Dr. Natalie Harrower has been the Executive Director of the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN), since April 2023. She serves on the Office of the Chief Science Advisor’s National Research Data Framework Advisory Committee, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Major Science Infrastructure Fund’s Data Working Group, the Health Data Research Alliance, and the Canadian National Committee for CODATA.  

Prior to joining the CRDCN, she was Director of the Digital Repository of Ireland (2015-2022), Ireland’s national research infrastructure for data from the humanities, social sciences and cultural heritage. During her directorship, she was responsible for securing a core operational funding line from the Irish government, developing a national membership model, and establishing a sustainable business model with income streams from European research projects, philanthropic organisations, and industry partners. Under her leadership, the DRI transformed from a project-funded repository to an award-winning national research infrastructure with a prominent international profile and multiple partnerships across Europe and beyond.   

Over the last decade, Dr. Harrower has supported the policy and implementation of Open Science practices in the research ecosystem. In Ireland, she helped to steer the National Open Research Forum (NORF), securing the first grant for coordinated implementation of Open Science across the country, and taking on the administration of the Forum and the office of the National Open Research Coordinator. She is also a past member of Ireland’s National Archives Advisory Council (2017-2022). At the same time, she contributes widely to the development of international policy as a member of groups such as the European Commission’s high-level expert group on FAIR data, the European Open Science Cloud’s (EOSC) FAIR working group (FAIR Metrics & Service Certification), the Open Science Taskforce of ALLEA (the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities), and the OECD Global Science Forum’s expert group on Business Models for Sustainable Data Repositories. Dr. Harrower currently serves on the High Level Advisory Committee of the EU FAIR-Impact project.  

Dr. Harrower is a Vice Chair on the Social Science and Humanities panel for the European Commission’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships, served on the Swiss National Science Foundation’s (SNSF) review panel for Switzerland’s SSH Data and Research Infrastructures, and is a past judge for Digital Preservation Coalition’s International Digital Preservation Awards. As a longstanding contributor to the Research Data Alliance, she collaborates with global colleagues on groups such as the RDA COVID-19 data sharing working group (co-chair), and the RDA Financial Sustainability Taskforce. 

Dr. Harrower started her career as a researcher and lecturer at Queen’s University and the University of Toronto. She holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies and Film from the University of Toronto, a MA in Political Science from York University, and an honours BA in Political Studies and Drama from Queen’s University.