Annual Report 2015–16
This has been an exciting year for ICSU-WDS, with not only the appointment of a new Scientific Committee (WDS-SC) but also the renewal of the agreement between ICSU and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology for the latter to host the WDS International Programme Office for a further five years.
The third WDS-SC was appointed in July 2015 for a threeyear period, with Prof Sandy Harrison agreeing to be the new SC Chair until 2017. Two further members joined in December to give a full contingent including nine new members. One of the first tasks of the new WDS-SC was to adopt a set of Data Sharing Principles to advance WDS goals and to embody the spirit of Open Science.
The WDS Publishing Data and Certification Working Groups (WGs) presented their final outputs at the Sixth and Seventh Plenary Meetings of the Research Data Alliance, some of which will be taken forward by the Global Science Forum of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. An outcome of major significance from the Publishing Data WGs was the Open and Universal Data–Literature Interlinking Service—a freely accessible, web-based service that enables users to identify associations between datasets and articles. Furthermore, the Common Requirements and Procedures developed by the Certification WG will be adopted by ICSUWDS and the Data Seal of Approval over the coming year.
ICSU-WDS co-organized two events in 2015. A joint Workshop with the Scientific Committee on Solar–Terrestrial Physics resulted in the signing of a Letter of Agreement between the two organizations; while over 110 data managers, scientists, funders, and indigenous people gathered at the Second International Polar Data Forum to look at maximizing the value of polar data in solving global challenges. The WDS Webinar series also continued with aplomb, building its reputation through five high-calibre presentations given by leading experts.
Finally, our congratulations go out to Dr Yaxing Wei, who was selected by the WDS-SC as the winner of the WDS Data Stewardship Award for 2015.
More information is available on the ICSU WDS website:
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