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Founded in 2008 as an initiative of the libraries of three of the four technical universities in the Netherlands, the 4TU.Centre for Research Data (4TU.Research Data) provides since 2010 a fully operational, cross-institutional, long-term archive that stores data from all subjects in applied sciences and engineering. Presently, over 90% of the data in the archive is geoscientific data coded in netCDF (Network Common Data Form) – a data format and data model that, although generic, is mostly used in climate, ocean and atmospheric sciences. In this practice paper, we explore the question of how 4TU.Research Data can stay relevant and forward-looking in a rapidly evolving research data management landscape. In particular, we describe the motivation behind this question and how we propose to address it.

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The history of the 4TU.Centre for Research Data goes back to 2008, when it started as a project of the libraries of three technical universities in the Netherlands. The aim was to serve the data curation needs of heterogeneous research communities. Fast forward ten years, and over 90% of the data stored in the 4TU archive are geoscientific datasets coded in netCDF (Network Common Data Form). This is a data format and model that, although generic, is mostly and widely used in atmospheric sciences and oceanography. As an endeavour to ensure that the 4TU.Centre for Research Data remains relevant and successful in the long term, we are exploring options for expanding the services related to netCDF data and potentially build a community of netCDF data depositors and users. Here we present the results of semi-structured, qualitative interviews with eleven researchers, all based in the Netherlands, who use and produce netCDF data; nine of them deposited netCDF data in the 4TU archive. These researchers represent heterogeneous research communities within the Earth sciences, with different views and attitudes to data archiving and publishing. Any new services or community building attempts will need to take this diversity into account. A common need for training and advice may guide the way forward for the 4TU.Centre for Research Data.