diff --git a/docs/api.rst b/docs/api.rst
index 4a99244d332..5921cfd6519 100644
--- a/docs/api.rst
+++ b/docs/api.rst
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ Information on specific functions, classes, and methods.
 
    api/niworkflows.anat
    api/niworkflows.cli
+   api/niworkflows.data
    api/niworkflows.dwi
    api/niworkflows.engine
    api/niworkflows.func
diff --git a/docs/conf.py b/docs/conf.py
index dd334ab1e84..3eaedb75867 100644
--- a/docs/conf.py
+++ b/docs/conf.py
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@
 #
 # This is also used if you do content translation via gettext catalogs.
 # Usually you set "language" from the command line for these cases.
-language = None
+language = 'en'
 
 # List of patterns, relative to source directory, that match files and
 # directories to ignore when looking for source files.
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@
 
 apidoc_module_dir = "../niworkflows"
 apidoc_output_dir = "api"
-apidoc_excluded_paths = ["conftest.py", "*/tests/*", "tests/*", "data/*", "testing.py"]
+apidoc_excluded_paths = ["conftest.py", "*/tests/*", "tests/*", "testing.py"]
 apidoc_separate_modules = True
 apidoc_extra_args = ["--module-first", "-d 1", "-T"]
 
diff --git a/docs/requirements.txt b/docs/requirements.txt
index 7e519c6b782..60b52c49481 100644
--- a/docs/requirements.txt
+++ b/docs/requirements.txt
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 attrs
-furo ~= 2022.4.7
+furo
 nipype >= 1.5.1
 traits < 6.4
 packaging
 pytest
-sphinx ~= 4.2
+sphinx
 sphinxcontrib-apidoc
-sphinxcontrib-napoleon
 templateflow
diff --git a/niworkflows/__init__.py b/niworkflows/__init__.py
index 7fc319df800..c5a417d9775 100644
--- a/niworkflows/__init__.py
+++ b/niworkflows/__init__.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import logging
 
 from .__about__ import __packagename__, __copyright__, __credits__
+from .data import Loader
 try:
     from ._version import __version__
 except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@
     "__copyright__",
     "__credits__",
     "NIWORKFLOWS_LOG",
+    "load_resource",
 ]
 
 NIWORKFLOWS_LOG = logging.getLogger(__packagename__)
@@ -27,3 +29,5 @@
     matplotlib.use("Agg")
 except ImportError:
     pass
+
+load_resource = Loader(__package__)
diff --git a/niworkflows/anat/ants.py b/niworkflows/anat/ants.py
index 74b90764c9a..5854f7c9d64 100644
--- a/niworkflows/anat/ants.py
+++ b/niworkflows/anat/ants.py
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@
 # general purpose
 from collections import OrderedDict
 from multiprocessing import cpu_count
-from pkg_resources import resource_filename as pkgr_fn
 from warnings import warn
 
 # nipype
@@ -40,6 +39,7 @@
     ThresholdImage,
 )
 
+from ..data import load as load_data
 from ..utils.misc import get_template_specs
 from ..utils.connections import pop_file as _pop
 
@@ -302,9 +302,7 @@ def init_brain_extraction_wf(
         else "antsBrainExtractionNoLaplacian_%s.json"
     )
     norm = pe.Node(
-        Registration(
-            from_file=pkgr_fn("niworkflows.data", settings_file % normalization_quality)
-        ),
+        Registration(from_file=load_data(settings_file % normalization_quality)),
         name="norm",
         n_procs=omp_nthreads,
         mem_gb=mem_gb,
diff --git a/niworkflows/conftest.py b/niworkflows/conftest.py
index 3714ed134c3..0408bc8155e 100644
--- a/niworkflows/conftest.py
+++ b/niworkflows/conftest.py
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@
 import pytest
 import tempfile
 
