U.S. National Committee for CODATA

National Academy Of Sciences, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The National Academy of Sciences will undertake a broad range of activities to generate advice for and provide information to the National Science Foundation and the U.S. scientific community regarding a wide range of issues dealing with the national and international management and exchange of data. These activities will include national and international conferences, symposia and workshops on data policy, management and exchange issues. The USNC will assure that U.S. interests in database issues are represented effectively in the CODATA Committee and other relevant fora. Data management and policy issues are at the forefront of those confronting the conduct of basic research at both the national and international level. In part as a result of series of legal decisions, many countries, including the United States, have adopted or are considering adopting legislation to assign a legal "right", akin to copyright, to those who generate databases. Such a right would enable those who generate databases to not distribute them, to sell them, to restrict their use, or to apply some combination of these restrictions. Basic research, which depends on the full and open exchange of scientific data, could be severely impacted if a new general "right" were not to provide for the full and open exchange of data for scientific purposes, especially basic research sources. The budgets of agencies which fund research might also be severely impacted if the scientists they sponsor were required to pay for all of the data they need from other sources, especially if the price were to include support for the full economic costs of acquisition of the data and possibly a profit as well. The USNC will also interact closely with its counterpart organizations in other countries, especially to transmit to them information regarding U.S. interests and concerns and will conduct outreach activities in the U.S. and abroad.