An International Workshop EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS. Editors: William Anderson Paul Uhlir Robyn Arnold. 5 7 September 2005

Transcription

1 : Fcus n Health and Envirnmental Infrmatin fr Sustainable Develpment An Internatinal Wrkshp EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Editrs: William Andersn Paul Uhlir Rbyn Arnld 5 7 September 2005 CSIR Cnventin Centre, Pretria, Suth Africa Jintly rganised by: CODATA Task Grup n the Preservatin f and Access t S&T Data in Develping Cuntries and Suth African Natinal Cmmittee fr CODATA and United States Natinal Cmmittee fr CODATA and with supprt f Suth African Natinal Research Fundatin Publicatin date: April 17, 2006

2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A wrkshp f CODATA s calibre requires a cncerted effrt frm a number f partners fr it t be successful. The Natinal Research Fundatin wuld like t heartily thank all ur partners and spnsrs wh generusly prvided material and financial supprt fr the wrkshp. These valuable partners are: The Internatinal Develpment Research Centre (IDRC), Canada The Suth African Department f Science and Technlgy (DST) Statistics Suth Africa (StatsSA) Internatinal Cuncil fr Science, Reginal Office fr Africa (ICSU) Cmmittee fr Data n Science and Technlgy (CODATA) Internatinal Netwrk fr the Availability f Scientific Publicatins (INASP) Open Sciety Institute (OSI) US Natinal Institutes f Health (NIH) US Natinal Science Fundatin (NSF) US Natinal Weather Service The Natinal Academies, US Chinese Assciatin fr Science and Technlgy Suth African Natinal Research Fundatin (NRF) Setkar and Distell fr a generus dnatin f refreshments fr scial events. This wrk was carried ut with the aid f a grant frm the Internatinal Develpment Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada. We wuld als like t acknwledge the cntributin f sessin rapprteurs in writing the sectins that reprt n their sessins: Mr LeRy Charles, Gerge Washingtn University, United States Sessin 7.1a: Health and Bimedical Data and Infrmatin Dr William Andersn, Praxis101, United States Sessin 7.2a: Earth and Envirnmental Data and Infrmatin Mr Paul Uhlir, US Natinal Academies, United States Sessin 7.3a: Bidiversity Data and Infrmatin Mr Ry Page Shipp, SARIS Sessin 7.4a: Scientific, Technical and Medical Jurnals. We are als indebted t members f the Suth African Natinal Cmmittee fr CODATA under the leadership f Prf. Steve Rssuw. We wish t thank Prf. Liu Chuang, C chair f the CODATA Task Grup, fr facilitating Asian participatin. The unwavering supprt and guidance f ur Nrth American partners: Dr Fraser Taylr, Dr William Andersn, Paul Uhlir and Amy Franklin, is als deeply appreciated. Their critical inputs and guidance thrughut the entire planning and executin f the wrkshp prvided valuable insights. We wuld als like t acknwledge the cntributins made by Ms Henda van der Berg f the Natinal Research Fundatin, wh was respnsible fr verseeing all lgistical arrangements fr the wrkshp. Finally, we wuld like t thank all ur reginal and internatinal speakers wh travelled t Suth Africa t share their experiences with their peers. Withut their wellresearched papers and participatin, the wrkshp bjectives wuld nt have been met. Dr Eddy Maepa Lcal Organising Cmmittee NRF Prf. Steve Rssuw Chair: SANC CODATA Dr William Andersn Prf. Liu Chuang C Chairs: CODATA Preservatin Task Grup Wrkshp reprt: 5 7 September 2005 ii