+from . import load_resource
+
 try:
     import importlib_resources
 except ImportError:
@@ -40,7 +42,7 @@
 
 
 def find_resource_or_skip(resource):
-    pathlike = importlib_resources.files("niworkflows") / resource
+    pathlike = load_resource(resource)
     if not pathlike.exists():
         pytest.skip(f"Missing resource {resource}; run this test from a source repository")
     return pathlike
@@ -63,7 +65,7 @@ def add_np(doctest_namespace):
     doctest_namespace["datadir"] = data_dir
     doctest_namespace["data_dir_canary"] = data_dir_canary
     doctest_namespace["bids_collect_data"] = collect_data
-    doctest_namespace["test_data"] = importlib_resources.files("niworkflows") / "tests" / "data"
+    doctest_namespace["test_data"] = load_resource('tests/data')
 
     tmpdir = tempfile.TemporaryDirectory()
 
diff --git a/niworkflows/data/__init__.py b/niworkflows/data/__init__.py
index e69de29bb2d..ef1bddab104 100644
--- a/niworkflows/data/__init__.py
+++ b/niworkflows/data/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+"""Niworkflows data files
+
+.. autofunction:: load
+
+.. automethod:: load.readable
+
+.. automethod:: load.as_path
+
+.. automethod:: load.cached
+
+.. autoclass:: Loader
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import atexit
+import os
+from contextlib import AbstractContextManager, ExitStack
+from functools import cached_property
+from pathlib import Path
+from types import ModuleType
+from typing import Union
+
+try:
+    from functools import cache
+except ImportError:  # PY38
+    from functools import lru_cache as cache
+
+try:  # Prefer backport to leave consistency to dependency spec
+    from importlib_resources import as_file, files
+except ImportError:
+    from importlib.resources import as_file, files  # type: ignore
+
+try:  # Prefer stdlib so Sphinx can link to authoritative documentation
+    from importlib.resources.abc import Traversable
+except ImportError:
+    from importlib_resources.abc import Traversable
+
+__all__ = ["load"]
+
+
+class Loader:
+    """A loader for package files relative to a module
+
+    This class wraps :mod:`importlib.resources` to provide a getter
+    function with an interpreter-lifetime scope. For typical packages
+    it simply passes through filesystem paths as :class:`~pathlib.Path`
+    objects. For zipped distributions, it will unpack the files into
+    a temporary directory that is cleaned up on interpreter exit.
+
+    This loader accepts a fully-qualified module name or a module
+    object.
+
+    Expected usage::
+
+        '''Data package
+
+        .. autofunction:: load_data
+
+        .. automethod:: load_data.readable
+
+        .. automethod:: load_data.as_path
+
+        .. automethod:: load_data.cached
+        '''
+
+        from niworkflows.data import Loader
+
+        load_data = Loader(__package__)
+
+    :class:`~Loader` objects implement the :func:`callable` interface
+    and generate a docstring, and are intended to be treated and documented
+    as functions.
+
+    For greater flexibility and improved readability over the ``importlib.resources``
+    interface, explicit methods are provided to access resources.
+
+    +---------------+----------------+------------------+
+    | On-filesystem | Lifetime       | Method           |
+    +---------------+----------------+------------------+
+    | `True`        | Interpreter    | :meth:`cached`   |
+    +---------------+----------------+------------------+
+    | `True`        | `with` context | :meth:`as_path`  |
+    +---------------+----------------+------------------+
+    | `False`       | n/a            | :meth:`readable` |
+    +---------------+----------------+------------------+
+
+    It is also possible to use ``Loader`` directly::
+
+        from niworkflows.data import Loader
+
+        Loader(other_package).readable('data/resource.ext').read_text()
+
+        with Loader(other_package).as_path('data') as pkgdata:
+            # Call function that requires full Path implementation
+            func(pkgdata)
+
+        # contrast to
+
+        from importlib_resources import files, as_file
+
+        files(other_package).joinpath('data/resource.ext').read_text()
+
+        with as_file(files(other_package) / 'data') as pkgdata:
+            func(pkgdata)
+
+    .. automethod:: readable
+
+    .. automethod:: as_path
+
+    .. automethod:: cached
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, anchor: Union[str, ModuleType]):
+        self._anchor = anchor
+        self.files = files(anchor)
+        self.exit_stack = ExitStack()
+        atexit.register(self.exit_stack.close)
+        # Allow class to have a different docstring from instances
+        self.__doc__ = self._doc
+
+    @cached_property
+    def _doc(self):
+        """Construct docstring for instances
+
+        Lists the public top-level paths inside the location, where
+        non-public means has a `.` or `_` prefix or is a 'tests'
+        directory.
+        """
+        top_level = sorted(
+            os.path.relpath(p, self.files) + "/"[: p.is_dir()]
+            for p in self.files.iterdir()
+            if p.name[0] not in (".", "_") and p.name != "tests"
+        )
+        doclines = [
+            f"Load package files relative to ``{self._anchor}``.",
+            "",
+            "This package contains the following (top-level) files/directories:",
+            "",
+            *(f"* ``{path}``" for path in top_level),
+        ]
+
+        return "\n".join(doclines)
+
+    def readable(self, *segments) -> Traversable:
+        """Provide read access to a resource through a Path-like interface.
+
+        This file may or may not exist on the filesystem, and may be
+        efficiently used for read operations, including directory traversal.
+
+        This result is not cached or copied to the filesystem in cases where
+        that would be necessary.
+        """
+        return self.files.joinpath(*segments)
+
+    def as_path(self, *segments) -> AbstractContextManager[Path]:
+        """Ensure data is available as a :class:`~pathlib.Path`.
+
+        This method generates a context manager that yields a Path when
+        entered.
+
+        This result is not cached, and any temporary files that are created
+        are deleted when the context is exited.
+        """
+        return as_file(self.files.joinpath(*segments))
+
+    @cache
+    def cached(self, *segments) -> Path:
+        """Ensure data is available as a :class:`~pathlib.Path`.
+
+        Any temporary files that are created remain available throughout
+        the duration of the program, and are deleted when Python exits.
+
+        Results are cached so that multiple calls do not unpack the same
+        data multiple times, but the cache is sensitive to the specific
+        argument(s) passed.
+        """
+        return self.exit_stack.enter_context(as_file(self.files.joinpath(*segments)))
+
+    __call__ = cached
+
+
+load = Loader(__package__)
diff --git a/niworkflows/func/util.py b/niworkflows/func/util.py
index 0c1f0cadbaf..87733aa776f 100644
--- a/niworkflows/func/util.py
+++ b/niworkflows/func/util.py
@@ -22,13 +22,13 @@
 #
 """Utility workflows."""
 from packaging.version import parse as parseversion, Version
-from pkg_resources import resource_filename as pkgr_fn
 
