The IUPESM union has been involved in the International Science Council’s (former ICSU) scientific data related activities and committees. Mainly by involvement into two structures: “World Data System” and “Codata”. World Data System is mainly active in the field of data repositories, advocating sound, reliable and sustainable sharing of scientific data, while Codata acts more at the data policy level and is concerned with the standardization of units.
Next to the two structures, related to the ISC, there is also an “independent” organization: RDA (Research Data Alliance) that is active in the field of “open data” with more than 13.000 individual members world-wide.
All three structures adhere firmly to the FAIR principles if data sharing (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable), reflecting on their impact on their respective fields of interest regarding the management of scientific data.
From 21 to 28 October, the three organizations will hold “International Data Week 2023” (ISW) in Salzburg: scientific and technical presentations regarding scientific data, meta-data, ethics and other aspects. Also, some important meetings will take place: the Scientific Committee of WDS will meet and Codata will hold its General Assembly with elections. https://internationaldataweek.org/idw2023/
As representative of IUPESM, I will attend IDW and will report to IUPESM.
There are two topics that may concern us directly and about which it would be useful to obtain feedback from the IUPESM community:
- the modalities for appropriate re-use of medical data in research (including long-term follow-up) while respecting the privacy of the individual person
- the rewarding of scientists who not only publish but also make available their datasets to others
I would appreciate your views and suggestions on these points and of course other topics regarding scientific data that should be brought forward.
Marc Nyssen
Chair IOMP Data Committee