IMPLEMENTING THE UNESCO RECOMMENDATION ON OPEN SCIENCE TO ADDRESS GLOBAL CHALLENGES: Agricultural sciences data challenges (wp10)

4th April 202318th May 2023 | adelipalta

The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science (2021) provides an international framework for the global transformation of societies towards Open Science. It sets out the fundamental principles of human rights and ethics that define the leading role UNESCO has in ensuring science benefits all by promoting just and equitable access to knowledge and other products of the scientific endeavour.

UNESCO, ISC, CODATA and WDS organised a symposium to explore the existing and most recent cooperative scientific, digital, and ethics frameworks for advancing the implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science across its Areas of Action.

We spoke to Debora Drucker (Embrapa) who presented at the Symposium on behalf of WP10:

“I presented our approach of building the case study on agricultural biodiversity within the WolrdFAIR project as an example and strategy of dealing with the data challenges in agricultural sciences, which are inherently interdisciplinary and need interoperability across domains and societies. This initiative was born within the IGAD/RDA Improving Global Agricultural Data (IGAD) Community of Practice and gathers various initiatives, especially the TDWG Biological Interaction Data Interest Group and the SURPASS2 project, which is also linked to the Brazilian Network of Plant-Pollinator Interactions.

Plant-pollinator interactions sustain biodiversity, so they also support directly or indirectly most of the Sustainable Development Goals. Our major goal is to ensure FAIR data for understanding plant-pollinator interactions at biologically relevant scales for crops. We identified opportunities of aligning ongoing efforts to FAIRify plant-pollinator data: through the GBIF Unified data model, the Cross-Domain Interoperability Framework (CDIF) and finding commonalities with the other domains. For instance – how does climate change affect pollinators and pollination? What about disasters?

The key messages of my presentation at the Symposium were:

Building on Existing Communities of Practice is Key,

Ensuring Global participation is needed (across domains and societies),

Research institutions and data driven decision making initiatives must be aligned,

Science Policy Initiatives (IPBES, UNESCO,…) drive important efforts that can really make a difference for advancing knowledge and inform decisions.”

Debora’s slides are available here.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is thumbnail_debora-unesco-2.jpg

WorldFAIR Chemistry (WP3) News and Calls for Abstracts

30th March 202318th May 2023 | adelipalta

Since June 2022, the IUPAC WorldFAIR Chemistry project has been constantly working through collaboration with related disciplines and data science communities to support broader data sharing of chemical data. This March, we are excited to share with you the launch of a couple of samplers, the Cookbook and the Protocol Services. We also would like to invite you to attend and submit abstracts for multiple chemical data sessions that we are co-organizing.

Cookbook: The IUPAC FAIR Chemistry Cookbook sampler – a resource to support the broader community in using standards to implement the FAIR data principles for chemical data – has been released. As strategies for implementing FAIR evolve and the sharing and reuse of FAIR chemical data continues to rise, the Cookbook is an online platform developed to be a living and expanding resource. The overall goal is to get practical tools & tips in the hands of practicing chemists and those who support them to lower barriers and smooth the adoption of best practices for sharing and re-using FAIR chemical data. Don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts on Sample Recipes and Future Content sections via the Questionnaire or the Feedback & suggestions (free GitHub Login Required). Any suggestions for new recipes are also welcomed.
Protocol Services: A new service prototype for supporting standard programmatic chemical data exchange and validation is also now available through the IUPAC FAIR Chemistry Protocol Services project. The services are intended to confirm chemical identity and provide real-time feedback on the machine-readability of chemical data and metadata representation based on IUPAC standard rule sets and community best practices. To engage community input, a conceptual framework and demo prototype (for demonstration only) is made available via https://iupac.github.io/WFChemProtocols. We invite you to have a look at it and don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts using the Questionnaire or the Feedback & suggestions (free GitHub Login Required). Any suggestions for new services are also welcomed.

Invitation & Calls for Abstracts

Call for Abstracts: Helping Chemists Manage their Data– ACS-Fall, Aug 13-17, 2023
Submission HERE (submission deadline Apr 4, 2023) – Flyer
Call for Abstracts: CINF Chemical Data Summit – ACS-Fall, Aug 13-17, 2023. Flyer
Submission HERE (submission deadline Apr 4, 2023)
Call for abstracts: Reusing Chemical Data Across-disciplines with CARE, TRUST, and Openness, IDW, October 2023.