3 Digital resurces will nt survive r remain accessible by accident. Bernard Smith, Eurpean Cmmissin, ICSTI/ICSU/CODATA Digital Preservatin Wrkshp, 15 February 2002, Paris, France INTRODUCTION The Cmmittee n Data fr Science and Technlgy (CODATA) wrkshp n Strategies fr Permanent Access t Scientific Infrmatin in Suthern Africa is ne f a series f wrkshps n the preservatin f and access t scientific data and infrmatin in develping cuntries. The initial wrkshp was rganised by CODATA and the Natinal Research Fundatin (NRF) and held in Pretria in This was fllwed by wrkshps in Brazil and China. The 2002 wrkshp had a limited fcus, aimed at addressing scientific data and infrmatin management t advance research. In additin t effective data and infrmatin management and access challenges, the 2005 wrkshp n Strategies fr Permanent Access t Scientific Infrmatin in Suthern Africa fcused n issues related t sustainable develpment, which is a primary cncern fr the Suthern African Develpment Cmmunity (SADC) regin and Africa as a whle. The theme f the series f wrkshps was premised n the visin f the Wrld Summit n Sustainable Develpment (WSSD), held in Suth Africa in 2002, as well as n declaratins f the Wrld Summit n the Infrmatin Sciety (WSIS) in Geneva in 2003, with the aim f addressing sme f the develpmental issues raised at bth summits. T this end, the fcus f this wrkshp was n health and envirnmental infrmatin fr sustainable develpment. The wrkshp was attended by nearly 100 peple and included representatives frm eight f the furteen SADC cuntries, Asia, Eurpe and the United States. The excellent meeting venue and the extensive interactins amng the participants generated discussin f many issues and suggestins fr slving individual and lcal challenges. The wrkshp als prvided a valuable pprtunity t renew and initiate persnal cntacts. WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES AND REPORT The wrkshp, described mre fully at had the fllwing bjectives: 1. Review the current status f practices fr sharing and archiving scientific infrmatin resurces related t sustainable develpment in the SADC regin, with specific reference t health and bimedical data, earth and envirnmental science data, and scientific, technical and medical literature. 2. Identify and discuss scientific, legal and plicy, institutinal and ecnmic, and management and technical factrs relevant t prviding permanent access t digital scientific infrmatin resurces. Examine different mdels, and their benefits and shrtcmings in the SADC regin, drawing n examples f related digital archiving and access regimes. 3. Identify fllw up activities that can be taken t imprve access and preservatin fr the majr types f digital scientific infrmatin resurces discussed. 4. Prvide a netwrking pprtunity fr wrkshp participants acrss discipline, institutinal and natinal bundaries. The frmat f the wrkshp reprt is based n the fllwing set f questins that were used as the fcus fr each wrkshp sessin: What are the challenges and barriers? What are the existing resurces and mechanisms? What are sme ptential realistic prjects r cllabratins t help address the challenges and barriers that have been identified? Hw can the new r imprved initiatives specifically be implemented? Wrkshp reprt: 5 7 September

4 The full wrkshp reprt cntains summaries f many f the presentatins as well as a list f the recmmendatins that arse during discussins and the breakut sessins. The recmmendatins are included in this executive summary. The individual presentatins are available nline at RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WORKSHOP The wrkshp frum and structure enabled participants t (1) share infrmatin abut reginal cnditins and prjects, and (2) generate recmmendatins fr practical shrt term actins and lnger term strategic pssibilities. Many f these actins and pprtunities are captured in these recmmendatins. The recmmendatins generated discipline specific actins as well as brader and lngerterm actins. The recmmendatins are directed at tw primary audiences. One audience includes the scientific cmmittees, agencies and funding rganisatins in the SADC regin. These institutins and their members and scial netwrks are mst able t effect lcal changes and t fllw up n the recmmendatins. A secnd audience includes internatinal rganisatins such as the United Natins, ICSU, CODATA and thers. These rganisatins can help facilitate the brader bjectives. The recmmendatins f the wrkshp shuld als be viewed in the cntext f the nging implementatin f the bjectives f the CODATA Task Grup n Preservatin f and Access t Scientific and Technical Data in Develping Cuntries; namely, t prvide: A bridging rle in reducing the digital divide in the management and use f scientific and technical data, in cllabratin with CODATA natinal cmmittees, ICSU bdies and relevant reginal and internatinal rganisatins. A partner rle by participating in jint activities, such as wrkshps, meetings and training prgrammes. The Task Grup will cntinue t encurage its members t be mre actively invlved in jint activities. An utreach rle in develping the Task Grup s Web site, publicatins and infrmatin netwrk and making them mre timely and effective. A leading rle in identifying new issues and challenges in scientific and technical data in develping cuntries, and in rganising a cuntry series f internatinal wrkshps t establish utreach and rganisatinal netwrks that can help slve the prblems f the infrmatin sciety in develping cuntries. As wrkshp cnveners and supprters, CODATA and ICSU are seen as tw rganisatins that can help prmte and facilitate slutins t the many challenges raised regarding permanent access t scientific resurces. Several key messages fr these rganisatins were expressed by participants and are presented here. Wrkshp participants and rganisers realise that while CODATA and ICSU have internatinal visibility, these rganisatins are primarily facilitatrs f actin, and netwrking resurces. The wrk f reslving prblems and addressing issues remains, fr the mst part, with reginal institutins and research cmmunities. CODATA and ICSU: Organisatinal recmmendatins Wrkshp participants lk t CODATA and ICSU fr leadership n issues that span discipline and reginal bundaries thrugh the wrk f its Task Grups. The publicatin f the ICSU Pririty Area Assessment n Data and Infrmatin 1 and the establishment f an ICSU Reginal Office fr Africa generated several rganisatin level recmmendatins. The fllwing suggestins are directed t these grups t help infrm their activities: ICSU shuld wrk with CODATA t develp a lng term, crdinated framewrk fr data and infrmatin plicies, practices and infrastructure. 1 Wrkshp reprt: 5 7 September

