Some CNI-readers will recall a 2010 European Union report titled “Riding the Wave”that looked at high-level research data management issues. This week, the Knowledge Exchange, a 4-nation collaboration (Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) issed a response to this titled “A Surfboard for Riding the Wave — Towards a four country action programme on research data”. I attach full details from the Knowledge Exchange press release below. The report is at
http://www.knowledge-exchange.info/Default.aspx?ID=469
Clifford Lynch
Director, CNI
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PRESS RELEASE
15 November 2011
Action plan on making research data accessible
Knowledge Exchange publishes the report “A Surfboard for Riding the Wave – Towards a four country action programme on research data”
The report not only offers an overview of the present activities and challenges in the field of research data in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom but also outlines an action programme for the four countries in realising a collaborative data infrastructure. This report is a response to the Riding the Wave report which was published by the High Level Expert Group on Scientific Data. It was commissioned by the Knowledge Exchange Primary Research Data Working group and was written by Leo Waaijers and Maurits van der Graaff.
In the report four key drivers are addressed: incentives for researchers, training in relation to researchers in their role as data producers and users of information infrastructure, organisational and technical infrastructure and, finally, the funding of the infrastructure. The report offers recommendations for actions in each of these fields for the partners and others, not only in the four partner countries, but also beyond these borders.
Based on the overview of the present situation in the four Knowledge Exchange partner countries, the report formulates three long-term strategic goals:
1. Data sharing will be part of the academic culture
2. Data logistics will be an integral component of academic professional life
3. Data infrastructure will be sound, both operationally and financially.
Robert Madelin, the director general of Information Society and Media at the European Commission remarked on the report: “The report is a very timely input. The European Commission is working on the foundations for an Open Data Strategy for Europe which will be very soon communicated to EU Member States and the European Parliament. It is extremely useful to have with this report not only an overview of what is taking place in four European countries, but of possible actions for the future taking into account the importance of open data for the European economy and society.”
The report is presented today at the Knowledge Exchange workshop “Research Data Management – Activities and Challenges” in Bonn.
The report is available for download at:
http://www.knowledge-exchange.info/Default.aspx?ID=469