[Community] COVID-19 RDA Activity and NRENs Support

[Effah Amponsah]

Dear all,

PLEASE READ MESSAGE BELOW AND SHARE WITH RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS
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In times of pandemic, research and education networks are called to do 
what they do best: deliver connectivity and access, collaborate 
regionally and globally, ensure the scientific community can work 
seamlessly together, supporting each other’s research, build onto each 
other’s findings. This also needs to happen for data and research data 
sharing.

There are two interlinked activities in the global data community.

    - The Data Together COVID-19 Appeal and Actions

RDA, CODATA, GO-FAIR, and WDS (four major international data
organisations), have committed to work together to optimise the global
research data ecosystem and to identify the opportunities and needs that
will trigger federated infrastructures to service the new reality of
data-driven science.


    - The RDA COVID-19 Working Group

The Research Data Alliance (RDA) has established a fast track COVID-19 
working group (https://www.rd-alliance.org/groups/rda-covid19), whose 
objectives are:

· To clearly define detailed guidelines on data sharing under the 
present COVID-19 circumstances to help stakeholders follow best 
practices to maximise the efficiency of their work.

· To develop guidelines for policymakers to maximise timely data sharing 
and appropriate responses in such health emergencies.

The RDA COVID-19 working group will collate existing material from many 
sources to develop detailed guidelines on the deposit of data in shared 
data hubs and platforms. The guidelines aim at developing a system for 
data sharing in public health emergencies that supports scientific 
research and policymaking, including an overarching framework, common 
tools and processes, and principles that can be embedded in research 
practice.

The guidelines to be developed will address general aspects related to 
the principles the data should adhere to (FAIR and other principles), as 
well as specificities related to five individual areas: omics, clinical,
epidemiology, social sciences and community participation. *The first 
results will be published by 24th April 2020. To date, over 350 global 
members have signed up to actively contribute their expertise to this 
initiative.*

Please, share this information with your connected institutions, 
scientists, researchers and data communities – there is a need to ensure 
that the response given to COVID-19 is a
truly global one.

Let's help drive a global action against the deadly virus.

-- 
Effah Amponsah
Communication & Marketing Officer,
WACREN
233243922502
www.wacren.net
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