[GSDI Legal Socioecon] Europe needs overall data strategy, says new paper

[Roger Longhorn]

FYI - on unlocking information resources.

Regards

Roger Longhorn
===============

Date2009-10-05

European scientists make use of increasingly large amounts of data 
derived from a wide variety of sources. This data, often coming from 
repositories across Europe, is used not just in checking experimental 
hypotheses, but also for supporting new hypotheses, novel research and 
spontaneous inspiration.

A coherent data strategy, though, is needed to ensure that Europe's 
research community does not fall behind internationally. Operating 
without one could significantly impact the competitiveness and 
cost-effectiveness of European research, according to a new White Paper 
'Strategy for a European Data Infrastructure' by the Partnership for 
Advanced Data in Europe (PARADE), whose members represent 23 European 
computing and research entities.

In the paper, PARADE notes that currently huge amounts of scientific 
data are stored in isolated local repositories or even on computer 
desktops. This poses a significant problem, hindering access to the data 
by other scientists and research institutions.

'Data can be equated with money that has value only if it is used and 
circulated,' state the paper's authors. 'As the different currencies can 
be stored in the globally interrelated bank infrastructures, we need 
persistent, highly available and compatible data infrastructures where 
data from various disciplines can be stored and fetched from.'

A number of new research infrastructures are being prepared in Europe, 
due to the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) 
roadmap first published in autumn 2006 and updated in December 2008. The 
report states that currently, there are an estimated 150 to 200 research 
infrastructures of variable size operating in Europe.

The White Paper, though, explains these data repositories are often 
either geographically restricted or limited to specific disciplines. In 
their place, it suggests a sustainable, seamlessly integrated, physical 
data infrastructure on a pan-European scale. This infrastructure would 
administer best practices and have common tools to serve multiple user 
communities. Ultimately, compatible data services and facilities can 
make a significant contribution to realising Europe's research potential.

'The challenges associated with data services on a large scale are a 
global issue,' write the authors of the paper. 'Noticeably [in] the USA 
and Japan, where the importance of data services infrastructure has been 
understood, multiple government initiatives have been launched. The 
global collaboration in research infrastructures, for example in 
particle physics or radio astronomy, shares data between researchers of 
different countries.'

The paper also proposes a governance structure where user communities, 
data service providers and funding bodies work closely together. 
According to the paper, linking stakeholders would enhance collaboration 
and result in increased synergy in the services offered to different 
user communities. It will also lead to improved trust among all 
stakeholders, an issue which PARADE considers to be important..

By meeting the demand for sustainable, multidisciplinary data services, 
says the White Paper, Europe will have an infrastructure flexible enough 
to deal with stakeholder requirements and needs of the future.

*Contact *person:*For* more information, please visit:
http://www.csc.fi/english/pages/parade

http://cordis.europa.eu/search/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.document&N_RCN=31321 
<http://cordis.europa.eu/search/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.document&N_RCN=31321>