International Experiences in Data Policy Seminario Internacional Santiago, Chile 9 July 2010 by Paul F. Uhlir Director, Board on Research Data and Information

International Experiences in Data Policy

Seminario InternacionalSantiago, Chile9 July 2010

byPaul F. UhlirDirector, Board on Research Data and InformationThe National AcademiesWashington, [email protected]


In this presentation I will: Provide some background context and rationale Identify the principal stakeholders Discuss some negative effects of excessive restrictions on

data access and reuse Define what a digital commons is Review various models and examples of such commons that

already exist online Present the benefits of providing research data online without

reuse restrictions Analyze some of the tensions that exist between open and

closed information systems Provide some examples of international data policies, and Conclude with some selected challenges and

recommendations


Comparison of some key characteristics of the print and digitally networked paradigms

PRINT GLOBAL DIGITAL NETWORKS (pre) Industrial Age post-industrial Information Age fixed, static transformative, interactive rigid flexible, extensible physical “virtual” mostly local global linear non-linear, asynchronous, with

time/space collapsed limited content and types unlimited contents and multimedia distribution difficult, slow easy and immediate dissemination copying cumbersome, not perfect copying simple and identical significant marginal distribution cost zero marginal distribution cost single user (or small group) multiple, concurrent users/producers centralized production distributed production slow knowledge diffusion accelerated knowledge diffusion


Key stakeholders in the development of scientific data access policies:

Government(s) Research funding agencies Universities and not-for-profit research institutes Libraries/archives/data centers and informatics experts Learned societies International scientific organizations Industry research institutions and partners Individual researchers General public Foreign research peers and cooperating organizations


Broad implications of excessive restrictions (economic, legal, technical) on access to and reuse of data and information from public sources:

1) Higher research costs2) Lost opportunity costs 3) Barriers to innovation4) Less effective scientific cooperation and education5) Widening gap between OECD and developing countries

Openness thus should be the default rule, with the goal of creating a digital commons, limited only by legitimate and well-justified exceptions.


What is a digital commons?

Digital data and information originating principally from government or publicly-funded sources;

Made freely available for broad, common use online; With the material in the public domain, or with only some

rights reserved (using a common-use licenses, such as Creative Commons); and

Typically organized thematically through an institutional mechanism.


Existing digital commons models and emerging open knowledge environments:

Open-source software movement (e.g., Linux and 10Ks of other programs worldwide, many of which originated in academia for research applications);

Distributed Grid computing or computational e-science (e.g., SETI@Home, LHC@Home);

Open data centers and archives (e.g., GenBank); Federated open data networks (e.g., World Data Center Service, Global

Biodiversity Information Facility, NASA DAACs); Open access journals (e.g., PLOS + > 5000 scholarly journals, many in Latin

America—SciELO, Bioline International); Open repositories for an institution’s scholarly works (e.g., the Indian

Institute for Science, + > 400 formally registered globally) Open repositories for publications in a specific subject area (e.g., the

physics arXiv, CogPrints, PubMedCentral); Free university curricula and lectures online (e.g., the MIT

OpenCourseWare); Emerging discipline or applications commons and integrated open

knowledge environments (e.g., neurocommons).


Advantages of open access and unrestricted reuse of scientific data:

Promotes interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, and international research; Enables automated knowledge discovery; Avoids duplication of research and promotes new research and new types of

research; Reinforces open scientific inquiry and encourages diversity of analysis and opinion; Allows for the verification of previous results; Makes possible the testing of new or alternative hypotheses and methods of analysis; Supports studies on data collection methods and measurement; Facilitates the education of new researchers; Enables the exploration of topics not envisioned by the initial investigators; Permits the creation of new data sets when data from multiple sources are combined; Facilitates transfer of information North -> South and South <-> South; Promotes capacity building in developing countries; and Generally helps to maximize the research potential of new digital resources and

technologies, providing greater returns from public investments in research. Many other advantages and justifications outside research…


Compelling reasons for placing government-generated data and information in the public domain or under common-use conditions:

Legal. A government entity needs no legal incentives from exclusive property rights to create information. Both the activities that the government undertakes and the information produced by it in the course of those activities are a [global] public good.

Socioeconomic. Many economic and non-economic positive externalities. Network effects can be realized on an exponential basis through the open dissemination of data and information online.

Ethical. The public has already paid for the production of the information. Burden of additional access fees falls disproportionately on the individuals least able to pay. Open access benefits the poor and disadvantaged.

Political. Transparency of governance is undermined by restricting citizens from access to and use of public data and information. Rights of freedom of expression and information are compromised by restrictions on re-dissemination of public information, particularly of factual data.