5 The Suth African Natinal Cmmittee fr CODATA is an ICSU presence in suthern Africa, which shuld cntribute t the executin f the ICSU strategic plan fr cncerning data and infrmatin. It may be useful fr ICSU t have a scientific advisry cmmittee that understands archiving and preservatin prblems and prvides advice n decisin making related t the time perids fr which different datasets shuld be preserved. CODATA culd play an influential rle in this regard. CODATA and ICSU shuld address the sharing and imprved access f data acrss natinal bundaries. SADC reginal initiatives are imprtant and shuld be represented in ICSU discussins n plicy fr standardising metadata r develping cmmn practices fr data management and preservatin. CODATA membership shuld be prmted. Only fur CODATA natinal cmmittees exist n the African cntinent. CODATA shuld establish a reginal cmmittee t wrk with the ICSU Reginal Office n utreach and recruitment f African CODATA members. Scientific and technical (S&T) data and infrmatin plicy CODATA utputs shuld include examples f natinal plicies that establish the recrd keeping plicies f varius natins such as the USA, United Kingdm and Australia. This culd help infrm the Suth African Natinal Archives Act, which currently makes n mentin f the mandatry cllectin and preservatin f S&T data and infrmatin, but refers nly t public administrative recrds. Invlve gvernment representatives in frums rganised by CODATA: Ensure that wrkshp bjectives describe cnvincing scenaris abut the imprtance f science and technlgy, at the apprpriate audience level, and cnvey cre data requirements and issues. Encurage funding agencies such as the Suth African Natinal Research Fundatin t prmte research n the preservatin f digital bjects as a majr pririty. Data sharing: the CODATA Task Grup shuld cnsider a majr actin that it can implement in the next few years (invlving ICSU, NEPAD, the African Unin and the Pan African Cuncil) with respect t gvernance and regulatin f scientific data (fr example, t advance the attainment f the Millennium Develpment Gals). Develp partnerships: CODATA shuld cnsider seeking a frmal liaisn, r cntributr status, in TWNSO. Investigate the pssibility f a CODATA cntributin t data crdinatin amng the many ministries invlved in implementing the Indigenus Knwledge Plicy in Suth Africa, and generally encurage such crdinatin amng thse ministries. General wrkshp recmmendatins The fllwing recmmendatins are nt directed specifically at CODATA and ICSU, but rather t the brader S&T plicy, funding, and research management cmmunities. They arse frm several f the plenary discussins and are mre general than the discipline specific suggestins. Data sharing Raise awareness f S&T data and infrmatin preservatin, access and sharing successes and challenges: Prmte awareness f data issues in ministries and universities. Fllw up with the participants in this wrkshp t cntinue further dialgue. Identify reginal cnferences and wrkshps at which the results f this wrkshp can be presented. Take the cnversatin t thers. Cntinue t describe and prmte wrkable mdels fr sustainable pen access. Fster the develpment f a list f cre datasets f wh hlds what data. This wuld facilitate data sharing. The NASA Glbal Change Master Directry is an example f such a directry and a pssible mdel fr actin. Leveraging the emerging Glbal Earth Observatin System f Systems (GEOSS) initiative is ne such pprtunity. Wrkshp reprt: 5 7 September