Submission HERE (submission deadline May 15, 2023)

5. Watch them again! Prior webinars doc and recording are all available HERE

The worldfair project’s cross-domain interoperability framework

22nd March 202318th May 2023 | adelipalta

22 March 2023

The WorldFAIR Project was delighted to welcome sixty-two highly engaged participants to the hybrid workshop, ‘The WorldFAIR Project’s cross-domain interoperability framework’ in Göteborg on 20 March 2023.

The goal of this event was to describe the reasoning behind the development of the Cross- Domain Interoperability Framework (CDIF), to give a detailed picture of how it is currently envisioned and what activities, functions, and standards it will encompass, and to provide a current status of the work.

The EC-funded WorldFAIR project is coordinated by CODATA, with RDA as a major partner, and will produce an initial draft of the CDIF recommendations. Building on WorldFAIR, and other expert communities, a Working Group and Advisory Group have been established to oversee the development of CDIF. It is expected that CDIF will persist beyond
the scope of the initial WorldFAIR Project, and include not only the eleven domain case studies, but also other interested communities. Efforts will be made to align with major global initiatives and infrastructures addressing data interoperability (such as EOSC, ARDC, UNECE Modern Statistics).

The first part of the workshop focused on the functional drivers and requirements for defininga set of activities to support the FAIR principles, and showed the organisational and system dynamics which make CDIF necessary. The development process and questions around the organisation of the work were also described. The draft of CDIF that was presented identifies activities and information implicit in adherence to and support for the FAIR principles. CDIF is built on top of the generic foundation provided by the FAIR Digital Object Framework, to address interoperability at the level of applications rather than exchange protocols. CDIF reflects the granular needs for domain metadata being expressed in broadly understood terms where possible, supplemented by domain-specific semantics where absolutely required.

The second part of the workshop showed how these research and data requirements can be translated into system functions and services, and how these can be supported through the use of existing standards and specifications for the needed information. These include specifications such as DCAT, Schema.org, DDI-CDI, SKOS/XKOS, SSSOM, OGC
Observations & Measurements/I-PROV, etc. Specific features of the standards and how they can be used in combination were addressed, although not at a technical level. Feedback from participants was elicited, and their input collected helps inform the ongoing development work.

The slides are available in Zenodo here and the recording is available here.

Presentation: WorldFAIR context, progress, FIPs and CDIF, presentation, Simon Hodson

Presentation: Vision for CDIF and its role as a cross-domain lingua franca, presentation, Arofan Gregory

Presentation: Functional breakdown and high level recommendations in CDIF, current status and planned work, presentation, Arofan Gregory

Presentation: WorldFAIR Vision Paper ‘Arise FAIR Sun’, Simon Hodson

Pre-Reading:

Cross-Domain Interoperability Framework (CDIF) Working Documents

WorldFAIR CDIF Vision Paper: Arise FAIR Sun, draft for comment

What is a Chemical? Innovation in Chemical Descriptions” Webinar – 17/2/23

17th February 202318th May 2023 | adelipalta

The IUPAC WorldFAIR Chemistry project is pleased to invite you to attend the fourth webinar of our series titled “What is a Chemical? Innovation in Chemical descriptions”. We are focusing on innovations and creative approaches to chemical description, particularly those that address chemicals in complex systems: such as reactions, multiple-component systems/mixtures, complexes, composites, formulations, and using these in different computational settings, representation services, tools, and mechanisms.

To Register: bit.ly/FAIRW4

The webinar series highlights the current status of working with descriptions of chemical substances, development of digital tools to transform chemical data notation into digital entities, and ways to implement FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles across the chemical enterprise.

This webinar will last for 90 min, and we have invited 5 guest speakers to present their perspectives on the use of chemical substance notation” in their field within a 5 min flash presentation for each speaker. This will be followed by a panel discussion. Check out the flyer attached!

*IUPAC is the world authority on chemical nomenclature, terminology, and standardized methods of measurement, and is engaging in a concerted effort through collaboration with the broader chemistry and data science communities to translate a range of assets and activities into the digital domain.

