization, automation, and integration and to help usher in a culture of digital age data stewardship.