 from nipype.pipeline import engine as pe
 from nipype.interfaces import utility as niu, fsl, afni
 
 from templateflow.api import get as get_template
 
+from .. import data
 from ..engine.workflows import LiterateWorkflow as Workflow
 from ..interfaces.fixes import (
     FixHeaderRegistration as Registration,
@@ -452,9 +452,7 @@ def init_enhance_and_skullstrip_bold_wf(
 
         # Set up spatial normalization
         norm = pe.Node(
-            Registration(
-                from_file=pkgr_fn("niworkflows.data", "epi_atlasbased_brainmask.json")
-            ),
+            Registration(from_file=data.load("epi_atlasbased_brainmask.json")),
             name="norm",
             n_procs=omp_nthreads,
         )
diff --git a/niworkflows/interfaces/bids.py b/niworkflows/interfaces/bids.py
index 04db3f7285e..4dea4ec1e97 100644
--- a/niworkflows/interfaces/bids.py
+++ b/niworkflows/interfaces/bids.py
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 import shutil
 import os
-from pkg_resources import resource_filename as _pkgres
 import re
 
 import nibabel as nb
@@ -50,12 +49,13 @@
 )
 from nipype.interfaces.io import add_traits
 import templateflow as tf
+from .. import data
 from ..utils.bids import _init_layout, relative_to_root
 from ..utils.images import set_consumables, unsafe_write_nifti_header_and_data
 from ..utils.misc import _copy_any, unlink
 
 regz = re.compile(r"\.gz$")
-_pybids_spec = loads(Path(_pkgres("niworkflows", "data/nipreps.json")).read_text())
+_pybids_spec = loads(data.load.readable("nipreps.json").read_text())
 BIDS_DERIV_ENTITIES = _pybids_spec["entities"]
 BIDS_DERIV_PATTERNS = tuple(_pybids_spec["default_path_patterns"])
 
diff --git a/niworkflows/interfaces/norm.py b/niworkflows/interfaces/norm.py
index a1722a5ed60..85115c3ec54 100644
--- a/niworkflows/interfaces/norm.py
+++ b/niworkflows/interfaces/norm.py
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@
 from os import path as op
 
 from multiprocessing import cpu_count
-import pkg_resources as pkgr
 from packaging.version import Version
 import numpy as np
 
