International Council for Science : Committee on Data for Science and Technology

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C O D A T A

Highlights from CODATA, 2007

Dear Friends,

As 2007 comes to an end, I would like to highlight some of the major CODATA activities carried out this year . As you read this message please keep in mind that none of these activities could have taken place were it not for the financial support we have received from our National Members and Supporting Organizations and the scientific input we receive from the scientific data community world wide. 

CODATA is fully aware that a lot of our work is thanks to the time and effort contributed by so many people within its network to our activities for which they receive no remuneration whatsoever. So let me begin by saying: Thank you!

CODATA proposes guidelines for implementing the GEOSS Data Sharing Principles

In 2006, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), established Task DA-06-01, “Furthering the Practical Application of the Agreed GEOSS Data Sharing Principles,” and invited GEO Members and Participating Organizations to help implement the task. CODATA, working through ICSU, agreed to lead this task and held an experts workshop on this topic in conjunction with the 2006 CODATA Conference (see http://www.codata.org/GEOSS/index.html). In 2007, CODATA established an international team of authors and reviewers to develop a white paper on implementation guidelines for the GEOSS Data Sharing Principles. The draft white paper is one of the working documents at the fourth GEO Plenary in November in Cape Town , South Africa . CODATA organized a side event at the Summit on this issue and is helping to highlight the importance of full and open access to data at the GEO-IV Plenary and Ministerial Summit.

A special thanks should go to the team of authors who worked on a voluntary basis to bring this document together. The team was headed by Paul F. Uhlir of the National Academy of Sciences http://www.codata.org/codata02/bios/bio-uhlir.htm

CODATA helps to form COMMUNIA, a European Thematic Network

Working back through the year, in November CODATA signed a European Thematic Network Agreement with the Politecnico of Turin, Italy on the “Public Domain in the Digital Age.” This 36-partner project, known as COMMUNIA, aims to build a network of organizations to become the single European point of reference for high-level policy discussion and strategic action for all issues relating to the public domain in the digital environment. COMMUNIA is funded for 3 years at a level of 1 million Euros from the European Commission. CODATA activities with COMMUNIA will be led by a small European Working Group CODATA appointed. Chair: Paul A. David.  http://www.codata.org/paul-david.htmlMembers: Tom Dedeurwaerdere http://perso.cpdr.ucl.ac.be/dedeurwaerdere/ Jean Michel Dalle. http://www.codata.org/archives/2005/UNESCOmtg/bio-dalle.html Aldo Geuna http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/prff0/mainpages/home.html

CODATA hosts Workshop in Paris in collaboration with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Science Commons

In September 2007, CODATA, in collaboration with GBIF and Science Commons , hosted a meeting at the Sorbonne Paris on common use licensing of scientific data products. Although the application of common-use licenses to copyrighted works is well established, there is substantial uncertainty about the applicability of such licenses to various types of data, data sets, and databases, which may lack sufficient creativity to be automatically protected by copyright. The purpose of the meeting was to explore the possibilities of creating a type of license agreement that could be applicable to data products. Paul F. Uhlir was also responsible for bringing this meeting together.

CODATA New Member

The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) became a union member.

CODATA Task Groups

The Task Group on Preservation of and Access to Scientific and Technical Data in Developing Countries organized a major workshop in Brazil in May. See http://www.cria.org.br/eventos/codata2007/.

The Task Group on Data Sources for Sustainable Development in SADC Countries held its first meeting jointly with the Preservation Task Group in Pretoria , South Africa on 16-17 May.

In March, the Task Group on Fundamental Constants released the 2006 version of the CODATA internationally recommended values of the fundamental physical constants. See: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Constants/index.html

The Task Group on International Polar Year Data Policy and Management held its first meeting in conjunction with the launch of the IPY in Paris . A second meeting took place in Quebec this fall.

The Task Group on Anthropometric Data and Engineering met in Banff , Canada in August. The full program can be seen at http://ovrt.nist.gov/projects/wear.

The Task Group on Data Sources in Asian-Oceanic Countries (DSAO) is meeting in Beijing on 4-5 December.

CODATA General Publications

CODATA Newsletter No 93, http://www.codata.org/resources/newsletters/newsltr93A4.pdf
CODATA News letter No 94, http://www.codata.org/resources/newsletters/newsltr94A4.pdf
CODATA 2006 Conference Presentations, http://www.codata.org/06conf/index.html

CODATA Publications with Springer

System Analysis: Theory and Application
M.Z. Zgurovsky and N.D Pankratova

Data Processing in Precise Time and Frequency Application
Michel Desaintfuscien, Professor of University Paris X, Orsay

CODATA Data Science Journal

Under the editorial guidance of John Rumble and his colleague Diane Smith and the diligent governance of Takashi Kunisawa and his Japanese colleagues, the Data Science Journal team has been very active. To consult all papers published in 2007, please see http://www.codata.org/dsj/index.html/.

CODATA Executive Committee

Prof. Paul A. David of Oxford and Stanford Universities has been appointed as a co-opted member of the CODATA Executive Committee. Prof. David is leading CODATA’s efforts to develop a European node of the Global Information Commons for Science Initiative (GICSI), a key element of CODATA’s Strategic Plan.

Examples of CODATA Outreach

CODATA participated in the launch of the Global Alliance for Enhancing Access to and Application of Scientific Data in Developing Countries (e-SDDC) on 7 May in Sao Paolo , Brazil . e-SDDC is an initiative of the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID). See: http://www.un-gaid.org/en/node/237 .

CODATA was a sponsor of the annual meeting of the International Association for Social Science Information Service & Technology (IASSIST) in Montreal in May, which focused on the theme of “Building Global Knowledge Communities with Open Data.”  See http://www.edrs.mcgill.ca/IASSIST2007/index.htm).

CODATA sponsored two representatives to participate in the ICSU Young Scientists meeting in Lindau , Germany earlier this year. See: http://www.icsu.org/10_icsu75/PDF/ICSU_YS_conf_description.pdf).

Other CODATA Recognition

CODATA President Dr. Krishan Lal was presented with the “S.K. Mitra Birth Centenary Award” by the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, in January, honoring his significant and lifetime contribution to the development of Science and Technology in India .

21 st International CODATA Conference, Kyiv, 5-8 October 2008

Preparations are well under way for the 21 st CODATA Conference, which will be held in Kyiv 5-8 October 2008. http://www.codata.org/08conf/index.html The Call for Papers and Call for Session Organizers can be found at:  http://www.codata.org/08conf/callforpapers.html and http://www.codata.org/08conf/callforsessionorganizers.html

A Call for Young Scientists participation can be found on http://www.codata.org/08conf/callforpapers-youngsci.html

CODATA Prize Nominations

Call for CODATA Prize Nominations deadline is 4th February 2008 .

CODATA Call for New Task Groups 2008-2010

A reminder concerning the CODATA Call for Applications for New CODATA Task Groups for the period 2008- 2010. Please note that the deadline for receipt of applications is the 31 st of January 2008 .

Finally-CODATA moves Headquarters with ICSU

The International CODATA Secretariat moved, along with the secretariats of ICSU and the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), to a new location in Paris , 5 rue Auguste Vacquerie, near the Arc de Triomphe.

The above highlights some of our activities over the last year. More detailed information may be found on our website http://www.codata.org. I wish each of you the very best for the season and best wishes for 2008.

CODATA Secretariat , December 2007