The U.S. National Committee (USNC) for the international Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) of the International Council for Science (ICSU) will lead and coordinate participation by the U.S. scientific community in the work of CODATA. CODATA is concerned with all types of quantitative data resulting from experimental measurements or observations in the natural and social sciences and in the engineering disciplines.
The overall objectives of CODATA are to: improve the quality and accessibility of data, as well as the methods by which data are acquired, managed, and analyzed; facilitate international cooperation among those collecting, organizing, and using data; and promote an increased awareness in the scientific and technical community of the importance of these activities and issues.
The USNC/CODATA proposes to continue to advance these data management and policy objectives by organizing in-depth studies, national and international data conferences, bilateral symposia, federal data forums, Committee meetings at the National Academies, and related Web sites.
The USNC will also identify and suggest ways in which the rapidly changing technological capabilities for creating, manipulating, disseminating, and using digital scientific and technical (S&T) data can address new opportunities and challenges. The opportunities arise primarily in data-intensive research and applications, in the integration of heterogeneous data for new results, and in making vast amounts of factual information available for a broad spectrum of users. The inherent challenges are in effectively managing these data resources for optimal access and use, and for developing the appropriate policies and institutional models.
The Committee will: coordinate its activities within the National Academies with other data and information technology groups; build on its established relationships with federal and academic data centers, and professional organizations and experts in the United States; and promote U.S. data policies and practices internationally through its many contacts with foreign and intergovernmental scientific umbrella organizations and data activities.
by Paul F. Uhlir, Principal Investigator The digital revolution has created new opportunities in the management and use of all types of research (and other) data and information. Most areas of scientific research are now data-driven and this has produced a broad range of quantitative and qualitative improvements in the research enterprise. The communication of research results in myriad forms, both formal and informal, has also increased and improved. Moreover, the day-to-day practices of the established fields of science and engineering are changing in response to the emergence of new computer- and network-based modes of communication and collaboration. While the technical systems in the digitally networked environment are progressing rapidly, the social systems are far from rationalized and have not made a similarly effective transformation from the print to the digital paradigms. The rapid rate of technological change also has created many challenges in the effective and efficient exploitation of those digital research resources. Many of the organizational and legal models from the print era have been transferred to the digital network context without adjusting sufficiently for the qualitatively different research capabilities online. New models of scholarly exchange and knowledge production are emerging, but they are still poorly understood or not fully established and utilized. Although automated knowledge production and diffusion promise radical improvements to our capacity to extract, integrate, and exploit new knowledge from the vast stores of available digital data and information, many roadblocks remain. At the same time, old endemic problems such as quality assurance, metadata and citation protocols, long-term digital preservation, reputation and reward systems, and assessment methodologies for research data and information activities not only have not been addressed successfully in many cases, but new dimensions and concerns have been added by emerging technologies and applications. Both the policies and practices associated with deriving greater returns from the investments in digital knowledge resources, especially online, require sustained focus, analysis, and advice. The federal agencies together make public investments of many billions of dollars per year in producing or externally funding the generation of huge and diverse data streams as inputs into the research enterprise. They similarly produce or fund the creation of ever-increasing volumes of scientific information—both peer-reviewed and gray literature—that embodies the results of much of the research output. As the nation’s stewards or funders of these digital research assets, they have a major stake in continually improving their management, policies, and utilization. However, the investments and policies for managing, preserving, disseminating, and reusing the data and information resources are lagging and are generally perceived to be inadequate. Many unresolved issues arise at the different levels of the research system in this regard, affecting established research strategies and priorities. They involve not just scientific and technical elements, but institutional, economic, legal, and socio-cultural aspects. The most pervasive dysfunctions occur at the interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, and international levels, and in public-private partnerships. The problems in successfully forging relationships for managing and using digital knowledge resources can have significant negative effects, such as structural inefficiencies and lost opportunity costs, on our national research and innovation systems, economic competitiveness, and the greater social welfare. Because research data and information are of great importance to the progress of science and the nation’s competitiveness in the knowledge-based economy, these issues need to be well understood by the various stakeholders in our nation’s research enterprise, including the research communities in government, academia, and industry, research policymakers and managers in the Administration and Congress, and ultimately the public that both supports these activities and the benefits from their improved effectiveness. Acting through the NRC, the U.S. National Committee for CODATA (since 2009 under the Board on Research Data and Information) provides an interdisciplinary mechanism and focal point for bringing greater understanding and visibility to these issues, for adding value to the sponsors’ objectives and priorities in these areas, and for helping to improve returns on the public investments of federal agencies. This committee therefore focused on activities in the following four areas: 1. United States Leadership in International Scientific and Technical Data Programs. 2. Progress on Multidisciplinary Data Management Issues and Projects. 3. Science Community Involvement in the Development and Implementation of Balanced Intellectual Property Rights and Government Data Policies. 4. Greater Service to U.S. Federal Data Programs. Detailed information about all the projects accomplished by the U.S. National Committee for CODATA may be obtained at www.nas.edu/brdi