@@ -40,6 +39,7 @@
 
 from templateflow.api import get as get_template
 from .. import NIWORKFLOWS_LOG, __version__
+from ..data import load as load_data
 from .fixes import FixHeaderRegistration as Registration
 
 
@@ -166,16 +166,13 @@ def _get_settings(self):
             self.inputs.moving.lower(), self.inputs.flavor
         )
 
+        data_dir = load_data()
         # Get a list of settings files that match the flavor.
         filenames = [
-            i
-            for i in pkgr.resource_listdir("niworkflows", "data")
-            if i.startswith(filestart) and i.endswith(".json")
+            i for i in data_dir.iterdir() if i.startswith(filestart) and i.endswith(".json")
         ]
         # Return the settings files.
-        return [
-            pkgr.resource_filename("niworkflows.data", f) for f in sorted(filenames)
-        ]
+        return [str(data_dir / f) for f in sorted(filenames)]
 
     def _run_interface(self, runtime):
         # Get a list of settings files.
diff --git a/niworkflows/interfaces/tests/data/__init__.py b/niworkflows/interfaces/tests/data/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5962b3a130f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/niworkflows/interfaces/tests/data/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+"""Test data module
+
+.. autofunction:: load_test_data
+"""
+from ....data import Loader
+
+load_test_data = Loader(__package__)
diff --git a/niworkflows/interfaces/tests/test_itk.py b/niworkflows/interfaces/tests/test_itk.py
index c44acc7c422..4aeb9721b77 100644
--- a/niworkflows/interfaces/tests/test_itk.py
+++ b/niworkflows/interfaces/tests/test_itk.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 #
 import pytest
 from ..itk import _applytfms
+from ... import data
 from nipype.interfaces.ants.base import Info
 
 
@@ -32,14 +33,13 @@
 def test_applytfms(tmpdir, ext, copy_dtype, in_dtype):
     import numpy as np
     import nibabel as nb
-    from pkg_resources import resource_filename as pkgr_fn
 
     in_file = str(tmpdir / ("src" + ext))
     nii = nb.Nifti1Image(np.zeros((5, 5, 5), dtype=np.float32), np.eye(4))
     nii.set_data_dtype(in_dtype)
     nii.to_filename(in_file)
 
-    in_xform = pkgr_fn("niworkflows", "data/itkIdentityTransform.txt")
+    in_xform = data.load("itkIdentityTransform.txt")
 
     ifargs = {"copy_dtype": copy_dtype, "reference_image": in_file}
     args = (in_file, in_xform, ifargs, 0, str(tmpdir))
diff --git a/niworkflows/interfaces/tests/test_plotting.py b/niworkflows/interfaces/tests/test_plotting.py
index 6249ffe6b65..e6743393ddc 100644
--- a/niworkflows/interfaces/tests/test_plotting.py
+++ b/niworkflows/interfaces/tests/test_plotting.py
@@ -26,18 +26,17 @@
 from niworkflows import viz
 from niworkflows.utils.timeseries import _cifti_timeseries, _nifti_timeseries
 from niworkflows.interfaces.plotting import _get_tr
-from niworkflows.tests.conftest import datadir
+from niworkflows.tests.data import load_test_data
 
 
 def test_cifti_carpetplot():
     """Exercise extraction of timeseries from CIFTI2."""
     save_artifacts = os.getenv("SAVE_CIRCLE_ARTIFACTS", False)
 
-    cifti_file = os.path.join(
-        datadir,
-        "sub-01_task-mixedgamblestask_run-02_space-fsLR_den-91k_bold.dtseries.nii",
+    cifti_file = load_test_data(
+        "sub-01_task-mixedgamblestask_run-02_space-fsLR_den-91k_bold.dtseries.nii"
     )
-    data, segments = _cifti_timeseries(cifti_file)
+    data, segments = _cifti_timeseries(str(cifti_file))
     viz.plot_carpet(
         data,
         segments,
@@ -56,15 +55,13 @@ def test_nifti_carpetplot():
     """Exercise extraction of timeseries from CIFTI2."""
     save_artifacts = os.getenv("SAVE_CIRCLE_ARTIFACTS", False)
 