6 Training and develpment f gd practices: Create a Data Management Academy, building n the presentatins and discussin frm the wrkshp, t develp and prvide training fr researchers, managers and gvernment fficials abut data management and sharing peratins and plicy develpment and implementatin. Specifically: Cnsider a phased implementatin f a virtual academy nline; Investigate implementing a tl such as Ask an Archivist that can field questins; and Develp nline training materials. Specific data issues Data quality: Dcument existing reginal data quality initiatives with respect t varius disciplines. Develp a metadata inventry f infrmatin resurces t identify gaps and crss link pprtunities. D nt limit disseminatin f this infrmatin nly t nline mdes. Sci ecnmic data: Sci ecnmic data tend t be neglected. Encurage GEOSS/SAEOS t include sci ecnmic data. Indigenus knwledge data: Prmte the recrding and translating f ral histry data. Measures f data value: Spnsr a study f S&T data in jepardy f lss as a result f factrs such as bslescence, neglect r lack f funding. Create measures f value fr data preservatin and sharing. Discipline specific recmmendatins The wrkshp included fur break away sessins t explre discipline specific issues and t generate fcused recmmendatins. Thse recmmendatins are summarised belw and identify pprtunities fr actin by individuals and institutins. Sme f these recmmendatins are related t the larger, rganisatinal nes listed abve. Bimedical data and infrmatin Actin recmmendatins in this area fall under tw brad headings, rganising cllectins f bimedical data and establishing practices that supprt data preservatin plicies. Organisatin f bimedical data and infrmatin cllectins will be facilitated by the fllwing actins: Establish health surveillance mechanisms in individual cuntries, in the way that Centers fr Disease Cntrl (CDC) cllects, recrds and analyses health and disease data in the United States. Establish health infrmatin systems at the natinal level first, and then integrate them internatinally. It needs t be recgnised that many bimedical data are cllected and stred in paper frm held by individuals and small rganisatins. A standard language is required fr data sharing; micrbilgy culture cllectins are just ne example f the need. These standards need t be established and maintained lcally, but be able t wrk reginally and glbally. Supprt fr training and establishing these standards is essential. Establishing bimedical data cllectins and their preservatin plicies and practices will be facilitated by the fllwing actins: Develp a cmpendium nline f the kinds f bimedical infrmatin being cllected in SADC cuntries and their surces, s that peple knw where t lk. Cllect bimedical infrmatin frm traditinal healers; leverage their cntact with peple and their knwledge f Africa s bidiversity and its use during the past. Mre specifically, fllw up n Zambia s effrts t recruit smene t manage data frm traditinal healers (e.g., share prject stries). Wrkshp reprt: 5 7 September

7 Bidiversity data and infrmatin Actins with respect t bidiversity data and infrmatin recmmendatins fall int three brad categries. Imprving data quality: Develpment and brad implementatin f data cleaning tls (fr example, see the 2005 Glbal Bidiversity Infrmatin Facility [GBIF] reprt n this tpic). Training t imprve data management and related applicatins: Create nline training material. US Natinal Science Fundatin s Science Envirnment fr Eclgical Knwledge (SEEK) training mdules may be useful and culd be fcused n develping cuntry practitiners and users. Training wrkshps by GBIF, the Lng Term Eclgical Research (LTER) prgram, ODINAfrica (funded by Belgium), and ther rganisatins shuld be investigated. Sharing and linking many kinds f primary data resurces (species, specimen and mlecular bilgy) with ther related data and infrmatin will imprve research and applicatins. Demnstratin prjects shw the value f bidiversity and eclgical databases and research at the lcal and reginal levels t help stimulate greater appreciatin f such wrk by decisin makers and funding surces. Bidiversity and ecsystem data must be crdinated with the GEOSS initiative in Suth Africa and the Marine Science Remte Sensing Data Centre in Suth Africa. Federatins f culture cllectins are rganised in ther regins, but such a federatin is needed fr the SADC regin. Cllabrative research prjects and prgrammes will help. The African Ocean Bilgical Infrmatin System reginal grup is hsted by the Suthern African Data Centre fr Oceangraphy. This prgramme is nw being initiated and needs t be crdinated with ther existing databases and research institutins and activities. Funding ends in September 2006, hwever. A metadata inventry f infrmatin resurces t identify gaps and crss link pprtunities is being develped by SAEON. Establishing and nurturing scial netwrks Make effrts t bring African scientists t upcming meetings n bidiversity and assciated tpics, fr example: The GBIF Gverning Bard meeting in Cape Twn, April Assciated meetings n the barcde f life prject. New JRS Fundatin t bring African scientists tgether n bidiversity infrmatics, educatin and funding initiatives fr develping cuntries. Prmting pen access funding plicies GBIF is develping plicy statements fr funding agencies that require data sharing and maintenance plans, similar t the Internatinal Lng Term Eclgical Research prgramme s data plicy mdel. Varius scientific infrmatin cmmns initiatives are being established wrldwide, including sme specific t the area f cnservatin cmmns. The Suthern African Millennium Assessment ( ) prvides an avenue t prmte this wrk in the SADC regin. Earth and envirnmental data and infrmatin The earth and envirnmental data and infrmatin discussins yielded actins in fur areas. Sme actins are fr individual and small institutinal actins, whereas ther actins are best supprted by larger, mre glbal rganisatins. Build scial netwrks: this requires being persnally practive, but des nt cst much (fr example, establish an e mail circulatin list amng the wrkshp participants). Wrkshp reprt: 5 7 September

