‘intelligent openness’

The common objective of anRCUK data policy

Gregor McDonagh

grmc@nerc.ac.uk

RCUK data policy

Science as an open enterpriseSix key areas for action:

1. Scientists need to be more open among themselves and with the public and media

2. Greater recognition needs to be given to the value of data gathering, analysis and communication

3. Common standards for sharing information are required to make it widely usable

4. Publishing data in a reusable form to support findings must be mandatory

5. More experts in managing and supporting the use of digital data are required

6. New software tools need to be developed to analyse the growing amount of data being gathered

RCUK data policy

G8 Science Ministers, 12 June:

“We are committed to openness in scientific research data to speed up the progress of scientific discovery, create innovation, ensure that the results of scientific research are as widely available as practical, enable transparency in science and engage the public in the scientific process.”

RCUK data policy

G8 principles:

i.To the greatest extent and with the fewest constraints possible publicly funded scientific research data should be open, while at the same time respecting concerns in relation to privacy, safety, security and commercial interests, whilst acknowledging the legitimate concerns of private partners.

ii. Open scientific research data should be easily discoverable, accessible, assessable, intelligible, useable, and wherever possible interoperable to specific quality standards.

iii. To maximise the value that can be realised from data, the mechanisms for delivering open scientific research data should be efficient and cost effective, and consistent with the potential benefits.

iv. To ensure successful adoption by scientific communities, open scientific research data principles will need to be underpinned by an appropriate policy environment, including recognition of researchers fulfilling these principles, and appropriate digital infrastructure.

RCUK data policy

The seven principles:

1. OA to data a public good

2. data management practices

3. metadata for discoverability

4. constraints

5. privileged use/embargos

6. acknowledgement/citation

7. funding

RCUK data policy

Consensus between Councils:

1.Scrutiny of underlying data assures integrity of the scientific process

2.Reuse/repurposing offers new ways to combine data for inter-disciplinary or translational opportunities, ie supports fundamental research and generates new opportunities for impact

3. Data capture, labelling, archiving and access adds costs – need to be pragmatic about what is kept, where, for how long and with what accessibility

RCUK data policy

Variations in individual Council policies:

•Diverse terminology•Historic variation in curation practices by discipline•Data Management Plans mandated with proposals by all Councils but EPSRC (onus more on HEIs)

•ESRC and NERC have Dedicated Data Centres (active migration of formats; help with selectivity and application of metadata; on expectation of more reuse and repurposing)

RCUK data policy

Progress:

•Retaining 7 principles though seeking to take out repetition and overlap (cf G8 statements)

More thought going into:

•A common vocabulary•How to harmonise practices•Strengthening metadata standards•Sharing mechanisms during period of privileged use

RCUK data policy

Influenced byInternal Audit recommendations:

•establish definition for Scientific Data (software out treating separately)•develop data Assurance Framework•review data retention requirements (min 10 years)•what technical support can be offered to institutions

RCUK data policy

Influenced byCodata: a forum for international co-ordination on:

•Policy and institutional Frameworks for Data•Frontiers in Data Science and Technology•Data Strategies for International Science

RCUK data policy

Influenced byUK data archive: comparison of metadata standards

See http://data-archive.ac.uk/media/398085/rde_metadataprofile_public_02_00.pdf

Further information

1. Royal Society Report: Science as an open enterprisehttp://royalsociety.org/policy/projects/science-public-enterprise/report

2. G8 Science Ministers Statement, 12 June 2013https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206801/G8_Science_Meeting_Statement_12_June_2013.pdf

3. Royal Society Report: Science as an open enterprisehttp://royalsociety.org/policy/projects/science-public-enterprise/report/

4. RCUK Policy and Guidelines on Governance of Good Research Conduct http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/documents/reviews/grc/RCUKPolicyandGuidelinesonGovernanceofGoodResearchPracticeFebruary2013.pdf

5. Codata strategic plan 2013-2018www.codata.org/CODATA_Strategic_%20Plan_2013-2018.pdf

6. RCUK data policywww.rcuk.ac.uk/research/Pages/DataPolicy.aspx

1. NERC data policywww.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/policy.asp

2. UKDA comparison of data metadata standardshttp://data-archive.ac.uk/media/398085/rde_metadataprofile_public_02_00.pdf

9. NERC discovery metadata standardhttp://data-search.nerc.ac.uk/documents/metadatastandard_v1.0.pdf

10. NERC data value checklistwww.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/documents/data-value-checklist.pdf

RCUK data policy

The NERC data centres and their scientific disciplines are:

• British Atmospheric Data Centre (BADC) ‐ Atmospheric science• National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC) ‐ Earth sciences• NERC Earth Observation Data Centre (NEODC) ‐ Earth observation• British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) ‐ Marine Science• Polar Data Centre (PDC) ‐ Polar Science• Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC) ‐ Terrestrial & freshwater science, Hydrologyand Bioinformatics• UK Solar System Data Centre – Solar‐terrestrial physics• Archaeology Data Service (ADS)* ‐ Science‐based archaeology