New coalition: Big Data/Open Data | TWAS

"Science International is a new coalition of the major international science bodies – the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) – to bring its members’ combined international representation and credibility to act as a global voice of policy for science. At its first meeting, to be held from 7-9 December in Pretoria, South Africa, the participating institutions will discuss the topic of big data/open data. "Big data" has emerged as a major opportunity for scientific discovery, while "open data" will enhance the efficiency, productivity and creativity of the public research enterprise and counteract tendencies towards the privatisation of knowledge. In addition, concurrent open publication of the data underpinning scientific papers can provide the basis of scientific self-correction. Efforts by organisations, individuals and society to maximise the benefits of big data, however, will depend on the extent to which there is open access to publicly funded scientific data."

A meeting to occur in South Africa in December 2015 will discuss initiatives to create internationally agreed upon principles and processes to ensure open data. Read full article for all information.