In collaboration with HMS IT Research Data Management, the George Church Lab developed customized Data Management Onboarding and Offboarding Checklists, designed to streamline and improve existing lab protocols and procedures. Introduced at a recent lab meeting, the checklists will be utilized to support the lab’s mission, while alleviating some of the administrative burden.

Congratulations to the lab for all their hard work!

Research Data Management (RDM) is imperative to responsible research, providing an opportunity for researchers to establish a plan to ensure data is organized, can be shared with collaborators, or archived for long term preservation. It is important to record informative information related to projects and datasets to guarantee the success of future users. RDM should be introduced when starting a new project or joining a new lab, and also addressed during employee offboarding from a research lab.

The Harvard Longwood Medical Area Research Data Management Working Group developed checklists to help researchers review and understand the core tools available, including foundational data management processes that should be established during the onboarding or offboarding of an employee.

In collaboration with HMS IT Research Data Management, the George Church Lab (HMS Genetics Department) has adapted the checklists to streamline and improve existing lab protocols and procedures. Introduced at a recent lab meeting, the new checklists have been implemented to support the lab’s mission while also alleviating some of the administrative burden.

“The transition to the new checklist has been seamless, and feedback from lab members on the new forms has been overwhelmingly positive.” – Jessica Weber, Lab Data Manager for the Church Lab

A special congratulations to Jessica Weber, for her continued optimism, hard work, and support of data management best practices. Her dedication to the checklists led to a great product, which will hopefully be used to assist additional labs in the future.

Both the comprehensive and abridged versions of the onboarding and offboarding checklists are now available via our website.

If you are interested in tailoring the checklists, please let us know! We would be glad to work with your group, to adapt them specifically to your needs. You can also request an editable version of the checklists online, or email us for more details. 

Written by Sarah Hauserman, Research Data Management Analyst, Research IT Solutions