Transcript Document

CURATION OF SPATIAL DATA IN RSA
Presented at the African Digital Data Curation Conference
Workshop on spatial data curation in South Africa
facilitated by
Heidi van Deventer (CSIR) and Maryna Strydom (SRK)
Date: 2008/02/13
Agenda
• Introduction to OECD Principles and Guidelines for Access to Research
Data from Public Funding (11:00 – 11:15)
• DISCUSSIONS RE: SPATIAL DATA CURATION IN AFRICA:
(11:15 – 13:00)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Motivation for digital spatial data curation in African countries: The positive aspects
of curating our data.
Solutions to known challenges associated with curation.
Who are the stakeholders to consider?
Who should take on the curation responsibility?
What are the minimum requirements for effective curation of spatial data in Africa
What next – whereto from here?
Performance criteria (NeDIC).
WHAT ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AFRICAN
COUNTRIES TO CURATE SPATIAL DATA?
Slide 2
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
OECD Principles and Guidelines for Access
to Research Data from Public Funding:
•
•
•
•
•
background information
The Declaration on Access to Research Data from Public
Funding “recognises the importance of access to research
data”
The guidelines are developed to facilitate the principles of
“optimal cost-effective access to digital research data from
public funding”
“The OECD Recommendations set out collective and precise
standards or objectives which the member countries are
expected to implement.”
RSA’s DST adopted the Declaration on Access to Research
Data from Public Funding – leader country for Africa
Not sure what the benefits are for non-member countries, such
as African countries – how to implement the principles?
Slide 3
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
OECD Guidelines:
motivation for sharing and promoting access
•
•
•
•
Slide 4
Benefits include diversity of analysis, promotion of new
research, less duplication and time spent on data
capturing, the creation of new data sets (see p 10 for more).
Aims and objectives of the Principles and Guidelines are
expressed (page 11).
Approximately 80% of all data has a spatial component to
it;
Geo-spatial data is essential to research and decision
making
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
OECD Guidelines / Principles:
Issues to consider in the implementation process
•
•
•
•
Slide 5
Applicable to research data generated from public funds for
producing publicly accessible knowledge.
Policies and good practices needs to relate to
• Accessibility
• Use; and
• Management of research data
Recommendation: The benefits of improvement of access
to research data should be balanced with the cost of
improving access.
Issues to consider:
• Technological
• Institutional and managerial
• Financial
• Legal and policy
• Cultural & behavioural
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
OECD Principles: (pp. 15 – 22 OECD guidelines)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Slide 6
Openness
Flexibility
Transparency
Legal conformity
Protection of intellectual property
Formal responsibility
Professionalism
Interoperatibility
Quality
Security
Efficiency
Accountability
Sustainability
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
Example: RSA’s first response to the OECD
guidelines:
DST National Access to Research Data Workshop
• Held 27-28 Sept 2007 – representatives from univ, gov, research
councils… etc.
• Objectives:
•
•
•
•
Slide 7
Explore the application of the OECD principles and guidelines and
identify a policy direction
Reflect on international perspectives within the context of RSA
Determine the challenges of improving access
Identify ways of increasing the value of public expenditure on
research
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
DST National Access to Research Data workshop:
some quotes from the presentations
• “data are every scientist’s second priority. When scientists are
•
•
evaluated for tenure, their efforts in curating, managing and
quality assurance of data sets that future generations of
researchers can use are not taken into account … .” Dr J-B Minster,
Chair: ICSU World Data Center System.
ASSAf Report on Scholarly Publishing in South Africa:
recommendations the improvements of the returns for society
from scientific research
“There is a danger of South African researchers being reduced to
simply being data gatherers of data that is to be analysed in the
North … “ (Reference)
• Comments from the attendees are noted in the Proceedings.
Slide 8
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
DST National Access to Research Data workshop:
Outcomes (1/2)
• Educational / capacity / skills issues:
•
•
•
RSA (and Africa?) has a lack of knowledge and capacity management spatial data
Literacy (computer and scientific)
Lack of incentives for publishing research data
• System, data & technological barriers
•
•
•
•
Lack of bandwidth
Lack of underlying infrastructure & no support by funding and research institutions
Costs of infrastructure, software, hardware and data (set-up and long-term operational
costs
Lack of metadata; quality of data & systems to accommodate size of data sets
• Managerial and funding issues:
•
•
•
Slide 9
Lack of incentives for organisation
Narrow view / mindsets of ownership of data or responsibility (straightjacket mentality)
Lack of management policies
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
DST National Access to Research Data workshop:
Outcomes (2/2)
•
Institutional barriers
• Lack of standards and policies
• Competition between organisations
• Overlapping mandates
• IPR
• Legal and policy issues
•
•
•
Slide 10
Lack of knowledge of existing rights and obligations
Rights of data ownership should be established by contract
Non-governmental data are not subject to legislative control of archival
practice
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
DST National Access to Research Data workshop:
Plan of Action
•
•
•
•
•
•
DST must designate a task team to take the audit forward
Recommendation to audit skills, curricula, databases and systems
A report from the workshop will be drafted as a draft policy
Consultation process to follow once the Minister of DST approved
National Treasury will be approached for funding
Full implementation of guidelines/principles envisaged for 2008/9 fin-year.
Slide 11
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
Purpose of the African Digital Data Curation Workshop
•
It gives the African community to express their views in how digital data
curation should operate
•
Provides a platform on which solutions can be built
•
Comments should focus on the NeDIC performance criteria which will
be used to make representations to DST and other funding
organisations to support the shared system
WHAT ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AFRICAN
COUNTRIES TO CURATE SPATIAL DATA?
