From March to October 2014, eight academic libraries in the United States and Canada participated in the CLIR/DLF E-Research Peer Networking & Mentoring Group (ERPNMG), a program that aimed at encouraging and building a self-reliant, mutually supportive community engaged in continuous learning about e-research support. The program consisted of a series of webinars, practical activities and virtual discussions that helped the participating institutions to evaluate, refine and further implement their research data services (RDS). In this panel the ERPNMG participants, including the library representatives and the facilitators who worked with them, will share their experiences and discuss the successes and challenges of implementing research data services while engaging in mutual learning as well as propose the next steps for the ERPNMG after the end of program. We will place our experiences in the conceptual context of communities of practice (CoP) and encourage the audience to discuss the needs and opportunities for emerging communities of practice around data.