Research Data Alliance 7th Plenary meeting - what is it and why is it important for IGAD?

The Research Data Alliance (RDA) is a global data-sharing initiative that aims to open up access to data. It’s multi disciplinary, meaning that its 42 separate Interest Groups (IGAD is one) can cover anything from oceanography to medicine and countless disciplines in between.


 

 

The common aim is to create better access to data, and to improve data sharing across disciplines, technologies, and countries.

The RDA is made up of volunteers and self-collaborating groups. It reaches out to experts in business, academia and industry from all over the world, and at the heart of its mission is “openness” in data. By delivering concrete tangibles the RDA enables data to be shared across barriers through its focused Working and Interest Groups.

IGAD works alongside 42 other multi-discipline Interest Groups under the RDA. Its contribution to the RDA Plenary (the group’s biennial meets, where all Interest Groups have their say) is important.

It’s a chance to piece together the puzzle: working out what’s been achieved since the previous meetings, and what objectives can be set for the future.

IGAD looks at how to improve data management and information sharing in global agriculture. As a platform it gives visibility to agricultural research and data, and it allows for domain-specific working groups to formulate precise solutions to niche issues.

IGAD meets before the Plenary (see the pre-meeting agenda). It then brings its findings at two separate sessions in the conference on March 1st.   

RDA plenary meetings are three-day events, held every six months in different locations around the world. The forthcoming RDA P7 in Tokyo – 1-3 March 2016, is hosted and co-organised by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) under the theme “Making data sharing work in the era of Open Science”. Coming along is a unique community of data scientists, librarians, computer and domain scientists, policy makers and strategists.

It’s a packed three-day schedule – see the full Plenary 7 agenda, here. Find out what happened at the last Plenary 6, here.

Right before this forthcoming Plenary look out for the  “Open Symposium: Data-driven Science – The trigger of Scientific development,” organised by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and taking place on February 29th 2016.