AHRC award VADS grant to develop researchers’ data skills

Visual Arts Data Skills for Researchers (VADS4R)

In partnership with University for the Creative Arts, The Glasgow School of Art and University College Falmouth, the Visual Arts Data Service has been awarded funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to promote good research data management practices within the visual arts. Research data is a valuable resource and, with appropriate curation and management, it has much to offer learning, teaching, research, knowledge transfer and consultancy across the higher education sector. However, in the arts, its complex and diverse nature presents numerous challenges to practitioners, researchers and research teams, and their institutions.

Building upon the work of the JISC funded KAPTUR partners (Goldsmiths, University of London; The Glasgow School of Art; University of the Arts London; University for the Creative Arts) VADS4R seeks to repurpose and extend our emerging knowledge to create a tailored programme of study to support the appropriate curation, management and preservation of research data. The 18 month programme will also consider aspects such as discoverability and the potential of reusing research data in the visual arts to increase value and impact. Learning outcomes focus on supporting and enabling researchers to understand the nature of research data; understand its value and potential for reuse; and embed the basic principles of appropriate curation, management and preservation of research data in the visual arts.

Leigh Garrett
Director, Visual Arts Data Service Research Centre
Principal Investigator, Visual Arts Data Skills for Researchers
Library and Student Services
University for the Creative Arts