Science Library Pad

Canada's Digital Research Future - Call for White Papers

Canada's New Digital Research Infrastructure Organisation (New DRI Organisation, or NDRIO) has put out a call for white papers.

https://engagedri.ca/ndrio-call-for-white-papers-on-canadas-future-dri-ecosystem/

Submissions should briefly describe individual perspectives on current challenges accessing Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) tools, services and support; the ideal future state of DRI in Canada; and how NDRIO could achieve such a state.

Deadline for submissions is 17:00 Canadian Pacific Standard Time (PST), Friday December 4, 2020.

NDRIO's scope includes Research Data Management, Research Software, and Advanced Research Computing / High-Performance Computing, for Canadian researchers.

Contact [email protected] for general details, or Felipe Pérez Jvostov, Senior Analyst for Outreach and Engagement at [email protected] about this specific call.

Disclaimer: I work on the Digital Research Infrastructure Strategy at ISED.

Open Science in 2017 G7 Science Ministers' Communiqué

The G7 Open Science Working Group was created in the 2016 Science Ministers' Communiqué, the Tsukuba Communiqué (PDF)

1. Establish a working group on open science with the aims of sharing open science policies, exploring supportive incentive structures, and identifying good practices for promoting increasing access to the results of publicly funded research, including scientific data and publications, coordinating as appropriate with the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) and Research Data Alliance (RDA), and other relevant groups

The 2017 Science Ministers' Communiqué (PDF) is now available, with a statement about Open Science as well as a summary of the G7 Open Science Working Group (G7 OS WG) report.  The Communiqué directs the Open Science Working Group to continue its work.

19. We recognize that ICT developments, the digitisation and the vast availability of data, efforts to push the science frontiers, and the need to address complex economic and societal challenges, are transforming the way in which science is performed towards Open Science paradigms. We agree that an international approach can help the speed and coherence of this transition, and that it should target in particular two aspects. First, the incentives for the openness of the research ecosystem: the evaluation of research careers should better recognize and reward Open Science activities. Secondly, the infrastructures for an optimal use of research data: all researchers should be able to deposit, access and analyse scientific data across disciplines and at the global scale, and research data should adhere to the FAIR principles of being findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.

20. We support the work and results achieved so far by the G7 Open Science Working group. The OS Working Group has identified priorities that deserve and require common aligned actions, both in encouraging openness and data skills in scientific research practice, through workforce development and training. We encourage the OS WG to follow-up actions taken by G7 members according to the WG’s recommendations and to collect good practices, in order to report to the next G7 Science Minister’s Meeting. In particular, we support the OS WG deepening its efforts on the two topics identified above (paragraph 19), namely the incentives for openness of the research ecosystem, including the role of research indicators and metrics relevant to open science, and the infrastructures and standards for optimal use of research. The summary report of the OS working group is attached to this Communiqué.

To extract specific priorities and direction:

• priority - incentives - "the evaluation of research careers should better recognize and reward Open Science activities"
• priority - research data infrastructure - "all researchers should be able to deposit, access and analyse scientific data across disciplines and at the global scale, and research data should adhere to the FAIR principles"
• direction - G7 OS WG - follow up (monitor) G7 member states' actions related to the WG recommendations
• direction - G7 OS WG - collect good practices
• direction - G7 OS WG - report back to the 2018 G7 Science Ministers' Meeting
• direction - G7 OS WG - deepen efforts on incentives, including research indicators and metrics relevant to open science
• direction - G7 OS WG - deepen efforts on infrastructures and standards for optimal use of research (with a particular emphasis on research data)

The statement "The summary report of the OS working group is attached to this Communiqué." is a bit confusing - the summary report is actually a separate annex document, it's not part of the main Communiqué PDF.

The summary report (PDF) also contains a key opening recommendation:

Overall, the G7 Open Science Working Group recommends that each G7 nation convene and engage with relevant stakeholders who can support moves towards incentivizing the increased adoption of Open Science in their national context.

as well as potential future discussion for the G7 in the areas of incentives and infrastructure for Open Science:

Incentives -

Potential future discussion at the G7 level: Consider approaches towards developing principles, for measuring the quality and impact of research enabled by Open Science practices. Discussions could also include means to identify, promote and implement best practices for Open Science, for example, through codes of conduct that build on existing procedures. This might lead to international consensus on the roles and responsibilities of researchers, institutions, and funders under Open Science.

