DI Summit 2014
An Overview from the Study Team
The Team
 Janet Halliwell
 Dennis Rank
 Greg Jodouin
Role
 Consultations and review of background
 Preparation of catalytic background papers
 Website and engagement
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Environmental scans:
◦ International
◦ Canada
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Acronyms (!)
Draft Policy Framework
Think piece – Roadmap
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Also
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From the TC3+ the consultation paper and a
synthesis of the responses
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Data Summit 2011 – comprehensive gaps analysis,
national data strategy and critical next steps
DI Summit 2012 – principles, agreed cooperative
approach, formation of the Leadership Council
Stakeholders step up to the plate and demonstrate
engagement & commitment:
◦ Research Data Canada implements an intensive program
◦ Diverse local and regional initiatives (e.g. OCUL and West)
◦ CARL initiates plan for a Research Data Management
Network
◦ Compute Canada completes the pan-Canada consultation
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Emerging policy - the TC3+ consultation paper
DI Summit 2014 - extraordinary response to call for
participation
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National DI initiatives have been framed by
government policies – e.g. there is a significant
“top down” approach that in turn engenders a
bottom up response and engagement.
All recognize the need for multiple stakeholders
to be engaged and the concomitant need for coordination.
From an early focus on physical infrastructure,
the international DI discourse has increasingly
used the lens of data as a national asset.
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Culture of collaboration – e.g. 34 organizations
actively engaged in RDC
Support for and recognition of the importance of
research infrastructure
Established service providers in CANARIE and
Compute Canada
The TC3+ leadership on RDM
A recent (and still nascent) coordination
mechanism in the LC
Provincial interest in the critical role of DI in their
jurisdictions
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No policy framework
Imbalances in attention
Inadequacy and asymmetries of planning &
financing mechanisms for generic DI
Research data management hampered by
culture and paucity of “infrastructure”
Difficult to support people as infrastructure
Paucity of tool development (with some
notable exceptions)
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A stronger innovation system, value produced
from data accessibility and reuse
Better tools for research and potential
marketable products
Implementation of rewards and incentives for
good RDM
New relationships that strengthen research
Benefits from better means of learning from
and sharing of regional experiments
Extracting more benefit from int’l activities
(e.g. RDA)
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Complacency
No locus of coordination
Insufficient leadership
No advances on a policy framework
Undue resistance to TC3+ leadership on RDM
initiatives
Lack of commitment to shared responsibility
Governance/coordination
◦ Many and diverse stakeholders
◦ Without increased collaboration and coordination,
we risk fragmented approaches, sub-optimal
alignment of activities and investments, and serious
gaps in the digital infrastructure
Policy and planning framework
◦ We lack a cohesive national policy that provides an
integrated planning and funding framework for all
the elements of the DI ecosystem
◦ Policy frames strategies and tactics
◦ Service providers at risk, including those who
steward research data
◦ One major change on the horizon – the TC3+ policy
framework for RDM
Data management
◦ Research data management may be the weakest
link in the Canadian DI landscape, despite the
massive increases in the amount of data being
created daily through the research process.
◦ Two closely aligned bottom up developments of
importance - the work of Research Data Canada
and the new initiative being spearheaded by CARL
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The voice of the community (Greg Jodouin)
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The path forward (Dennis Rank)
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DI Summit 2012 —> someone is needed to represent
entire DI ecosystem
Several strong champions for DI; yet they represent
distinct components (discreet mandates, stakeholders)
LCDI was established to be the voice of the DI
community as a whole —> A holistic mandate:
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broad, diverse and cross-sectoral
organizations as well as individuals
established as well as emerging
direct and indirect interests
Work still needs to be done to more broadly encompass
the data component and emerging sectors (e.g.
humanities, social sciences, the arts)
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As a new entity, LCDI’s challenge was to establish its legitimacy
and mandate to engage the broader DI community
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1st step - to create a presence to facilitate engagement:
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Engagement Efforts:
◦ New bilingual website
◦ Logo and organizational identity
◦ Raising awareness levels
◦ Identification of the stakeholders that make up the DI
community and continuous efforts to build-up that network
◦ Leveraging existing communications channels and networks of LCDI
participants (newsletters, web, social media, events, etc.)
◦ Email blasts to as diverse a set of stakeholders as possible
◦ ‘Have Your Say’ Crowdsourcing campaign (over 1300 participants)
◦ Op/Ed contributions, such as Re$earch Money
◦ Input into other consultative activities (TC3+; S&T Strategy Renewal)
◦ Ongoing communications with Government and other influencers
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Developing messaging that resonates with a broader
audience (simplifying the DI story)
Expanding the DI network (identifying new stakeholders
to engage)
Creating tools to facilitate engagement (e.g., web-based
interactions, newsletters, social media, events, etc.)
Frequently, widely communicating progress/next steps
Ongoing interactions with government, the funders,
policy-makers and key influencers
And MOST importantly: Providing continued
opportunities for feedback on broad topics, open to
entire DI community
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A concrete action plan needs to be
developed.
This plan needs to have explicit leadership,
roles, responsibilities, deliverables, and
timelines.
“The buck stops here” in terms of identifying
how DI will be designed and implemented.
We are asking you to commit!
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The most critical issue is to identify WHO
leads DI, and HOW it operates.
It will be a collaborative coalition of some
form, e.g.:
◦ The LCDI in more or less its current form, perhaps
with different and/or additional players
◦ Something new, envisioned here
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It will provide high level liaison, coordination,
planning, monitoring, reporting, oversight,
and feedback to the community.
◦ It will NOT be a governing or management body,
but one with “moral authority” .
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The LCDI/Coalition cannot (and should not)
attempt to design all DI aspects
Working groups are suggested for items that
the community consultations have identified
as critical pieces to design/fix in Phase I:
◦ Refine the DI funding system
◦ Address weaknesses in data management
◦ Articulate the value propositions upstream and
downstream, and for all Canadian stakeholders
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Strong engagement of government and the
private sector is required
◦ Governments to lay out high level policy and
funding frameworks
◦ The private sector will eventually gain enormous
innovation advantages from the research findings
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Expertise, skills development, and user
assistance will be crucial pieces.
Software and middleware tool development.
Open communications and engagement
throughout the communities using DI.
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Assuming acceptance of
◦ The problem statement
◦ We have had enough discussion about problems;
need to turn to actions to address
◦ The urgency
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We need the items on the following slides
from you
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What are the top 5 issues that need to be
addressed:
◦ By you as action items
◦ As recommendations to TC3+ and/or government
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How should key stakeholders act together for
ongoing coordination and integration:
◦ Who should be in the LCDI/Coalition (or ???)
◦ How should it operate?
◦ NOTE: this goes beyond the excellent existing
cooperation among agencies
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How do we develop the Policy Framework:
◦ What is the role of the Policy Framework?
◦ Who is drafting it, who is reviewing it?
 E.g., IC, in consultation with TC3+ and the
LCDI/Coalition
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What are the key elements of the Roadmap:
◦ Near-term actions and Working Groups
◦ Recommendations to TC3+ and government
 E.g., appropriate funding mechanisms, developed in
consultation with LCDI
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What do you and/or your organization
commit to doing?