The Research Data Alliance (RDA)
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersDidcot, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Research Data Alliance (RDA)
- Legal name
- Research Data Alliance Foundation
- Website
- https://rd-alliance.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Research Data Infrastructure & Standards
- NAICS
- Business Associations (813910)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Governance Platforms (Policies, Stewardship, Workflows) (HDAEADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Data Virtualization & Federation (HDAEACAH)
Keywords
Where The Research Data Alliance (RDA) is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Didcot
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Organizational & Affiliate Membership: Organizations and affiliates pay membership fees to be part of the RDA community, access resources, and participate in governance.
- Regional Membership: Regional nodes pay membership fees to represent their region within RDA.
- European Commission Funding (RDA TIGER): RDA TIGER is a three-year EC-funded project providing operating support services for RDA Working Groups.
- Project Partnerships: RDA receives funding through Horizon Europe projects including FAIR-IMPACT and RDA TIGER to support EOSC interoperability work.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Individual Membership - Free |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels14 records
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) operates a global, neutral, community-driven platform that develops frameworks, recommendations, and infrastructure to enable open sharing and reuse of research data across disciplines and borders. It delivers this through membership programmes (individual, organisational, regional), collaborative Working Groups, Interest Groups and Communities of Practice, biannual Plenary meetings, and a catalogue of openly published outputs such as the FAIR and TRUST principles.
Product overview
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) is a global community organization that provides a neutral platform for developing and adopting infrastructure promoting data-sharing and data-driven research. The offering consists of a platform model with three membership tiers (Individual, Organisational/Affiliate, and Regional), multiple group types (Working Groups, Interest Groups, Communities of Practice, Regional Groups, Birds of a Feather), and biannual Plenary meetings as the primary convening mechanism. Key products include the Recommendations and Outputs catalogue, the RDA Knowledge Base (kb-rda.org), and the RDA Tiger support project for Working Groups. The platform also includes emerging AI features: the RDA Concierge (AI-powered navigation assistant) and the Data Director Agentic AI Blueprint (agentic AI specification for research data workflows). Supporting resources include podcasts, videos, the Sarah Jones Award, and frameworks like the TRUST Principles for digital repositories.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Individual Membership
- Organisational & Affiliate Membership
- Regional Membership
- RDA Plenary Meetings
Quantifiable outcome
- 16792 individual members from 145 countries participating in RDA activities
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use The Research Data Alliance (RDA)
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability4 records
Feature6 records
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.
- FAIR-IMPACT Project ConsortiumcoreRDA Europe is a partner in the DANS-coordinated FAIR-IMPACT project alongside 23 other organizations. The collaboration focuses on implementing the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and developing resources supporting legal and organisational interoperability.
- EOSC AssociationcoreRDA Europe became a full member of the EOSC Association in recognition of significant developments underway in the EOSC ecosystem. RDA outputs and community involvement are widely present at EOSC events.
- CODATAcoreRDA works with CODATA (Committee on Data of the International Science Council) on the WorldFAIR project and Cross-Domain Interoperability Framework (CDIF), advancing FAIR principles implementation.
- Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA)coreRDA participates in CoARA activities including the SE4RA project endorsed by UNESCO. The Evaluation of Research IG and SHARC IG liaise with CoARA on research assessment reform.
- DataCitecoreDataCite partners with RDA on persistent identifier (PID) strategies and services. Martina Stockhause serves on DataCite's Community Engagement EMEA Expert Group.
- CoreTrustSealcoreCoreTrustSeal maintains repository certification standards and collaborates with RDA on the TRUST Principles. The CoreTrustSeal Maintenance WG ensures alignment between standards.
- National PID Strategies Partners (Czech Republic, France, Ireland, United States)coreMultiple countries have adopted RDA's National PID Strategies Guide and Checklist, developing coordinated approaches to implementing persistent identifiers across their research ecosystems.
- COAR (Confederation of Open Access Repositories)minorCOAR collaborates with RDA on repository-related activities and data policy implementation, sharing best practices and promoting interoperability.