Infrastructure -

Potential future discussion at the G7 level: Establish a forum for continued multilateral discussion to share information about major research data infrastructure initiatives in G7 countries and beyond. Discussion objectives could include:

• Development of a common understanding of Open Science and the related infrastructure requirements (e.g. for whom? Under which conditions?), including consideration of best practices in different disciplines of science and technology as well as in social sciences, humanities and the arts.

• Agreement to promote the FAIR principles for data resulting from government- funded research, increase discussion on sustainability and working towards shared guidelines for incorporating FAIR principles into the operations of infrastructure that support Open Science.

• Raising awareness of the necessity of well-qualified human resources and professional expertise for curation, annotation and other management of research data and incorporate them in the research processes.

Disclaimer: I was one of the Canadian representatives on the G7 Open Science Working Group in 2016-2017.

SIDEBAR: The FAIR principles mentioned are that data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable.  See e.g. https://www.force11.org/fairprinciples  END SIDEBAR

The G7 will be held in Canada in 2018.  The dates and location for the 2018 Science Ministerial have not been announced.

2016, 2017 and 2018 Science Communiqué Websites and Links

The 2016 Communiqué website is http://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/english/others/communique_en.html and there were two annexes to the Communiqué:

• Tsukuba Communiqué(PDF：169KB)
• Attachment 1 to Tsukuba Communiqué(PDF：82KB) - G7 follow-up workshop on mapping, coordination and joint activities in the field of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and Poverty-Related Infectious Diseases (PRDs)
• Attachment 2 to Tsukuba Communiqué(PDF：126KB) - Recommendations – G7 expert workshop on future of the oceans and seas

 The 2017 Communiqué website is http://www.g7italy.it/en/documenti-ministeriali and there were four annexes to the Communiqué:

• G7 Science Communiqué
• Annex 1 - Future of the Seas and Oceans
• Annex 2 – Report of the group of senior officials on global research infrastructures
• Annex 3 - WG Neglected Tropical Diseases and Poverty Related Diseases
• Annex 4 - WG Open Science

UPDATE 2017-10-03: You can also find a standalone page about the Science Ministerial at http://www.g7italy.it/en/news/the-ministerial-meeting-on-science-has-ended END UPDATE

UPDATE 2018-02-08: There is also an Italy 2017 Science Ministerial page at http://www.g7italy.it/en/science-ministerial-meeting but the link on that page to the Communiqué is currently broken.  END UPDATE

The 2018 G7 website is http://www.international.gc.ca/g7/ - updated to https://g7.gc.ca/

Twitter:

• @G7Canada - for the duration of the 2018 Canadian G7, Twitter will be @G7
• Peter Boehm, the Deputy Minister for the 2018 G7 Summit, tweets @G7Sherpa

Open Science Cloud launched by European Commission

On April 19, 2016 the European Commission announced many initiatives under the umbrella of “Digitise Europe”.  Some are related to open science.

• Under European Cloud Initiative
• As of 2016: creating a European Open Science Cloud
• 2017: opening up by default all scientific data produced by future projects under the €77 billion Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme
• The public and private investment needed to implement the European Cloud Initiative is estimated at €6.7 billion. The Commission estimates that, overall, €2 billion in Horizon 2020 funding will be allocated to the European Cloud initiative. The estimation of the required additional public and private investment is €4.7 billion in the period of 5 years.

Previously open scientific data was just a pilot in Horizon 2020, now it will become a requirement.

This is only one element of the larger open science initiative https://ec.europa.eu/research/openscience/index.cfm?pg=home

The next item coming from the open science initiative will be the Open Science Policy Platform which will support policy formulation and implementation https://ec.europa.eu/research/openscience/index.cfm?pg=open-science-policy-platform

It is also worth noting that on the Open Access side, the Amsterdam Call for Action on Open Science https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam_Call_for_Action_on_Open_Science was issued as part of an Open Science Conference April 4-5, 2016 and is expected to go to the Competitiveness Council on May 27, 2016.  It currently calls for 100% open access in Europe by 2020.

