This effort will establish a central Data Coordination Office for the International Polar Year (IPY) to develop and promote the international relationships necessary to ensure accessibility, sharing, and long-term preservation of data produced by IPY projects. The IPY Data Coordination Office will work with the International Programme Office for IPY to establish a full-time, professional data and information unit that will actively track the research and education activities of IPY projects, so that all US projects are fully integrated into the international database of IPY activities. This will ensure the legacy of IPY by providing future generations with a relevant record of the projects and data of IPY. The IPY Data Coordination Office will build on existing national and international structures to ensure the effective tracking of IPY research and education activities. The purpose of the IPY Data Coordination Office is to serve the IPY objectives of interdisciplinary science, international coordination, building a legacy, and public engagement. This will require a rigorous yet collaborative approach because interdisciplinary science requires scientists to access and analyze data in fields where they are not experts; international coordination requires free and open exchange of data; the legacy requires that systems be robust and that information on IPY activities be well preserved; and public engagement requires making complex information readily understandable and usable by educators and others.
