Connecting data, advancing research: BNITM is now a member of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI)

The NFDI is an initiative of the federal and state governments that has been driving the systematic development of a national data infrastructure since 2020. Its aim is to preserve and connect research data for the long term and make it accessible in accordance with the FAIR principles: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. Until now, research data is often stored in decentralized locations, tied to individual projects or available only for a limited time. The NFDI is addressing this by establishing a permanent digital repository of knowledge. 

As Germany’s leading institution for tropical medicine and emerging infectious diseases, the BNITM possesses unique expertise in data-intensive fields of research. These include clinical and epidemiological data, genomic analyses, biodiversity and vector data, as well as data from multinational research consortia. BNITM can now contribute this expertise directly to the NFDI, helping to ensure that sensitive health data is securely managed, standardised and reusable. At the same time, the BNITM benefits from the knowledge transfer and core services provided by the NFDI, for example in the development of data management tools, training programmes or networking with NFDI specialist consortia such as NFDI4Health.

Why reusing research data matters

Generating research data is a complex process that requires time, resources and money. This makes it all the more important not only to use this valuable data once, but to make it accessible in the long term for further analyses and research questions. Re-use of data allows new insights to be gained without having to carry out additional studies. This not only saves costs but also accelerates scientific progress.

However, for this to succeed, data must first be discoverable. This is where the NFDI comes in: it provides the infrastructure to organise research data in accordance with the FAIR principles, ensuring that it is findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. To achieve this, data must be well described, for example through standardised metadata that clearly documents its content, origin and terms of use. Only in this way can researchers draw on existing data, combine it and use it to address new research questions.

Another crucial aspect is the machine-readability of the data. If data is structured and available in open formats, it can be used not only by researchers but also by artificial intelligence (AI). High-quality research data, for example, provides an ideal training basis for AI models, such as those designed to recognise disease patterns or predict outbreaks. At the same time, data protection must always be guaranteed: sensitive health data requires special care, for instance through anonymisation, secure storage and clear regulations governing its use.

For the BNITM, membership of the NFDI means that data from decades of tropical medicine research is not only preserved but also processed in such a way that it can be used by future generations of researchers – and for AI applications. In this way, the data contributes to new breakthroughs without the need to collect the same data over and over again.

What BNITM brings to the NFDI

Through its NFDI membership, the BNITM actively contributes its expertise to the further development of research data management in Germany. The following areas are particularly relevant in this context:

• standardisation of metadata for infection, health and public health research,
• linking basic research, clinical research and public health within the data ecosystem,
• ensuring international interoperability, particularly with partner institutions in Africa, Asia and Latin America,
• and enabling a rapid scientific response to future health crises.

The Institute will play an active role in committees, working groups and strategic development forums. In doing so, the BNITM is positioning itself as an active contributer to a forward-looking data infrastructure for the German scientific landscape. 

Under the current federal-state agreement, which was adopted by the Joint Science Conference in July 2026, the federal and state governments will continue to fund the NFDI until 2038. Over 300 institutions, including universities, research centres, professional associations and non-university organisations, collaborate within the NFDI. They are involved in 26 subject-specific consortia and six cross-cutting sections to design and develop data infrastructures across disciplines and strengthen international cooperation.