Alastair runs the Dutch data archive for the technical sciences on behalf of the 4 technical universities in the Netherlands, and is also head of the Research Data division within the TU Delft.

His (current) biggest challenge is persuading researchers of the benefits of research data – a task that not only requires knowledge of research processes, but knowing how building trust and good relationships facilitates understanding

Previously, Alastair has worked for the cultural heritage innovators Europeana, and for JISC, the UK’s shared service for ICT in education.

Open Science and Research Data Management are still young fields, and the issues cannot be shared by institutions working in isolation. Sharing expertise and knowledge, and building collaborative ventures across European borders, is therefore vital. LIBER is an essential part of this.