**WorldFAIR Chemistry is one of several case studies in the global WorldFAIR initiative directed by CODATA and the Research Data Alliance to connect diverse activities across disciplines and geographies.

WorldFAIR @ RDA’s 10 Year Anniversary: Image sharing systems and practices in Cultural Heritage

9th February 202318th May 2023 | adelipalta

In 2023 the Research Data Alliance is celebrating its 10th Anniversary. We’re excited to commemorate this important milestone with our community by organising a series of international and regional events and activities dedicated to a specific theme related to research data management of relevance to the RDA community.

As part of this event series, WorldFAIR Work Package 13 (WP13) presents their landscaping report identifying how Cultural Heritage institutions engage with FAIR (examining formats and image delivery technologies).

This workshop will aim to have a community discussion around this report.

webinar series organised by the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC)

31st January 202317th May 2023 | adelipalta

As part of its openness and FAIRness mission, PARC orgineses a series of webinars open to all with an interest in FAIR data and FAIR tools / models / software. Speakers are from across the spectrum including from INQUIRE, WorldFAIR, MACRAME, NanoSolveIT and more.

Webinars are held every other Thursday 4-5 CET – around 45 minutes presentation + 15 minutes discussion.

find out more and register

Webinar: Making the Invisible, Visible: Race, Racism, and Health Data Lessons From Latin American Countries

27th January 202317th May 2023 | adelipalta

This panel brings together activists, academics, decision-makers, and representatives of social movements from Latin America to discuss the use, availability, and barriers to collecting race and ethnicity data in national census, health information systems, and vital statistics, and implications for documenting racial/ethnic health inequities in the region. The event marks the release of the data brief “Making the Invisible, Visible: Race, Racism, and Health Data, Lessons from Latin American countries” and the official launch of the newly CIHR-funded PAN-DIASPORA project (Pan-American Data Initiative for the Analysis of Population Racial/Ethnic Health Inequities).

PAN-DIASPORA is a collaborative research initiative designed to examine the availability, quality and scope of data collected and used on racial/ethnic inequities in urban areas in the Pan-American region, including Brazil, Colombia, Canada, and the United States. Using available national census data, health surveys and health surveillance systems and vital statistics registries, and situated within intersectional and structural racism frameworks, the PAN-DIASPORA project will contribute to discussions regarding the use of these data sources for the accurate documentation of racial health inequities, the creation of measures designed to describe the conditions in which marginalized racial/ethnic groups are embedded, and the development of policy action to mitigate and eliminate racial health inequities in the region.

This project is a partnership between the Ubuntu Center on Racism, Global Movements, and Population Health Equity at Drexel University (US), McGill University (Canada), the Institute of Collective Health at the Federal University of Bahia (Brazil), the University of Toronto (Canada), the School of Government at Universidad de los Andes (Colombia), Johns Hopkins University (US), Pedro Kouri Institute (Cuba), and the SALURBAL Project at the Urban Health Collaborative at Drexel University (US).

WORLDFAIR CHEMISTRY WEBINAR 04: What is a Chemical? Innovation in Chemical descriptions

23rd January 202317th May 2023 | adelipalta

To register: https://bit.ly/FAIRW4

This webinar lasts for 90 min, and we have invited 5 guest speakers to present their perspectives on the use of chemical substance notation” in their field within a 5 min flash presentation for each speaker. This will be followed by a panel discussion.

You can catch up with webinar recordings on the WorldFAIR Chemistry YouTube playlist.

FAIRChemistry_Webinar04_02172023_Flyer Download

PARC FAIR DATA AND TOOLS WEBINAR SERIES

12th January 202312th April 2023 | adelipalta

The European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) is an EU-wide research and innovation partnership programme

It support EU and national chemical risk assessment and risk management bodies with new data, knowledge, methods, networks and skills to address current, emerging and novel chemical safety challenges.

As part of its openness and FAIRness mission, a series of webinars is organised open to all with an interest in FAIR data and FAIR tools / models / software. Within the scope of PARC. it is pulling in speakers from across the spectrum including from INQUIRE, WorldFAIR, MACRAME, NanoSolveIT and more.