<$BlogRSDUrl$> Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
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Monday, March 22, 2004  

International Access to Research Data Critical to Advancing Science for the Public Good, Report Says
http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/newsroom/pr.cfm?ni=59

Open access to data resulting from publicly funded research is essential to advance science and the public good, but lack of consistency in government policies and within the scientific community hinders the open-access ideal, according to a report in the March 19 issue of the journal Science. Open access leads to greater long-term economic benefits, to better-informed government decision-makers and to accelerated progress in science itself, the report states. The report's international team of authors studied data-access issues on behalf of the 30-nation Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

"Countries around the world have invested heavily in the promise of e-science and the emerging cyberinfrastructure, which will allow researchers to access data archives, instruments, computers and expertise without regard to geographic location," said Peter Arzberger, director of life sciences initiatives at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and lead author on the report. "On the other hand, the technological capabilities bring the social and political challenges to the forefront."

The report's U.S. authors were supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. At a recent meeting of the OECD Committee for Science and Technological Policy at Ministerial level, national science ministers, including John Marburger, director of the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy, adopted a Declaration on Access to Research Data from Public Funding. The declaration is based on the authors' full report to the OECD, on which the Science paper is based, and invites the OECD to develop a set of guidelines to ensure "optimal, cost-effective access" to digital research data resulting from publicly funded research.

posted by Marcus Zillman | 4:05 AM
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