ICSU World Data System Implementation Plan

Transcription

1 V10.0 ICSU World Data System Implementation Plan Trusted Data Services for Global Science To realize its Strategic Targets as stated in the Strategic Targets document, the WDS Scientific Committee (WDS-SC) in consultation with WDS Members has agreed to concentrate its activities and guide the WDS International Programme Office towards implementing the plan below, in which each of the five Strategic Targets is coupled with specific actions. Strategic Target 1: Make trusted data services an integral part of international collaborative scientific research Actions a) Develop an operational Knowledge Network for use in disciplinary and multidisciplinary research programmes. This Knowledge Network is the umbrella of several services comprising WDS internal infrastructure: i. A Metadata Catalogue. This will be built with WDS resources, and is recognized as a tool for discovery of datasets and that can be used in the context of research programmes. ii. A Brokering Service. iii. A Global Registry of Trusted Digital Repositories and Services. ICSU-WDS will take a leadership role in establishing this registry in collaboration with the Research Data Alliance (RDA), and will involve existing initiatives. b) Engage with the flagship ICSU-sponsored Future Earth programme in collaboration with the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA). In particular, WDS and CODATA must establish a strong working relationship with the Future Earth secretariat. c) Engage with the Urban Health and Wellbeing programme of ICSU. Background ICSU-WDS has to establish functioning infrastructure and services to support its objectives, and its mandate. It is also clear that WDS has positioned itself as a critical component of emerging Research Data Infrastructure, specifically aiming to provide I. An aggregated Metadata Catalogue based on the collections offered by Members. This Catalogue spans a variety of protocols and metadata standards, across multiple scientific disciplines. Of initial importance is a metadata harvesting arrangement that draws partly on the Global Earth Observation 1

2 System of Systems (GEOSS) Broker, since this will assist with the synchronization and maintenance of the Catalogue. II. Brokered access to data services referenced in metadata. This is a major focus of GEOSS (for Earth and environmental observation data), and ICSU-WDS will be able to apply GEOSS Brokering Service, at least in part, to provide access to data services. ICSU-WDS will have to look for collaboration and funding opportunities to extend the capabilities of this service. III. A maintained Registry of Trusted Digital Repositories and Services, probably in collaboration with an established service and which includes the WDS membership as a subset. This Registry, if it also offers a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for each repository, begins to form a critical part of the Linked Open Data services used not only by the WDS Knowledge Network but also other services. IV. A Knowledge Network that aligns information contained in the aggregated metadata, as well as providing links to authoritative registries such as III. This can be achieved in two phases: a working implementation not directly based on I. and III., but that aims to provide a proof of concept and integration test; and an operationalization phase, utilizing those two services. ICSU-WDS needs to establish funding for these services, for the following reasons: 1. Similar and synergistic efforts have been supported in the past as projects within funding programmes. But these programmes come to an end typically after 3 5 years after which the services are often lost. ICSU-WDS must be in a position to take over and operate these services as and when required. 2. More critically, at present there are few systems that are built on the services and components that ICSU-WDS and similar organizations offer. However, this is likely to change radically in years to come. The risk to systems developers is greatly increased by uncertainty about the future availability of foundation services. This creates a need for a sustainable baseline operation within ICSU-WDS in essence, guaranteeing the availability of registry services that will allow third parties to develop value-added services and applications. Required Resources and Risks Estimates of development time required to establish each component, together with potential collaborations and status of funding options: Infrastructure Component Metadata Catalogue Resource Estimate 6 personmonths Contributors Proposals/ Resources NICT 3 (in kind) Risks PANGAEA ESSI-Lab 1 SAEON 2 In-kind contributions Dedicated time Technology transfer 1 Earth and Space Informatics Laboratory 2 South African Environmental Observation Network 3 National Institute of Information and Communications Technology 2

