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The Research Data Alliance: Making Data Work

Mark A. ParsonsRensselaer Polytechnic Institute

ESIP Summer Meeting12 July 2013

All of society’s grand challenges require diverse (often large) data to to be shared and integrated across cultures, scales, and technologies.

Research Data Alliance

VisionResearchers around the world sharing and using research data without barriers.

Purposeto accelerate international

data-driven innovation and discovery by facilitating research data

sharing and exchange,use and re-use, standards harmonization, and discoverability.

through the development and adoption of infrastructure, policy, practice, standards, and other deliverables.

We need to start thinking about software in a way more like how we think about building bridges, dams, and sewers

– Dan Bricklin, Software That Lasts 200 Years

Dynamics  of  InfrastructureEdwards,  et  al.  2007  Understanding  Infrastructure:  Dynamics,  Tensions,  and  Design.  

• Infrastructures  become  “ubiquitous,  accessible,  reliable,  and  transparent”  as  they  mature.  • Staged  evolu@on–“system-­‐building,  characterized  by  the  deliberate  and  successful  design  of  technology-­‐based  services.”  –“technology  transfer  across  domains  and  loca@ons  results  in  varia@ons  on  the  original  design,  as  well  as  the  emergence  of  compe@ng  systems.”–Finally,  “a  process  of  consolida@on  characterized  by  gateways  that  allow  dissimilar  systems  to  be  linked  into  networks.”  

Ecology of Infrastructure Figure derived from F. Millerand based on S. L. Star & K. Ruhleder (1996)

When is infrastructure?

When is infrastructure?

Who is infrastructure?

Deliverables that make data work

“Create - Adopt - Use”

• Adopted code, policy, infrastructure, standards, or best practices that enable data sharing

• “Harvestable” efforts for which 12-18 months of work can eliminate a roadblock

• Efforts that have substantive applicability to groups within the data community, but may not apply to all

• Efforts for which working scientists and researchers can start today

RDA PrinciplesOpennessConsensus

BalanceHarmonization

Community Driven Non-profit

RDA Organizational Framework

Positive deviance says that if you want to create change, you must scale it down to the lowest level of granularity and look for people within the social system who are already manifesting the desired

future state. Take only the arrows that are already pointing toward the way you want to go, and ignore the others. Identify and

differentiate those people who are headed in the right direction. Give them visibility and resources. Bring them together. Aggregate them.

Barbara Waugh

Leadership Model: Positive Deviance

Slide courtesy Ted Habermann, NOAA

Fran Berman

Current Status: RDA Community = > 700 participants from 44+ countries

AlbaniaAustraliaAustriaBangladeshBelgiumBulgariaBrazilCanada ChinaCongoCzech RepublicDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGermany

GreeceIcelandIndiaIranIrelandItalyJapanKrygrystanKuwaitNetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPalestinePoland

PortugalRussiaSerbiaSingaporeSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwanTurkeyUnited Arab Emirates United KingdomUnited States

RDA  by  Sector

Academics  (61%)Private  Sector  (21%)Public  Sector  (11%)Unknown  (8%)

Fran Berman

How RDA is different• International and regional • Domain agnostic and all inclusive• Individual membership• Affiliate organizations• Formally structured WGs with

defined deliverables• Tactical focus, less interest in

broader strategic issues

RDA vis-a-vis ESIP

How RDA is like ESIP• Want to make data work!• Bottom up. Driven by the interests

of the members• Supported by government agencies• Organizational membership

Fran Berman

RDA Working Groups Create Enabling Infrastructure

Data  Use,  Sharing  and  Exchange

Founda6ons

Community  deployment  of  adopted  /  implemented  infrastructure,  tools,  policy,  prac@ce,  standards  

facilita@ng  data  sharing  and  exchange

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RDA Working Groups• Data Type Registries• PID Information Types• Standardization of data categories and

codes, working specifically with the ISO 639 (human languages)

• Data Foundation and Terminology (pending)

• Practical Policy (pending)• Community Capability Model (in

review)• Data Citation: Making Data Citable (in

review)• Metadata Standards (in review)

Working Groups and ESIP

ESIP Collaborations• Air Quality• CF Standards• Climate and Agriculture• Climate Education• Cloud Computing• Preservation and Stewardship• Data Management Training• Decisions• Discovery• Drupal• Earth Science Collaboratory• Energy and Climate• Education• Geospatial• Information Quality• Information Technology and Interoperability• Internal Education• Products and Services• Semantic Web• Visualization

RDA Working Groups• Data Type Registries• PID Information Types• Data Foundation and Terminology

(pending)• Practical Policy (pending)• Community Capability Model (in

review)• Data Citation: Making Data Citable

(in review)• Metadata Standards (in review)

Working Groups and ESIP

ESIP Collaborations• CF Standards• Cloud Computing• Preservation and Stewardship• Discovery• Earth Science Collaboratory• Information Quality• Information Technology and

Interoperability• Semantic Web

RDA Interest Groups• Agricultural Data Interoperability• Brokering• Legal Interoperability• Metadata Standards Directory • Preservation e-Infrastructure• Repository Audit and Certification• Structural Biology• The Engagement Group• Big Data Analytics• Data in Context• Defining Urban Data Exchange for Science• Marine Data Harmonization• Publishing Data• UPC Code for Data• Digital Practices in History and Ethnography

Interest Groups and ESIP

ESIP Collaborations• Air Quality• CF Standards• Climate and Agriculture• Climate Education• Cloud Computing• Preservation and Stewardship• Data Management Training• Decisions• Discovery• Drupal• Earth Science Collaboratory• Energy and Climate• Education• Geospatial• Information Quality• Information Technology and Interoperability• Internal Education• Products and Services• Semantic Web• Visualization

RDA Interest Groups• Agricultural Data Interoperability• Brokering• Legal Interoperability• Metadata Standards Directory • Preservation e-Infrastructure• Repository Audit and Certification• The Engagement Group• Big Data Analytics• Data in Context• Defining Urban Data Exchange for Science• Marine Data Harmonization• Publishing Data• UPC Code for Data

Interest Groups and ESIP

ESIP Collaborations• Air Quality• CF Standards• Climate and Agriculture• Cloud Computing• Preservation and Stewardship• Decisions• Discovery• Earth Science Collaboratory• Energy and Climate• Geospatial• Information Quality• Information Technology and Interoperability• Semantic Web

Get involved!

• Join RDA as an individual member supporting our principles at http://rd-alliance.org

• Join as an Organizational Member (nominal fee) or an Organizational Affiliate (jointly sponsored efforts)

• Initiate or join an Interest Group

• Propose or join a Working Group

• Attend the RDA Plenaries https://www.rd-alliance.org/future-events

• Nominate yourself or someone else for the Technical Advisory Board https://www.rd-alliance.org/rda-tab.html

Next Plenary:16-18 September 2013

National Academy of SciencesWashington DC

RDA Plenary 3 in Dublin Ireland, March 26-28 2014, hosted by Australia and Ireland

Questions and comments to:enquiries@rd-alliance.org or parsom3@rpi.edu