In order to strengthen the exchange of research data during the COVID-19 pandemic period, the Research Data Alliance - RDA announced the creation of a working group together with CODATA, GO-FAIR and WDS (large international data organizations).
The objectives of the group, called Data Together, are to clearly define detailed guidelines for the exchange of data in the current circumstances of COVID-19, to help stakeholders follow best practices to maximize the efficiency of their work, and develop guidelines for policymakers to maximize timely data exchange and appropriate responses in health emergencies such as the current pandemic.
The guidelines to be developed will address general aspects related to the principles to which the data must adhere (FAIR, for example), as well as specificities related to five individual areas: omics, clinical, epidemiology, social sciences and community participation. The first results will be published before April 24, 2020. To date, more than 350 global members have signed up to actively contribute their expertise to this initiative.
Other planned actions are the establishment of an implementation network (VODAN), which seeks to facilitate access to data on the pandemic and similar episodes from the past for the affected countries, and the “Making data work for cross-domain grand challenges” Program, which seeks to assist the scientific and innovation communities to accelerate scientific understanding through a radical change in the application of data-intensive interdisciplinary methodologies, and thus, enable more efficient and transparent science to address global challenges.
For more information about the creation of Data Together and of its initiatives, please visit https://www.rd-alliance.org/data-together-covid-19-appeal-and-actions or download the documents below.