8 Establish practicable data sharing practices (ne majr issue is that data are nt shared adequately, and als may nt be easy t share): Practise what we preach t ur gvernments in ur individual actins: Facilitate data sharing amng clleagues and data rganisatins. Data prducing rganisatins need t reward peple fr creating and sharing data. Be transparent by sharing data, sliciting feedback and transferring knwledge and learning. List what data are available: identify the datasets that exist in the regin and build a database f databases t serve as an nline directry f data. The Namibian prject (presented in Sessin 7.2A) that canvassed data hlders is a pssible mdel fr this wrk. Identify cre datasets in the regin and dcument their cnsistency and quality. Suth Africa used t have a database f envirnmental data, but it has nt been maintained. It is prpsed that the NRF revive this activity fr Suth Africa, and it culd perhaps ultimately grw int a SADC activity. Establish a SADC CODATA wrking grup fr this activity. Make data plicies explicit and available. NEPAD and SADC structures can be used t wrk n revisiting sharing regulatins. Align data sharing prjects with existing reginal rganisatins (avid establishing new rganisatins wherever practicable). Data management training: presentatins and discussins at the wrkshp highlighted needs fr capacity and cmpetency building, fr bth develping and develped cuntries and regins. The shared needs can prmte cllabratin. Influence plicy decisins that are implemented by plicy makers. Develp cnvincing examples abut current data preservatin and access cnditins and the imprtance f these t science and technlgy. These examples need t be crafted t aid understanding in the target audience and t cnvey cre data requirements and issues. Use the scientific methd t estimate scientific capacity and cmpetence under different plicies (fr example, clsed versus pen access). Leverage the capabilities f internatinal participants in the wrkshp t find drs int areas that can be changed. CODATA and ICSU have member netwrks that can be cnsulted. Scientific, technical and medical jurnal infrmatin The fllwing kinds f actins shuld be taken with regard t scientific, technical and medical (STM) jurnals: Establish and implement plicy interventins by research funders (including gvernments and institutins) that: Mandate that schlars make pre prints and e prints f their research available via an pen access medium. Mandate lng term curatin f research utputs, bth in the interests f the individual researchers wh prduce the articles, but als in recgnitin f the shared character f the glbal research enterprise. Prmte the value f pen access appraches t the research funding bdies by: Invlving researchers and managers in describing the real challenges as well as slutins (using available lcal success stries). Establishing training prgrammes fr researchers and fr jurnal funders and prducers. Wrkshp reprt: 5 7 September

9 Create high quality reginal infrmatin repsitry facilities where individual publicatins, r the utput f small subgrups f scientists, can be cst effectively preserved, and penly available. This will supprt the digitisatin f mre African material. Prmte the establishment f pen institutinal repsitries. Include natinal repsitries t archive natinal heritage items and prvide qualitycntrl functins such as selectin, appraisal and retentin. Wrkshp reprt: 5 7 September