Legitimate restrictions on public access to government data

National security, law enforcement, and public safety Personal privacy Confidentiality Respecting proprietary rights of private-sector parties


International Data Policy Developments


OECD Recommendation on Principles and Guidelines for Access to Research Data from Public Funding (2007)

Openness Flexibility Transparency Legal conformity (with other existing laws) Protection of intellectual property Formal responsibility Professionalism Interoperability Quality Security Efficiency Accountabilty Sustainability


OECD Recommendation of the Council for Enhanced Access to and More Effective Use of Public Sector Information (2008)

Openness Access and transparent conditions for re-use Asset lists Quality Integrity New technologies and long-term preservation Copyright Pricing Competition Redress mechanisms Public private partnerships International access and use Best practices


Data Policy Developments in the European Union

- Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) Directive (2007)

- Directive on Public Access to Environmental Information (2003)- Directive on the Reuse of Public Sector Information (2003)- Directive on the Legal Protection of Databases (1996, reviewed 2006)- Many national policies by Member States


National Data Policy Developments


Data policy developments in the United States

White House Inter-Agency Working Group on Digital Data National coordination International coordination Education and workforce Data research Data systems development and deployment Data assurance Data quality Integration and interoperability

Data.gov Portal


Selected Data Policy Developments in Countries with

Transitional Economies

- China Scientific Data Sharing Program (2003)- South African National Policy on Access to Public Research

Data (2008)


Data Policies in Scientific Disciplines or Sectors


Data Sharing Principles of the Group on Earth Observations

There will be full and open exchange of data, metadata, and products shared within GEOSS, recognizing relevant international instruments and national policies and legislation.

All shared data, metadata, and products will be made available with minimum time delay and at minimum cost.

All shared data, metadata, and products being free of charge or no more than cost of reproduction will be encouraged for research and education.

GEOSS 10-Year Implementation Plan, adopted 16 February 2005(emphasis added)


Implementation Guidelines for GEO Data Sharing Principles1) Promoting implementation of the principle of full and open exchange of data

in accordance with the GEOSS Data Sharing Principles

2) Encouraging GEOSS users to reuse and re-disseminate shared data, metadata, and products

3) Ensuring consistency in the implementation of the GEOSS Data Sharing Principles with relevant international instruments and national policies and legislation

4) Implementing pricing policies consistent with the GEOSS Data Sharing Principles

5) Reducing the time delays for making data available through GEOSS

6) Promoting research and education uses of GEOSS data

7) Developing metrics and indicators for GEOSS data sharing activities

8) Developing effective coordination and outreach mechanisms for implementing the GEOSS Data Sharing Principles


Continuing Challenges and Some Recommendations

Openness Intellectual property rights for data Public-private partnerships Hyper-secrecy and classification of data Socio-cultural norms and attitudes Long-term sustainability of data collections Automated knowledge discovery Integrated open knowledge environments Data for decision making and development


Openness

Recommendations:

1. Make open access the default rule.

2. Have positive requirements for open e-government.

3. Require access to data from publicly funded research within a set period (end of grant) or with publication of research results.

4. Protect legitimate interests only (e.g., national security, privacy, business proprietary concerns, scientific progress)


Intellectual property rights in data

Recommendations:

1. Put government data in public domain or under liberal (e.g., Creative Commons) licenses.

2. Use liberal licenses for access and use of publicly funded data.


Public-private partnerships

Recommendation:

Promote public-private partnerships for innovation in research that has commercialization potential, but protect public-interest educational and public knowledge mission of universities.


Hyper-secrecy and data classification

Recommendation:

Conduct a review national security classification of data, especially for spatial data, with non-military stakeholders (e.g., researchers, major private-sector users).


Socio-cultural norms and attitudes

Recommendations:

1. Use a mix of incentives and requirements to change attitudes and behavior.

2. Work with university faculties, scientific societies, libraries, and public-interest organizations to promote education and training in key elements of data management and policy.


Long-term sustainability of data collections

Recommendations:

1. Consider national data collections as essential scientific infrastructure and national patrimony.

2. Examine and adopt least-restrictive options for sustainable preservation and use.

3. Plan adequately for digital preservation to avoid large losses of information.

4. Focus on the development of human capital.


Automated (computational) knowledge discovery

Recommendations:

1. Make open data discoverable, interoperable (technically and semantically), and quality controlled.

2. Adjust peer-review approaches for assessing large scale data integration research results.


Integrated open knowledge environments

Recommendation:

Deconstruct and reconstruct research processes and scholarly communication models, to move from print paradigm assumptions and practices to optimizing for the digitally networked environment.


Data for decision making and socioeconomic development

Recommendation

Work with stakeholders outside the research community— policymakers, business leaders, non-governmental organizations, journalists—to make relevant data usable for important non-research purposes.


Some works by the author on this topic (all available freely online): Bits of Power: Issues in Global Access to Scientific Data (NAS, 1997) The Role of S&T Data and Information in the Public Domain (NAS,

2003) Reichman, J.H. and Paul F. Uhlir, “A Contractually Reconstructed

Research Commons for Scientific Data in a Highly Protectionist Intellectual Property Environment, 66 Law & Contemporary Problems 315-462 (2003)

UNESCO Policy Guidelines for the Development and Promotion of Governmental Public Domain Information (2004)

Open Access and the Public Domain in Digital Data and Information for Science (NAS, 2004)

Strategies for Open Access to and Preservation of Scientific Data in China (NAS, 2006)

Uhlir & Schröder, “Open Data for Global Science”, Data Science Journal, CODATA (2007).

Uhlir, et al, “Toward Implementation of the GEOSS Data Sharing Principles”, Journal of Space Law (2009).

Documents

International Experiences in Data Policy Seminario Internacional Santiago, Chile 9 July 2010 by Paul F. Uhlir Director, Board on Research Data and Information