-    nifti_file = os.path.join(
-        datadir,
-        "sub-ds205s03_task-functionallocalizer_run-01_bold_volreg.nii.gz",
+    nifti_file = load_test_data(
+        "sub-ds205s03_task-functionallocalizer_run-01_bold_volreg.nii.gz"
     )
-    seg_file = os.path.join(
-        datadir,
-        "sub-ds205s03_task-functionallocalizer_run-01_bold_parc.nii.gz",
+    seg_file = load_test_data(
+        "sub-ds205s03_task-functionallocalizer_run-01_bold_parc.nii.gz"
     )
-    data, segments = _nifti_timeseries(nifti_file, seg_file)
+    data, segments = _nifti_timeseries(str(nifti_file), str(seg_file))
     viz.plot_carpet(
         data,
         segments,
diff --git a/niworkflows/reports/core.py b/niworkflows/reports/core.py
index cb9297db64b..558b83664a0 100644
--- a/niworkflows/reports/core.py
+++ b/niworkflows/reports/core.py
@@ -30,14 +30,15 @@
 import re
 from itertools import compress
 from collections import defaultdict
-from pkg_resources import resource_filename as pkgrf
 from bids.layout import BIDSLayout, add_config_paths
 import jinja2
 from nipype.utils.filemanip import copyfile
 
+from .. import data, load_resource
+
 # Add a new figures spec
 try:
-    add_config_paths(figures=pkgrf("niworkflows", "data/nipreps.json"))
+    add_config_paths(figures=data.load('nipreps.json'))
 except ValueError as e:
     if "Configuration 'figures' already exists" != str(e):
         raise
@@ -100,17 +101,13 @@ class Reportlet(Element):
 
     .. testsetup::
 
-        >>> cwd = os.getcwd()
-        >>> os.chdir(tmpdir)
-
         >>> from shutil import copytree
         >>> from bids.layout import BIDSLayout
-        >>> test_data_path = find_resource_or_skip('data/tests/work')
+        >>> source = find_resource_or_skip('data/tests/work')
         >>> testdir = Path(tmpdir)
-        >>> with importlib_resources.as_file(test_data_path) as source:
-        ...     data_dir = copytree(source, str(testdir / 'work'))
+        >>> _ = copytree(source, testdir / 'work')
         >>> out_figs = testdir / 'out' / 'fmriprep'
-        >>> bl = BIDSLayout(str(testdir / 'work' / 'reportlets'),
+        >>> bl = BIDSLayout(testdir / 'work' / 'reportlets',
         ...                 config='figures', validate=False)
 
     >>> bl.get(subject='01', desc='reconall') # doctest: +ELLIPSIS
@@ -165,10 +162,6 @@ class Reportlet(Element):
     >>> r.is_empty()
     True
 
-    .. testcleanup::
-
-        >>> os.chdir(cwd)
-
     """
 
     def __init__(self, layout, out_dir, config=None):
@@ -249,15 +242,11 @@ class Report:
 
     .. testsetup::
 
-        >>> cwd = os.getcwd()
-        >>> os.chdir(tmpdir)
-
         >>> from shutil import copytree
         >>> from bids.layout import BIDSLayout
-        >>> test_data_path = find_resource_or_skip('data/tests/work')
+        >>> source = find_resource_or_skip('data/tests/work')
         >>> testdir = Path(tmpdir)
-        >>> with importlib_resources.as_file(test_data_path) as source:
-        ...     data_dir = copytree(source, str(testdir / 'work'))
+        >>> _ = copytree(source, str(testdir / 'work'))
         >>> out_figs = testdir / 'out' / 'fmriprep'
 
     >>> robj = Report(testdir / 'out', 'madeoutuuid', subject_id='01', packagename='fmriprep',
@@ -270,10 +259,6 @@ class Report:
     >>> len((testdir / 'out' / 'fmriprep' / 'sub-01.html').read_text())
     36713
 
-    .. testcleanup::
-
-        >>> os.chdir(cwd)
-
     """
 
     def __init__(
@@ -303,8 +288,8 @@ def __init__(
             self.out_filename = f"sub-{self.subject_id}.html"
 
