Since the emerging field of data-related research appears to be quite fragmented, we asked our interviewees whether they had visibility of other relevant funding schemes and how much coordination and collaboration there is between funders. From the responses, it appears that in general funders do have visibility of the work and funding schemes of other organisations working in this space and there is a good degree of coordination and collaboration between funders. One interviewee from a philanthropic funder responded: “I feel we have a fairly strong network in philanthropy and more broadly in the data space. […] I probably have at least one conversation during the week where I speak with a peer at another organisation. (Participant A, philanthropic funder)”
Indeed, funders seem to value the importance of keeping track of each other’s work and coordinating efforts. As one interviewee told us,
“…it cannot be done in a vacuum. And not only do we have to appreciate what it is we’re doing, we also have to appreciate we’re moving parts elsewhere to make sure we’re not replicating – that we’re aligning, […] that we’re playing our part in the border research ecosystem” (Participant H, UK research council).
When asked if a more systematic, structured way of gaining visibility of the field would be useful, participants generally said it would. For instance, one of them said that “any kind of network analysis to understand a field better, especially one that is so young and so rapidly moving, I think, is helpful” (Participant A, philanthropic funder). This same person added that this tool would be especially useful if it gave them insights about the future, rather than the past: “what's most interesting is: What are my peers in philanthropy thinking about what they will fund next year, and not what they have funded?” (Participant A, philanthropic funder). Such a tool would not only be useful to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the data-related research field, it would also help researchers and organisations that are not already part of the established data-related ecosystem enter that network, and contribute to it.
In an effort to provide initial insights along the lines of what this person requested, the next section includes a collection of some of the topics and funding areas that our interviewees anticipated would be important in coming years. Furthermore, the network diagrams and tables in the quantitative findings section can be used to develop a better understanding of the emerging field of data-related research.