RCN: Increasing the Impact of Research Data

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY

Investigators

Abstract

An international Data Web Forum (DWF) has been proposed [DWF] to promote cross-community coordination and development of global research data infrastructures with the goal of accelerating global data-driven research and innovation. The DWF will a) convene to coordinate, create, adapt, and identify community efforts and deliverables that facilitate greater research data discovery, sharing, exchange, and use, and b) bring DWF-vetted approaches and deliverables back to their stakeholder / member organizations, institutions, nations and communities for implementation and adoption. To support the efforts of the DWF and to ensure that it is a public organization, national non-commercial non-governmental structures (NGSs) are needed. The DWF proposes: the development, implementation, and adoption of shared approaches, practices, policies, standards and technologies that facilitate the international sharing and exchange of research data; The development, implementation, and adoption of a framework and appropriate tools for greater discoverability and usability of research data that can be used broadly; the creation and sharing of economic models for stewardship, management, and preservation of research data that support research practice and broad use and the development of analytics about the research data landscape that promote strategic planning and resource allocation, as well as informed policy and technology A successful DWF will be a locus for action and development of the global research data community. The U.S. NGS will work internationally to create, launch, and sustain the DWF as an effective community forum that lowers technical and other boundaries and facilitates cross-community data access, sharing, exchange and use; promotes the creation of a global marketplace for data services, tools, approaches, and enabling infrastructure; and raises awareness of the importance of research data as a driver for innovation.