         # Default template from niworkflows
-        self.template_path = Path(pkgrf("niworkflows", "reports/report.tpl"))
-        self._load_config(Path(config or pkgrf("niworkflows", "reports/default.yml")))
+        self.template_path = load_resource('reports') / 'report.tpl'
+        self._load_config(Path(config or load_resource('reports') / 'default.yml'))
         assert self.template_path.exists()
 
     def _load_config(self, config):
@@ -424,14 +409,12 @@ def generate_report(self):
                 .findall((logs_path / "CITATION.tex").read_text())[0]
                 .strip()
             )
+            bib = data.Loader(self.packagename).readable("data/boilerplate.bib")
             boilerplate.append(
                 (
                     boiler_idx,
                     "LaTeX",
-                    f"""<pre>{text}</pre>
-<h3>Bibliography</h3>
-<pre>{Path(pkgrf(self.packagename, 'data/boilerplate.bib')).read_text()}</pre>
-""",
+                    f"<pre>{text}</pre>\n<h3>Bibliography</h3>\n<pre>{bib.read_text()}</pre>\n",
                 )
             )
             boiler_idx += 1
@@ -519,24 +502,16 @@ def run_reports(
 
     .. testsetup::
 
-        >>> cwd = os.getcwd()
-        >>> os.chdir(tmpdir)
-
         >>> from shutil import copytree
-        >>> test_data_path = find_resource_or_skip('data/tests/work')
+        >>> source = find_resource_or_skip('data/tests/work')
         >>> testdir = Path(tmpdir)
-        >>> with importlib_resources.as_file(test_data_path) as source:
-        ...     data_dir = copytree(source, str(testdir / 'work'))
+        >>> _ = copytree(source, testdir / 'work')
         >>> (testdir / 'fmriprep').mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
 
     >>> run_reports(testdir / 'out', '01', 'madeoutuuid', packagename='fmriprep',
     ...             reportlets_dir=testdir / 'work' / 'reportlets')
     0
 
-    .. testcleanup::
-
-        >>> os.chdir(cwd)
-
     """
     return Report(
         out_dir,
diff --git a/niworkflows/reports/tests/test_core.py b/niworkflows/reports/tests/test_core.py
index 1483a198b13..2006659076f 100644
--- a/niworkflows/reports/tests/test_core.py
+++ b/niworkflows/reports/tests/test_core.py
@@ -33,13 +33,9 @@
 
 import pytest
 
+from ... import load_resource
 from ..core import Report
 
-try:
-    import importlib_resources
-except ImportError:
-    import importlib.resources as importlib_resources
-
 
 @pytest.fixture()
 def bids_sessions(tmpdir_factory):
@@ -107,29 +103,28 @@ def bids_sessions(tmpdir_factory):
 
 @pytest.fixture()
 def example_workdir():
-    workdir = importlib_resources.files("niworkflows") / "data" / "tests" / "work"
-    if not workdir.exists():
+    from ... import data
+    workdir = data.load("tests/work")
+    if not workdir.is_dir():
         pytest.skip("Missing example workdir; run this test from a source repository")
-    return workdir
+    yield workdir
 
 
 @pytest.fixture()
 def test_report1(tmp_path, example_workdir):
-    with importlib_resources.as_file(example_workdir) as workdir:
-        yield Report(
-            tmp_path,
-            "fakeuuid",
-            reportlets_dir=workdir / "reportlets",
-            subject_id="01",
-            packagename="fmriprep",
-        )
+    yield Report(
+        tmp_path,
+        "fakeuuid",
+        reportlets_dir=example_workdir / "reportlets",
+        subject_id="01",
+        packagename="fmriprep",
+    )
 
 
 @pytest.fixture()
-def test_report2(bids_sessions):
-    out_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
-    return Report(
-        Path(out_dir),
+def test_report2(tmp_path, bids_sessions):
+    yield Report(
+        tmp_path,
         "fakeuuid",
         reportlets_dir=Path(bids_sessions),
         subject_id="01",
@@ -242,7 +237,7 @@ def test_generated_reportlets(bids_sessions, ordering):
         subject_id="01",
         packagename="fmriprep",
     )
-    settings = load(importlib_resources.read_text("niworkflows.reports", "default.yml"))
+    settings = load(load_resource.readable("reports/default.yml").read_text())
     # change settings to only include some missing ordering
     settings["sections"][3]["ordering"] = ordering
     report.index(settings["sections"])
diff --git a/niworkflows/tests/conftest.py b/niworkflows/tests/conftest.py
index b78c5326ef9..8aecf747582 100644
--- a/niworkflows/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/niworkflows/tests/conftest.py
@@ -27,9 +27,9 @@
 import pytest
 from templateflow.api import get as get_template
 from niworkflows.testing import test_data_env, data_env_canary
+from niworkflows.tests.data import load_test_data
 
