Codata workshop

SESSION 1: OPENING AND OBJECTIVES

Opening address (Dr Andrew Kaniki, Executive Director: Knowledge Management and Strategy, National Research Foundation)

Data and information are essential building blocks for knowledge. Scientific research is one of the key processes for generating data, information and knowledge. It is acknowledged that indigenous knowledge systems are critical. The importance of Type 2 knowledge generation is also acknowledged, but scientific research remains the key. The outputs of individuals and research institutions are often published in peer-reviewed journals, reports and other documents. Researchers in developing countries are conversant with the processes, systems and infrastructure for managing the available information, although researchers in such countries have varying degrees of access to such information. Even when researchers know how to access information using tools such as bibliographies and other resources, these may be prohibitively costly. There are instruments, policies, procedures and legislation in place to facilitate access to information. The research community in South Africa, for instance, is fortunate that much work is being done with the support and direction of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), apart from the work of knowledge professionals. One of the key publications on research publishing in South Africa was directed by ASSAf, namely ‘Report on a Strategic Approach to Research Publishing in South Africa’.

The value of research publications is well recognised, but raw data sets are also very important to the scientific community around the world in terms of knowledge production. There is growing emphasis on secondary data analysis, and in some fields this is the major form of knowledge production, for instance, in astronomy. However, in developing countries, there has not been much work of this nature, and in most fields, efforts are only just beginning. Information and communication technology (ICT) capability now enables the explosion in data collection and data distribution and has focused attention on the potential value of securing and sharing expensively created data sets. For instance, South Africa spends enormous resources on the periodic national census, but there is minimal processing of the data by social scientists in terms of secondary data analysis.
In the case of the Southern African Large Telescope, of which the NRF is custodian, data are generated 24 hours a day, every day, and shared with observatories in other time zones of the southern hemisphere. The data are thus very well utilised, compared with data from a field such as sustainable development, for instance.
The International Council for Science (ICSU) has identified scientific data and information as a priority area in developing its strategic plan for the coming years. An international panel of experts was appointed in 2003 by the Committee on Scientific Planning and Review (CSPR) to assess the strategic issues with respect to the use of data and scientific information. A report was produced, namely ‘Scientific data and information: A report of the CSPR assessment panel’. It highlights issues related to policies, operations, management, and data and information. The principal recommendation is that ICSU should assume an international leadership role in identifying and addressing critical policy management issues related to scientific data and information. ICSU is made up of scientific bodies and countries. South Africa has started looking at what the country could contribute with respect to data curation and data archiving. One of the projects operating in South Africa, with the involvement of the NRF, ASSAf, the University of Pretoria, the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) (as observer) is the National Data Information and Curation Centre, which is a virtual centre to ensure that the various aspects of data archiving and management are taken care of. A steering committee representing the various partners and chaired by the NRF has been formed. The steering committee was formalised in January 2007, although much previous groundwork had been done under various auspices, for instance the South African Research Information Service (SARIS) project that investigated scientific access to research information services. One of the issues is to identify who produces and owns data that can be shared and what policies and procedures are in place. The South African Cabinet is discussing legislation on access to information relating to publicly funded research. The key issues to bear in mind in developing such policy include the recognition of critical resources. The research community in South Africa and Africa is concerned that there should be rules and regulations and not simply open access. The key factor is that data must be fully utilised wherever they are.
The NRF and South African colleagues hope that this workshop will facilitate discussion, sharing and advancement in accessing and utilising data for sustainable development, particularly with colleagues in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Objectives of workshop (Prof. Steve Rossouw, Vice-President: CODATA and Chair: CODATA SANC)

The objectives of the workshop are:

• 
  To consider the main recommendations from the September 2005 Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) workshop (Strategies for Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Southern Africa: Focus on Health and Environmental Information for Sustainable Development) and discuss specific actions and initiatives that can be taken in response
  
• 
  To designate appropriate officials or officers in partner countries to actively support the initiatives with respect to data sources for sustainable development in SADC countries of regional interest
  
• 
  To promote mutual reinforcement with the converging goals of the ICSU Regional Office for Africa, the SADC and NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) secretariat and other regional organisations, as appropriate, and coordinate actions in order to leverage the respective resources. (Resources are scarce, particularly in this part of the world.)
  
• 
  To establish a workplan for 2007/2008 for the CODATA Task Group on Data Sources for Sustainable Development: SADC. (CODATA task groups are generally funded for two-year periods and may on conclusion apply for continuation; permission is usually granted on the basis of satisfactory outputs during the initial two-year period, up to a maximum of six years). It is therefore important to establish a workplan so that a proposal for continuation can be in tabled at the CODATA General Assembly in 2008. The task group could produce outputs that would be valuable to the SADC region.
  

A number of possible activities are listed, and the document concludes that these and other issues and activities may be promoted by establishing new coordination frameworks, programmes, partnerships, mutual initiatives, networks, online consultation and general awareness raising within the policy, research, education and development community. Specific follow-up actions and responses by the parties should be identified for each issue or activity. Unless individuals and officials are nominated to carry out the objectives, the chances of producing anything of lasting value are slim. Participants are urged to consider a workable plan for the task group to implement. It is essential that people take ownership and responsibility so that work of lasting value can be produced.