3 Data Brokering SAEON ESSI-Lab 6 personmonths SAEON/ESSI- Lab In-kind contributions Dedicated time Registry of Trusted Repositories and Services 4 personmonths PANGAEA WDS-IPO 4 SAEON DataCite re3data Databib In-kind contributions Dedicated time DataCite membership Knowledge Network 6 personmonths SAEON NICT (in kind) In-kind contributions Dedicated time Technology transfer Estimate of maintenance and support requirements: 1.5 resources per annum, available full- and part-time. Notes: 1. The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) has offered an in-kind contribution of a systems developer precedence should be given to the Metadata Catalogue and Knowledge Network. 2. These are relatively small integration projects, and largely rely on existing applications and methods. The risk is not in research and development, but in technology transfer and integration testing. Hence the implementation team needs to be small. 3. Each component will require a host, either the WDS International Programme Office (WDS-IPO) or otherwise, and the development and delivery processes will be different depending upon this. Irrespective of the host, maintenance and support requirements have to be included in the longterm costs, with a time horizon of the order of 3 5 years. Deliverables/Milestones Developing WDS Knowledge Network Demonstrate the prototype WDS Knowledge Network to the Belmont Forum in an attempt to obtain funding for the full operational version. (Within the next 6 months) Take up the in kind funding offer from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology and approach RDA South Africa and the National Research Foundation for additional funding. (Within the next 6 months) Start development of an operational Knowledge Network built upon the in-progress incarnations of the other component services. (Within the next 12 months) (i) Expanding/enriching WDS Metadata Catalogue Get all feasible metadata into the Metadata Catalogue and contact those that still do not have a catalogue. (Within the next 12 months) 4 WDS International Programme Office 3

4 Release an as is version of the Metadata Catalogue. (Within the next 12 months) (ii) Developing Brokering Service Explore a contribution from the National Research Council of Italy, to extend GI-cat to suit WDS Metadata Catalogue requirements. (Within the next 6 months) Collaborate with the RDA Brokering Working Group in which ICSU-WDS is listed as a use case. (Within the next 6 months) (iii) Building Global Repository for Trusted Digital Repositories and Services Continue parallel efforts through the nascent RDA WDS Work Group and WDS membership within DataCite to work with DataCite/re3data/Databib, and use their amalgamation as a first stage in realizing an operational Repository in which certification is shown prominently in each profile entry. (Within the next 12 months) Incorporate all WDS Member information into the Repository such that it can then be used by the Future Earth programme. (Within the next 12 months) Engaging with Future Earth Interact with projects through, for instance, the various proposal calls that will be made by Future Earth. In particular, identify those projects with considerable data components and approach them. (Within the next 12 months) Engagement with ICSU-WDS by Future Earth projects is voluntary. Send out a clear message on why the projects should interact with ICSU-WDS and how they do that. (Within the next 6 months) Recognize opportunities for collaboration between WDS Members/partners and the Future Earth programme, and initiate and develop connections between them such that these opportunities can be seized. (Within the next 12 months) Engaging with Urban Health and Wellbeing programme Assist the programme in ascertaining its data needs, and at the same time identify overlaps and where ICSU-WDS can provide support and guidance. (Within the next 6 months) Strategic Target 2: Nurture active disciplinary and multidisciplinary scientific data services communities Actions a) Build bridges between data communities through workshops and fora, including the SciDataCon Conference co-organized with ICSU-CODATA. b) Foster better interaction among communities to increase awareness of others strategies. c) Document and disseminate strategies employed by successful communities/wds Members to i. Promote adherence to standards and conventions. ii. Accelerate the process of identifying commonalities. 4

5 d) Provide models of best practice to data communities as a tangible knowledge base for capacity building. Deliverables/Milestones Building bridges between communities Realize SciDataCon (Within the next 6 months) Fostering better interaction Realize the WDS Members Forum. (Within the next 6 months) Documenting and disseminating strategies Compile a review document of the current initiatives within a well-understood data community and their scope, the standards employed, and where gaps are seen for improvements and collaboration. (Within the next 18 months) Providing models of best practice Start the building of an online interactive visual development modelling tool, involving WDS Members across the sciences in a Working Group. Since many of this tool s aspects correspond to elements of accreditation/certification, and the differing levels of performance against those criteria, close collaboration with the Data Seal of Approval (DSA) WDS Partnership Certification Working Group should be sought to take it forward. (Within the next 6 months) Produce a journal paper on the development modelling tool. (Within the next 18 months) Strategic Target 3: Improve the funding environment for data services Actions a) Explore the funding opportunities available through various different public and private sources. Moreover, where possible, influence funders that will release calls specifically related to data activities. b) Promote the importance of producing and implementing data management plans to funding bodies and educate their reviewers. c) Supply business models as part of science funding. Cost compensation is needed for data management, and ICSU-WDS will provide concrete models/concepts to facilitate the funding of infrastructure. d) Support the data systems of developing countries. Deliverables/Milestones Exploring funding opportunities Work with the Belmont Forum e-infrastructure and Data Management activity to define work packages for a funding call to be released in (Within the next 6 months) 5

