The document summarizes the African Open Science Platform (AOSP), which aims to promote open data practices across Africa. It is funded by South Africa's Department of Science and Technology and managed by the Academy of Science of South Africa. The AOSP will focus on developing data policies, training, identifying infrastructure needs, and raising awareness of open science. Its goals are to increase data sharing, foster collaboration, and accelerate research across the continent by making data more accessible and reusable.

1. The African Open
Science Platform (AOSP)
AAU General Conference
6 June 2017, Accra, Ghana

2. Agenda
• About the African Open Science Platform (AOSP)
• Rationale for AOSP
• Accord on Open Data in a Big Data World
• Focus areas of AOSP
• Closing Remarks

3. About the African Open Science
Platform (AOSP)
• Funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF)
supported by SA Dept. of Science and Technology
• Directed by CODATA (ICSU)
• Managed by Academy of Science of South Africa
(ASSAf)
• Through ASSAf hosting ICSU Regional Office for Africa
(ICSU ROA)

4. About ICSU & CODATA
• ICSU: International Council for Science – consists of
17 interdisciplinary bodies e.g. CODATA
http://www.icsu.org/
• CODATA: Committee on Data for Science and
Technology
http://www.codata.org/
• Mission: Strengthen international science for the
benefit of society by promoting improved scientific
and technical data management and use.

5. About ASSAf (1)
• Recognise scholarly achievement & excellence
• Mobilise members in the service of society
• Conduct systematic & evidence-based studies on
issues of national importance (ASSAf OA Repository)
• Promote the development of an indigenous system of
South African research
• Publish science-focused journals (SciELO SA)
• Training in Open Journal Systems (OJS)
• Criteria for high quality OA journals
• Ambassador for Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
http://www.assaf.org.za

6. About ASSAf (2)
• Develop productive partnerships with national,
regional and international organisations to building
capacity within the National System of Innovation
(NSI)
• Create diversified sources of funding for sustainable
functioning and growth of a national academy
• Communicate with relevant stakeholders
• Association of African Universities (AAU) DATAD-R harvester
of OA repositories
• Evaluation instrument – harvesting IRs adhering to criteria
for best practice (ISO 16363, Data Seal of Approval etc.)
http://www.assaf.org.za

7. AOSP Governance
• Advisory Council (Chair: Prof Khotso Mokhele)
• Terms of Reference
• Technical Advisory Board
• Terms of Reference
• Platform Office (ASSAf) & ICSU/CODATA Office
• CODATA Executive Director (Dr Simon Hodson)
• 2x Senior Project Managers (Ina Smith & Susan Veldsman)
• Project plan
• Capacitate on network
• Reports to funder
• Workshops, meetings, presentations
• 1x Junior Project Officer (ASSAf)

8. Key Stakeholders
• IAP (Global Network of Science Academies)
• ICSU
• Regional Office for Africa (ROA)
• Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA)
• World Data System (WDS)
• The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)
• Research Data Alliance (RDA)
• Association of African Universities (AAU)
• Network of African Science Academies (NASAC)
• African Research Councils (incl. DIRISA, funders)
• African Universities
• African Governments
• NRENs (Internet Service Providers for Education)
• Other

9. Accord: Open Data in a Big Data
World
• Values of open data in
emerging scientific culture of
big data
• Need for an international
framework
• Proposes comprehensive set of
principles
• Provides framework & plan for
African data science capacity
mobilization initiative
• Proposes African Platform
Call to Endorse

10. Open Science Defined
“Open Science is the practice of science in such a way
that others can collaborate and contribute, where
research data, lab notes and other research
processes are freely available, under terms that
enable reuse, redistribution and reproduction of the
research and its underlying data and methods.” -
FOSTER Project, funded by the European Commission.

11. Open Data, Open Science and
the Research Lifecycle (Foster)
https://www.rri-tools.eu/-/research-lifecycle-enhanced-by-an-open-science-by-default-workflow

12. Value of an African Platform (1)
• Collective view of Open Science activities
• Create awareness
• Showcase African research
• Contribute to global knowledgebase
• Increase return on investment (re-use)
• Identify lack of data/opportunities/gaps

13. Value of an African Platform (2)
• Identify needs e.g. skills development,
infrastructure, policy formulation, etc.
• Act as conduit for links with international open data
and open science programs and standards
• Cross-use data across disciplines/studies
• Establish relationships between data
• Manage Intellectual Property (IP)

14. Value of an African Platform (3)
• Make data more discoverable/visible (metadata)
• Encourage collaboration between scientific &
private sectors, citizens
• Participate in collective problem-solving
• Allow verification of existing data, predict trends
• Accelerate discovery – speed is everything (e.g.
outbreaks)
• Attract funders

15. 5 Focus Areas (“Pillars”)
• Promote development & adoption of data policies,
principles, practices, standards
• Determine infrastructure available
• Address issues of incentives, best practice, benefits
• Foster training & capacity building activities
• Create an awareness, stimulate dialogue (frontiers)

16. Establish African Open Science Platform
Funded Research Data Infrastructure Initiatives
Funded, co-designed transdisciplinary research
projects
Co-design African Open Data Policies
Develop Incentives Frameworks
Develop Research Data Science Training
African Research Data Infrastructure Roadmap
Activities require
low funding for
coordination,
secondment,
contributions in
kind and evaluation.
Activities require
higher investment
for coordination,
co-design
implemenatation
and evaluation.
AOSP Preliminary Work Packages

17. AOSP Actions & Deliverables 2017
• SFSA Side Event & Panel Discussion (December 2016)
• Visit http://africanopenscience.org.za/
• Advisory Council & Technical Advisory Board
• Planning Phase
Next (Year 1):
• Expanding network, contacts, information on initiatives
• Identify/train representatives on national level (each
country actively producing data, with research interest)
• Awareness - coordinate national workshops to introduce
AOSP, open approaches – existing initiatives (conferences,
w/s)
• Desktop research to identify initiatives on national level &
populate database
• Engage with African stakeholders

18. AOSP Actions & Deliverables 2017
• White paper on Open Science and Open Data
(Botswana) and high level stakeholder workshop in
June??
• DATAD-R IR repository training (June-Sept)
• Criteria for IRs
• Evaluation
• Training
• CODATA-RDA Research Data Science Summer
School at the ICTP from 10 July 2017 to 21 July
2017. (I Smith and J Mwelwa)
• High level stakeholder workshop (Madagascar) Sept
• Ubuntunet (November 2017)

19. Survey: Status of Openness in
Africa
• Preliminary findings from survey
• Launched 1 November 2016; due date was 31
January 2017
• 35 responses received

20. Focus of data initiatives
69% = training; 60% = stewardship; 54% = policy

21. Funding of data initiatives
51% = host institution; 34% = international grant;
20% = national grant

22. Opportunities for Collaboration
• Capacitate on networks to populate database with
open data initiatives, contacts
• Work done in Francophone countries
• Training initiatives
• Addressing quality, standardization, interoperability
issues
• Roadmaps for data infrastructures, building on
existing work
• And many more ….

23. African Open Science Example

24. Closing Remarks
• Collaborate & learn – strength in diversity
• Data the new “gold” – predict trends (Prof Joseph
Wafula)
• Trusted data managed in trusted way
• Exploit data for the benefit of society (Min Naledi
Pandor)
• Tell the African story, in an African way

25. Acknowledgments
• SA Dept. of Science & Technology
• National Research Foundation (NRF)
• ICSU & CODATA
• All African partners

26. Thank you!
Simon Hodson
simon@codata.org
Susan Veldsman
susan@assaf.org.za
Ina Smith
ina@assaf.org.za