Background

There are some 53 countries in the African Union, but only 15 are ICSU members. Of even more concern is that only four African countries are members of CODATA. Outreach is one of the objectives of the workshop, to firm up the contact made in regional workshops. Most developing countries face a range of problems, with priorities in areas such as health, education, poverty alleviation and employment creation, and data conservation is not a high priority for governments in the region.

South Africa has had paper archives for a long time, since the colonial period. Most of the information in these archives is preserved and is still accessible, although not always in good condition. Digital archiving is a new concept in southern Africa. The South African Data Archive (SADA) was established at the NRF in the early 1990s as a national repository for scientific data. Holdings from the MRC, HSRC and CSIR were deposited with SADA. In 1999, CODATA was invited to address a SADA management meeting and discuss whether CODATA could make any contribution towards the operation of SADA. As a result, the head of SADA at the time was invited to become a member of the CODATA national committee.
In the meantime, CODATA was taking other initiatives in the area of data conservation, and a workshop was held in Senegal on ‘Scientific and technical data handling in exchange for development’. (At the time, sustainable development was not as high on the international agenda as at present.) A three-person delegation from South Africa attended the workshop, including representation of the SADA office, and a paper on ‘Scientific and technical data in southern Africa – the situation in SADC countries’ was delivered. At the time, there were very few activities in the area of data conservation in SADC countries, with the exception of South Africa. During informal discussions at the workshop, John Rumble, former president of CODATA, and Paul Uhlir discussed the possibility of convening workshops on the archiving of data. As the result of a presentation to the CODATA general assembly of 2000, a workshop on ‘Archiving for scientific and technical data’ was held in Pretoria in 2002, attended by some 70 delegates from the region as well as international experts, to provide input on technical aspects of archiving. The meeting was co-chaired by Bill Anderson (who unfortunately could not attend the present workshop). The topics discussed included scientific, technical, management and policy issues. These topics are still pertinent today, even though the environment is constantly shifting as technology, priorities and governments change. These topics are all on the agenda for the present meeting. The workshop recommended the establishment of a task group. A working group is normally funded by CODATA for only two years. If it can show a need to continue the efforts, a task group may be established. The recommendations of the task group are on the CODATA website. The Task Group on Preservation of and Access to Scientific and Technical Data in Developing Countries was created at the CODATA general assembly in 2002, with Bill Anderson and LIU Chang as co-chairs. Only two African countries were included in the membership of the task group, namely, Senegal and South Africa. In the other two African CODATA member countries (Nigeria and Cameroon), the national committees were not very active and did not take up the offer to become members of the task group at the time.
The first workshop of the newly appointed task group was held in Beijing in June 2004 and was attended by three delegates from South Africa, who familiarised themselves with the workings of the task group to see how to apply the learning in South Africa. A follow-up meeting was held in Pretoria in September 2005 on the topic of ‘Strategies for permanent access to scientific and technical information in southern Africa: health and environmental information for sustainable development’. The reason for putting emphasis on southern Africa was based on previous experience of the task group on data sources in Africa. Given the enormous size of the African continent, it was decided that the new task group would focus on an area in which there are already good connections through the SADC secretariat and established working mechanisms. The World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in South Africa in 2002, had done much to promote the concept of sustainable development, focused not on the present but also on the future.
The recommendations of the 2005 workshop that need to be revisited include:

• 
  The need to influence government officials (There is a need for a policy that has official sanction and support from government to provide financial and human resources to enable the operation of better archiving and data curation on a sustainable basis).
  
• 
  Raising awareness with respect to the value of data.
  
• 
  Long-term access to data in areas such as agriculture and meteorology. (In disciplines where access to long-term data is important, the data platforms should be capable of responding to changes in technology.)
  
• 
  Data workshops on data handling. (Researchers may not be expert in setting up databases to store the data they collect, complete with metadata that is necessary for long-term access, and to make it available in a useable format.)
  
• 
  A data management academy (This may be somewhat optimistic at this stage and would require government funding and support, but this would add real value to enabling people to store their data in a meaningful way.)
  
• 
  A directory of core data sets (This is specifically on the agenda for the present workshop. It is necessary to find out what data are available in the various SADC countries and who the custodians are. Time, funds and human resources will be required to undertake a survey and keep the information updated.)
  
• 
  Outreach activities (to encourage CODATA membership of the countries represented by workshop participants from SADC countries and encourage the formation of regional networks)
  
• 
  Attention to socio-economic data (in the context of sustainable development, it is necessary to know about the people on whose behalf such development is promoted as well as their needs. These data can be correlated with scientific data in the interests of sustainable development.)
  

In 2006, the CODATA general assembly approved the formation of a new Task Group on Data for Sustainable Development in SADC countries. A major objective of the present workshop is to set the agenda for the newly created task group. The workshop is being held jointly with the Task Group on Preservation of and Access to Scientific and Technical Data in Developing Countries. The intention is to create something of sustainable value for the area.