- UNESCOflagshipThe SE4RA project (involving RDA) was endorsed by UNESCO as part of the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development. First research assessment project ever recognized by a UN organisation.
- Universidade Católica PortuguesacorePartner in the CoARA Boost SE4RA project for self-evaluation in research assessment. Hosted international workshop on research assessment reform.
- World Data System (WDS)coreWDS collaborates with RDA on publishing data, repository certification, and joint Interest/Working Groups addressing data preservation and scholarly publication.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- DataCite: Non-profit persistent identifier (PID) infrastructure provider and core RDA partner. Comparable non-profit data-infrastructure mission but operational rather than standard-setting; RDA stockhause chairs liaisons with DataCite.
- PLOS: Open access publisher whose staff co-chair RDA's Research Data Policy Interest Group and adopts data-sharing policy standards developed in RDA. Comparable Open Science mission and stakeholder base.
Direct peers
- FAIRsharing: Standards- and metadata-registry database for research data, with a mission to guide FAIR-compliant resource selection. Direct overlap with RDA's recommendations catalogue and adoption narrative.
- Force11: Community-driven organisation focused on research communication and data citation; comparable community-of-practice model targeting overlapping researcher audiences and joint work on persistent identifiers and citation.
- GO FAIR Initiative: Originating body for the FAIR data principles and a direct peer to RDA on FAIR implementation guidance, training networks, and FAIR Implementation Profiles. Overlaps substantially with RDA Working Groups.
- ISC World Data System (WDS): International cross-disciplinary network of research data repositories that collaborates with RDA on publishing, preservation, and TRUST Principles endorsement — directly comparable mandate around trustworthy repositories.
- CODATA (Committee on Data for Science and Technology): International scientific body under the International Science Council that, like RDA, works on data principles, interoperability, and FAIR-aligned outputs. Closely related in scope and frequently collaborates (e.g., WorldFAIR project, Cross-Domain Interoperability Framework).
Emerging players
- Dryad: Curated research data repository with selective scope that overlaps with RDA's repository certification work via CoreTrustSeal/DRYAD-USDATA31 standards endorsement of TRUST Principles.
Broad incumbents
- EOSC Association: European Open Science Cloud governance body representing the broader institutional stack of which RDA Europe is a member and contributor. Operates at a broader infrastructure scale with overlapping mission.
Regional players
- OpenAIRE: European Open Science infrastructure supporting a research graph and policy monitoring. Comparable European regional focus and adjacent role in supporting EC open science mandates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) social profiles
Digital presenceThe Research Data Alliance (RDA) compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Research Data Alliance (RDA)
What does The Research Data Alliance (RDA) do?
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) operates a global, neutral, community-driven platform that develops frameworks, recommendations, and infrastructure to enable open sharing and reuse of research data across disciplines and borders. It delivers this through membership programmes (individual, organisational, regional), collaborative Working Groups, Interest Groups and Communities of Practice, biannual Plenary meetings, and a catalogue of openly published outputs such as the FAIR and TRUST principles.
Is The Research Data Alliance (RDA) a public or private company?
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Research Data Alliance (RDA) founded?
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Research Data Alliance (RDA) based?
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) is headquartered in Didcot, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The Research Data Alliance (RDA) make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Organizational & Affiliate Membership is the primary driver. The others are regional Membership, european Commission Funding (RDA TIGER) and project Partnerships.
Who are The Research Data Alliance (RDA)'s main competitors?
Others on record are DataCite and PLOS. Direct peers are FAIRsharing, Force11, GO FAIR Initiative, ISC World Data System (WDS) and CODATA (Committee on Data for Science and Technology). Dryad is listed as an emerging player. EOSC Association is listed as a broad incumbent. OpenAIRE is listed as a regional player.
Does The Research Data Alliance (RDA) have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Research Data Alliance (RDA).
What industry is The Research Data Alliance (RDA) in?
The Research Data Alliance (RDA)'s product category is Research Data Infrastructure & Standards. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEADAB, Data Governance Platforms (Policies, Stewardship, Workflows), with a secondary code of HDAEACAH, Data Virtualization & Federation. Its NAICS code is 813910 and its SIC code is 8600.