-filepath = os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__))
-datadir = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(filepath, "data"))
+datadir = load_test_data()
 
 
 def _run_interface_mock(objekt, runtime):
diff --git a/niworkflows/tests/data/__init__.py b/niworkflows/tests/data/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..daa10c6c2d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/niworkflows/tests/data/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+"""Test data module
+
+.. autofunction:: load_test_data
+"""
+from ...data import Loader
+
+load_test_data = Loader(__package__)
diff --git a/niworkflows/tests/test_registration.py b/niworkflows/tests/test_registration.py
index 1c6f6e409b8..88346372265 100644
--- a/niworkflows/tests/test_registration.py
+++ b/niworkflows/tests/test_registration.py
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ def _agg(objekt, runtime):
 
 def test_ANTSRegistrationRPT(monkeypatch, reference, moving):
     """ the SpatialNormalizationRPT report capable test """
-    import pkg_resources as pkgr
+    from niworkflows import data
 
     def _agg(objekt, runtime):
         outputs = objekt.output_spec()
@@ -214,8 +214,6 @@ def _agg(objekt, runtime):
         generate_report=True,
         moving_image=moving,
         fixed_image=reference,
-        from_file=pkgr.resource_filename(
-            "niworkflows.data", "t1w-mni_registration_testing_000.json"
-        ),
+        from_file=data.load("t1w-mni_registration_testing_000.json"),
     )
     _smoke_test_report(ants_rpt, "testANTSRegistrationRPT.svg")
diff --git a/niworkflows/utils/misc.py b/niworkflows/utils/misc.py
index 88cbfc0d8cd..8b8802a9170 100644
--- a/niworkflows/utils/misc.py
+++ b/niworkflows/utils/misc.py
@@ -203,9 +203,9 @@ def _read_pkl(path):
 def _read_txt(path):
     """Read a txt crashfile
 
-    >>> new_path = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
-    >>> test_data_path = new_path / 'data' / 'tests'
-    >>> info = _read_txt(test_data_path / 'crashfile.txt')
+    >>> from niworkflows import data
+    >>> crashfile = data.load('tests/crashfile.txt')
+    >>> info = _read_txt(crashfile)
     >>> info['node']  # doctest: +ELLIPSIS
     '...func_preproc_task_machinegame_run_02_wf.carpetplot_wf.conf_plot'
     >>> info['traceback']  # doctest: +ELLIPSIS
@@ -366,15 +366,11 @@ def check_valid_fs_license():
     from pathlib import Path
     import subprocess as sp
     from tempfile import TemporaryDirectory
-    from pkg_resources import resource_filename
+    from .. import data
 
-    with TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
+    with TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir, data.load.as_path("sentinel.nii.gz") as sentinel:
         # quick FreeSurfer command
-        _cmd = (
-            "mri_convert",
-            resource_filename("niworkflows", "data/sentinel.nii.gz"),
-            str(Path(tmpdir) / "out.mgz"),
-        )
+        _cmd = ("mri_convert", str(sentinel), str(Path(tmpdir) / "out.mgz"))
         proc = sp.run(_cmd, stdout=sp.PIPE, stderr=sp.STDOUT)
     return proc.returncode == 0 and "ERROR:" not in proc.stdout.decode()
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 3d3d9152f69..5289158d738 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ classifiers = [
 ]
 dependencies = [
     "attrs",
-    "importlib_resources; python_version < '3.9'",
+    "importlib_resources >= 5.7; python_version < '3.11'",
     "jinja2",
     "looseversion",
     "matplotlib >= 3.4.2",
@@ -48,10 +48,10 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 doc = [
-    "furo ~= 2021.10.09",
+    "furo",
     "pydot >= 1.2.3",
     "pydotplus",
-    "sphinx ~= 4.0",
+    "sphinx",
     "sphinxcontrib-apidoc",
     "sphinxcontrib-napoleon",
 ]