BACKGROUND

• Press Release - European Cloud Initiative http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-1408_en.htm
• Full Communication (13 pages) – European Cloud Initiative http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=15266
• Home page – European Cloud Initiative https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/european-cloud-initiative
• Home page – European Open Science Cloud https://ec.europa.eu/research/openscience/index.cfm?pg=open-science-cloud

Videos

• Günther OETTINGER, Member of the EC in charge of Digital Economy and Society http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?ref=I119779
• Carlos MOEDAS, Member of the EC in charge of Research, Science and Innovation http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?ref=I119778
• Q&A http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?ref=I119780

Twitter and Hashtags

• #DigitiseEU
• #OpenScience
• @OpenAccessEC
• @ICTscienceEU
• @DSMeu (Digital Single Market)
• @EU_eGov
• @Moedas
• @GOettingerEU

 

Consultation on developing a Digital Research Infrastructure Strategy for Canada

Consultation has opened at

http://www.ic.gc.ca/DRI

closes September 14, 2015

The DRI strategy will include new policies on research data management and storage, and a coordinated long‑term approach for the provision of high speed networking, high performance computing and software tools.

...

We are interested in all elements of the DRI ecosystem, including high‑performance computing, high‑speed networks, research data management, software, tools and human capital, with a particular emphasis on identifying opportunities and gaps.

A Digital Research Infrastructure strategy is item 6.2.3 in the ST&I Strategy and is in section 3 of Digital Canada 150 2.0

• Enhanced Canada’s research capacity through digital research infrastructure by developing a strategy to optimize the various elements of the digital research ecosystem, including high-performance computing, high-speed networks, research data management, software, tools and human capital.

• $100 million to support digital research infrastructure through the Canada Foundation for Innovation;

Previously:
December 5, 2014  2014 Science, Technology, Innovation Strategy
July 23, 2014  Digital Canada 150 [version 1.0]

CRKN hiring project officer for Integrated Digital Scholarship Ecosystem

The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) is primarily known as a consortial licensing group for Canadian universities.  In its Strategic Plan 2013-2016 it introduces the concept of an Integrated Digital Scholarship Ecosystem (IDSE) for Canada.

This initiative has produced various materials to date:

CRKN Integrated Digital Scholarship Environment (IDSE) investigation - crkn.ca/idse

• March 2014 - IDSE Preliminary Report
• July 2014 - Information Gathering Report (PDF)
• September 2014 - IDSE Board Response: Roadmap towards the Vision of the IDSE (PDF)

You can find links to reports from other organisations under IDSE Resources.

The CRKN is now hiring a project manager to run the next stage of the development of the IDSE.

• Building on the preliminary work in Phase 1 of the project, develop a map of existing
  initiatives within the Canadian Academic Library environment that can be used as a
  foundation for identifying top priority opportunities
• Develop a roadmap/project plan for implementing the various phases of IDSE to be
  discussed with the Executive Director

Special Projects Officer - IDSE (PDF) - deadline February 2, 2015

Previously:
December 4, 2014  Open Science in 2014 Science, Technology, Innovation Strategy

CFI Cyberinfrastructure consultations Jan 20-22, 2015

The Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has a draft call for cyberinfrastructure proposals, closing January 26, 2015.

• A limited number of research data infrastructure projects that, in collaboration with Compute Canada, enable communities of researchers, along with data scientists, data analysts, software developers and other experts to devise optimal ways of organizing and using research data resources; and,
• Upgrading and modernizing the computational and data storage capacities of the pan-Canadian advanced research computing platform, managed by Compute Canada.

The CFI is holding accompanying information sessions Jan 20-22, 2015 across Canada.

See background at http://www.innovation.ca/en/AboutUs/News/CyberinfrastructureInitiativeinformationsessionscomingcitiesacrossCanadaweek and list of dates and cities at the bottom of http://www.innovation.ca/en/OurFunds/CFIFunds/CFIcyberinfrastructureinitiative.

Previously:
December 5, 2014  Open Science in 2014 Science, Technology, Innovation Strategy