Data-driven innovation requires a foundation of infrastructure to support the sharing, access, use, re-use, analysis, and stewardship of digital data. Data infrastructure includes cyber-infrastructure tools for data discovery and analysis (and their underlying technical structures and components -- persistent digital identifiers, shared metadata frameworks, etc.), and social infrastructure in the form of community policy and organizational practice (harmonization of standards, approaches for data access and preservation, etc.). To address the growing global need for data infrastructure, the Research Data Alliance (RDA) was planned and launched in FY13 as an international community-driven organization. RDA's mission is to build the social, organizational, and technical infrastructure needed to reduce barriers to data sharing and exchange, and to accelerate data-driven innovation world-wide. In the wake of precipitous growth, RDA is now working to develop a stable support model for at least a five-year period. The RDA 2 project provides support for U.S. participation and leadership within the RDA, as well as strategic expansion of the U.S. community within RDA (RDA/U.S.). RDA 2 integrates a) strategic efforts and pilots to expand, diversify, and strengthen the RDA/U.S. community, and b) support for U.S. contributions to RDA operations and leadership, including U.S. participation in, and hosting of, RDA Plenaries. RDA/U.S. will be led by a Steering Committee consisting of Fran Berman, RPI (Chair), Beth Plale, IU, (Vice Chair, Technical Programs), Larry Lannom, CNRI, (Vice Chair, Outreach and Development) and Mark Parsons, RPI (Managing Director).
The RDA 2 project builds RDA through increasing U.S. engagement and leadership. RDA 2 builds RDA/U.S. through pilots in three strategic areas: Community Engagement and Outreach, Student and Early Career Engagement, and Adoption and Impact Amplification. The pilots are designed to expand and diversify RDA/U.S. data community, increase the impact of RDA deliverables in the U.S., and enhance the benefit of RDA for U.S. institutions, communities, businesses, and individuals. A strong RDA/U.S. can be a vehicle for accelerating U.S. innovation, and positioning the U.S. community for greater competitiveness and leadership. RDA/U.S. can contribute to the data infrastructure needed to make new U.S. policy approaches and initiatives work, and serve as a means of capitalizing