Slide 12
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
NeDIC Performance Criteria (1/2)
•
Physical infrastructure
• Accessibility
• No direct cost to the users
• User friendly
• Fast
• Cared for by competent people
• Regular updates
•
Systems
• User-friendly
• Familiar across the globe
• Matched to research domain needs
Slide 13
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
NeDIC Performance Criteria (2/2)
Slide 14
•
Procedures
• Unbureaucratic
• Simple and Intuitive to researchers
• Using global codes and standards
•
Support
• Helpful, obliging, competent
• Cutting edge and innovative
• 24/7 availability
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Motivation for digital data curation: The positive aspects
of curating our data.
2. Known obstacles associated with curation.
3. Who are the stakeholders to consider?
4. Who should take on the curation reponsibility?
5. What are the minimum requirements for effective
curation to address:
1. Accessibility
2. Costs
6. What next – whereto from here?
Slide 15
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
1. MOTIVATION FOR DATA CURATION
•
How could scientists/ (funding) organisations be promoted
to curate digitally produced data more responsibly?
•
How can governments contribute to the creation of
incentives?
•
Performance criteria / evaluation / acknowledgement /
how give credit and incentives?
•Bottom-up, and top-down motivation mechanisms; appreciation of value required
•Contracts from funding organisations
•Policies and agreements
•Resources is very important, before it can be a minimum requirement
•Indirect incentives from governments to keep repositories safe to assist in facilitating
access (funded), where the organisation don’t provide the means
•Formal way of citation of spatial data sets (Initiatives are going on already, e.g. GBIF)
Slide 16
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
2. SOLUTIONS TO KNOWN
CHALLENGES TO CURATING
SPATIAL DATA
•
•
•
Is there anything additional to the documentation that you need
to list w.r.t. challenges?
What are the priorities for Africa?
•
Educational / capacity / skills
issues
•
System, data & technological
barriers
•
Managerial and funding
issues:
Any suggested solutions?
• Criteria for solution / minimum requirement for success?
http://www.eis-africa.org/EIS-Africa/publications/gfd/gfd?sn=10
Slide 17
Challenges (slide 9-10):
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
•
•
Institutional barriers
Legal and policy issues
PROPOSALS
•Military background – classified data – legislative processes from Government to repatriate these
data sets
•Demonstrating the value of broad access and application for development benefits; linking it to
policy of the policy goals of each government
•Motivation needs to come from the Ministry of Science & Technology, e.g.
•Perhaps younger general will have champions that drive change in Africa
•Fear that data may be exploited by people outside the country -> awareness raising; examples of
gains in other countries
•Improvement of funding for education and infrastructure. Should be promoted by government S&T
+ Education
•Include in curricula to promote knowledge of the next generation
•A model and framework can be designed based on the lessons learnt in RSA, and given to African
countries to implement as find fit NEPAD can be a driving force
•Pro-active mechanism required to obtain spatial data that is no longer propriety
•Synthesis of propriety info data in Africa;; synthesis of public data
•Public-private relationship re infrastructure to collect on behalf of government
•Citizen-created data / IKS, Tracks for Africa, Open Street map
•Concern for no regulation to private sector data
Slide 18
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
•Changing terminology in Act to ensure the understanding that spatial data should be included
3. WHO ARE THE STAKEHOLDERS TO
CONSIDER?
A: Public funding organisations of spatial data in Africa?
•SASDI Act puts RSA at the front of Africa; NRF in RSA
•National Councils for Science & Technology; Commission for Science & Technology; Research Councils
B: Who are the people in Africa benefiting:
•
Funding organizations
•
Research organisations
•Pan-African Organisations
•
Researchers
•UNEP
•
Educational Institutions
•UN ECA
•
Students or learners
•Intergovernmental organisations
•
Government organisations
•Private foundations (e.g. Gate’s foundation
•
Private Sector
•Peace Parks
•
NGOs (allies in promoting the benefits)
•
Citizens
•
•
C: Who are currently undertaking significant curation initiatives?
Is access possible to these?
Slide 19
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
4. WHO SHOULD TAKE ON CURATION
RESPONSIBILITIES?
Generate a list of suggestions with pros and cons.
What are the performance criteria for these organisations?
•Researcher / individual needs to have the means
•Organisation needs to have the work flow
•Education is important
•Depends a lot on Centralised vs decentralised; where and who?
•Networking important with distributed model, standards and a clearing house necessary
•Regulation / creation of a culture of curation in sectors:
•Research
•Core data sets & custodians
Slide 20
•Private sector
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
5. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR
EFFECTIVE SPATIAL DATA CURATION
• Educational / capacity / skills
• System, data & technological
•
•
Non-propriety systems and formats are essential in preservation and access
Standards
• Managerial and funding
•
Institutional
•
Legal and policies
Slide 21
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
6. WAY FORWARD
Suggestions on recommendations to Africa Science and
Technology organisations / Funding organisations:
•
What should the plan of action be?
•
Can RSA DST’s plan of action be implemented in other African
countries?
WHAT ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AFRICAN
COUNTRIES TO CURATE SPATIAL DATA?
•Perhaps it will be easier to work within a approach per science domain/ niche
(bottom-up approach)
•Common issues, core data sets, common understanding
•UN ECA has a committee on spatial data
•Awareness of benefits and initiatives
Slide 22
© CSIR 2008
www.csir.co.za
•More campaigns, e.g. the digital data curation conferences