6 Promoting data management plans Determine those funding agencies that do not ask for a data management plan when submitting funding proposal such that these can be focussed upon. (Within the next 6 months) Lobby all funding agencies on the importance of ensuring that implementation of data management plans is not overlooked. (Within the next 18 months) Publicize the WDS Knowledge Network as a tool that can assist in improving the funding environment by identifying i. Infrastructure within the service landscape that might complement scientific projects. ii. Underdeveloped landscapes. iii. Requirements for new data services or the evolving of existing structures. (Ongoing) Supplying business models Prepare a document demonstrating to funders the saving that supporting data infrastructure would ultimately bring to them. (Within the next 12 months) Support the activities of the Data Publishing: Cost Recovery Working Group (details here). (Ongoing) Engage WDS Members in an initiative to improve the funding models of data services. (Within the next 12 months) Supporting developing countries Explore ways of limiting the cost for obtaining DOIs in developing countries through close collaboration with DataCite. This long-standing problem has been the subject of a CODATA Task Group studying reduction of costs to improve the data citation environment, and since its solution is unclear, ICSU-WDS will ask that Group to contribute the lessons learned. (Within the next 18 months Initiate contact with the CODATA Task Group within the next 3 months) Strategic Target 4: Improve the trust in, and quality of, open scientific data services Actions a) Expand WDS certification to increase trustworthiness in data services, and in turn, trust in shared data in collaboration with the DSA and RDA. b) Establish data publication as a trusted scientific data service and an integral part of the scholarly record and collaborate with organizations such as DataCite, ICSU-CODATA, and RDA. c) Foster the application of standards for data, metadata, and interoperability, which adds to the quality of services and data. Deliverables/Milestones 6

7 Expanding WDS certification Provide backing to the DSA WDS Partnership Working Group recently endorsed by RDA, which has the ultimate goal of creating a global accreditation framework (details here). (Ongoing) Use SciDataCon as an opportunity to both bring people together for a discussion on trust and to engage with domain and institutional repositories that currently are not WDS Members. (Within the next 6 months) Establishing data publication as trusted service Maintain support for the four WDS Data Publishing Working Groups that will make this service a reality (details here). (Ongoing) Fostering application of standards Continue to accredit new WDS Members, who must show evidence of employing international standards for metadata content and catalogue service protocols within the certification process. (Ongoing) Work with existing WDS Members to ensure that such standards are being employed in reality when aggregating their metadata through the WDS Metadata Catalogue. (Ongoing) Strategic Target 5: Position ICSU-WDS as the premium global multidisciplinary network for quality assessed data Actions a) Satisfy Strategic Targets 1 to 4. b) Broaden the disciplinary and geographical scope of ICSU-WDS. c) Increase levels of active communication and advocacy through maximizing the effectiveness of existing WDS tools. d) Publish high-impact articles (editorial/scholarly) outlining the concepts of ICSU-WDS or in response to other articles. e) Establish SciDataCon as a high-profile international conference on scientific research data in unison with ICSU-CODATA. Deliverables/Milestones Satisfying Targets 1 4 See individual Targets. (Assorted timeframes) Broadening WDS scope Identify gaps in WDS membership and use this to develop a recruitment strategy for adoption by the WDS International Programme Office. (Within the next 6 months) Increasing active communication and advocacy 7

8 Devise approaches to build-up the audiences of the WDS website, newsletter, webinar series, and social media outlets. (Within the next 3 months) Increase the current figures for the various communication outlets by an average of 10%. (Within the next 18 months) Publishing high-impact articles Study current trends in the scientific research data environment, as well as articles of importance in prominent journals, in order to i. Seek appropriate channels for ICSU-WDS to make known its concepts. ii. Recognize opportunities for ICSU-WDS to provide a response in line with its principles. (Ongoing) Publish at least two WDS-related articles in respected discipline-leading journals. (Within the next 12 months) Establishing SciDataCon as high-profile conference Use WDS Members and CODATA National Members as conduits to advertise SciDataCon. (Within the next 3 months) Outreach to communities/fields beyond those traditionally associated with the two organizations, in particular to industry and early career scientists, and pinpoint suitable individuals within those communities/fields to engage in the conference as keynotes and otherwise. (Within the next 3 months) Identify crosscutting topics for inclusion in SciDataCon that are of high relevance to the greater majority of scientific domains. (Within the next 3 months) 8

9 Summary of Deliverables/Milestones and Timeline 9

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