This presentation discusses the Research Data Alliance (RDA). RDA has grown to over 2,700 members from 95 countries seeking to openly share data across technologies and disciplines. Its vision is for researchers to address societal challenges through open data sharing. RDA builds social and technical bridges to enable this through 38 interest groups and 16 working groups. Key themes discussed include persistent identifiers for data and entities, and certifying trust in assertions and organizations. The value of relationships and mediation is also emphasized.

1. Unless otherwise noted, the slides in this presentation are licensed by Mark A. Parsons under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License
RDA:
Age 2
Seeking adoption
Mark A. Parsons
Secretary General
RDA Plenary 5
San Diego, California, USA
9 March 2016

2. Research Data Alliance
Vision
Researchers and innovators openly share data across
technologies, disciplines, and countries to address the
grand challenges of society.
Mission
RDA builds the social and technical bridges that enable
open sharing of data.

3. How RDA is growing?July
13
O
ct13
Jan
14
Apr14
July
14
O
ct14
Jan
15
M
ar15
393
993
1276
1658
2051
2407
2645
2778
Total RDA Community Members: 2778

4. RDA Members from 95 countries
Asia
6% Africa
2%
North America
37%
South America
1%
Europe
50%
Australia
4%

5. RDA Organisational
Members and Affiliates

6. RDA Organisational
Members and Affiliates

7. RDA Organisational
Members and Affiliates

8. RDA Organisational
Members and Affiliates

9. RDA Organisational
Members and Affiliates

10. Members and Activities
IT Consultancy/
Development
5%
SMEs
5%
Other
9%
Government/
Public Services
24%
Academia/
Research
57%
Academia/
Research
66%
IT Consultancy
3%
Industry
8%
Other
6%
Govt/Public
Services
17%
38 Interest Groups
16 Working Groups
Organisations
People

11. Some themes amidst the difference
1. Persistent Identifiers for data, documents, people,
organisations, instruments—Everything!

12. ‹#›
An Area of Convergence and Agreement
Internet Domain
nodes with IP numbers
packages being exchanged
standardized protocols
Slide courtesy P. Wittenberg from L. Lannom

13. ‹#›
An Area of Convergence and Agreement
Internet Domain
nodes with IP numbers
packages being exchanged
standardized protocols
Data Domain
objects with PID numbers
objects being exchanged
standardized protocols
Slide courtesy P. Wittenberg from L. Lannom

14. Some themes amidst the difference
1. Persistent Identifiers for data, documents, people,
organisations, instruments—Everything!
2. Certifying Trust in assertions, evidence, organisations,
processes…

15. Some themes amidst the difference
1. Persistent Identifiers for data, documents, people,
organisations, instruments—Everything!
2. Certifying Trust in assertions, evidence, organisations,
processes…
3. The value of Conversations, Relationships, and Mediation
— an agile network effect.

16. Increasing Complexity of
Mediation
From: C. Borgman, 2008, NSF
Cyberlearning Report

17. An Agile Manifesto for Organisations
(courtesy Bruce Caron)
We value:
• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working volunteers over comprehensive documentation
• Member collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan.

18. Going forward…
• Register you data — give it a PID and some metadata.
• Drink the community champagne! (Adopt a deliverable.)
• Seek connection and collaboration, but do not fear difference. Therein lies
insight.
• Continue to build a culture of trust and sharing.
• Contribute to a strategic direction around communication, coordination, and
engagement.

19. Thank You to our Supporters!
Media Partner:

20. Info:
enquiries@rd-alliance.org
@resdatall