The Finnish Research Data Initiativepost mortem

PhD Pirjo-leena Forsström, Development DirectorSecretary-General of Finnish Open Science and Research Initiative

pirjo-leena.forsstrom@csc.fi

Contents

Framework for Research Data Initiative in Finland

The Initiative

Lessons learned

Challenging and changing environment

Changing drivers of R&D&I&HEI-policies

• Globalisation, emerging countries, emerging knowhow

• Grand societal and environmental challenges

• Financial crises

• Need of a broad based innovation concept and multidisciplinary approach

• National policies versus European policies? National versus regional policies? Local and organisational strategies?

Changing mechanisms in STI&HEI

• Researcher careers/ Tenure track

• Research infrastructures

• Modern universities and RTOs

• Joint programmes and joint degrees

• Distribution of knowledge

• Joint pooling of funding (virtual common pots, real common pots, others)

• Joint evaluation and assessment activities

• Virtual learning and science

R. Maijala, A Finnish view of exchanging and using global research data, Dipoli, 3rd Dec 2013

Open Science and Research 2009-2017

Research Data

Survey Project

2009-2011

National Research

Data Project

2011-2014

Open Science and

Research Project

Roadmap 2014

• Open access

• Open data

• Open methods

• Roadmap

• Services

• Metadata

• International

collaboration

• Awareness

Open Science and

Research Project

Target 2017

• National and international

collaboration

• Change of culture

• Open Science Handbook

• Services for preservation

• Services for metadata

• Services for access

• Tools e.g. for identification

The objectives of the TTA initiative

1. Developing a Finnish sustainable information infrastructure for research data;2. Providing selected services to this infrastructure cost-effectively and sustainably;3. Enabling and encourage sharing and re-use of scientific data;4. Defining, defining and piloting preservation of digital data,5. Providing tools for data management, both on organizational, discipline and user level; and6. Contributing to unification of interfaces and metadata.7. Strengthen the capasities of research institutes and infrastructures, thus enhancing the competiveness of Finnishresearch.

Science is becoming ever more open and data-driven. Large integrated datasets can

provide a deeper understanding of nature and society.

The added value of TTA to Finland

• Through enhanced• findability and availability of data

• quality of data

• data services including analysis and processing services

• platform for interdisciplinary collaborative research

• Getting wider and more integrated research community• researchers in research institutes

• scientists and students of different disciplines working in academia

• IT and data service professionals

• To achieve• better use of Finland’s unique and open data resources in science and

education

• scientific excellency and breakthroughs in many different research fronts

• societal and environmental progress through evidence-based decision

making

• technological innovations and products

Tasks for enhancing the usage and usability of research datasets

Goal: the extensive use of publicly funded data in research

Main actors

Coordination Attitude Collaboration Interoperability Resources

Political will

and data policy

Legislation

renewal

Development

of practices

The data

infrastructure building

blocks

Ministries,

government,

state council

Ministries,

Data protection

commissioner,

the parliament

Ministries,sponsors,

Data producing and governing

organizations, univer-

sities, research institu-

tions, researchers

The ministry of

culture and education,

research organizations,

Infrastructure actors

The required activities

Discovery Availability Usability Data life cycle

•Political alignment

•Common goals

•Principles and the division of

responsibilities

•Resource planning

•Coordination enhancements

•Clear rules

•Removing the ambiguity

•Easing the availability and

usage of research data

•Data inventaries

•Terms of use

•Rules for financing and research prin-

ciples

•The strenghtening of skills

•Interoperable systems

•Common services

•Thematic applications

•Long term preservation

•Investments

Finnish universities: Small survey on the state of data management in 2013

– indicative results in TTA project

Level 0: Data management is not on the agenda of the university.

Level 1: The need to plan university level data management has been recognized and actions have been taken to develop a plan on data management.

Level 2: Data management at university level has been planned to some extent, and some data management services have been planned or implemented.

Level 3: Data management at university level is well planned and at least a part of the data management services are functioning.

Level 4: Data management at university level is well planned and implemented.

TAY

VY

TTYHanken

JY HY

Aalto TY

ÅA OY

decreasing level - stable situation – improving level

Finnish universities: Small survey on data management of research projects in 2013 – indicative results in TTA project (n=29)

Bioscience, Medicine and Health science

Social sciences

Arts

Natural science

Computer science

Technical sciences

decreasing level - stable situation – improving level

R. Maijala, A Finnish view of exchanging and using global research data, Dipoli, 3rd Dec 2013

Source: TTA project

Information infrastructures for research data – a Finnish example

R. Maijala, A Finnish view of exchanging and using global research data, Dipoli, 3rd Dec 2013

Make it / I Find it

• Store, Study, Discuss

• Find Existing Data

Make it Ready

• Describe, Package, Authorize

Make it Available

•Manage, Market, Preserve

Current blueprint for informationinfrastructure

KATA Data Catalogue

IDA Storage Service

AVAA Publishing Service

REMS EntitlementsMgmt

PAS Preservation

Guidelines & Support, data portal tdata.fi

Collaboration Tools

Analyzing & Visualization

Finding Aids

Metadata SupportServices (Identifiers,

Ontologies…)

Strategy | Governance | Development Path

Large

Medium

Minimal

Metadata

• TTA metadata challenges: to improve data findability, availability and usability

• Three metadata tiers: minimal, medium, large

• TTA metadata model defines metadata that must be attached to each dataset and the structure of that metadata

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• No single metadata standard fits all!

• TTA metadata principle: reuse of metadata; utilize existing metadata formats and services

• International and national co-operation is important

Findability, availability

Usability

TTA-services 2013

Based on open source solutions

IDA – data storage (in use) (iRoDS)

KATA –data catalog(piloting) (CKAN)

AVAA -open data platform(in use) (Liferay)

PAS – Long TermPreservation (2015), pilotsstarting 2014 (several OS components)

AVAILABLE for finnishresearch system

Policy proposal concerning open access of research results in Finland

Basic objective Research data and publications are openly available in an information network

via an open interface

Clarifications (extracts) All actors in the Finnish research system share the scientific publications and

research data they produce through an open information network. This principle of openness also concerns research methods and the tools required to produce results, such as computer simulations.

Openness will, however, adhere to ethical principles and respect the legal context. Open access to research data will always be the goal when it is legally and contractually possible.

The re-use of research data and publications is not unnecessarily restricted, and the terms and conditions of their use are clearly stated. Standard, generic and machine-readable licences are complied with - for example, CC BY 4.0, which will be receiving a Public Administration Recommendation (JHS).

The contracts and funding decisions that concern research, support open access to publications and data.

Lessons learned

1. Look at the big picture: governance

2. Remember permanency needs

3. Prepare for agile continuos change

4. Openness is a way forward

5. Culture is everything

6. Beware the breaking points in governance

Governance big picture: lessons learned

Institutional framework for priority settingshould be flexible

Flexible funding and spending mechanismshelp ensure stability

Knowledge sharing and intellectual propertyrequire tailored approach

Outreach is indispensable for putting data management into practise

Governance of research data issues

Preserving access to scientific information: at thecore of research process: validation, verification, reproduction of results

Involves science, technology, and innovation issues

Equipment, software, and file formats will become outdated, but despite this the information must be preserved in an understandable form (validation and verification needs, re-use)

Technology independency

What should be avalaible and preserved?

For validation, all relevant information fromthe research process:

Publications

Data

Methods

Metadata, quality information

References, linkages

IPR and ownership information, license

Cultural change

From knowledge protection to management of knowledge flow

Disruptive changes are fast

Important to have a reason to do the work

Value and benefit

Research quality and reproducability, impactevaluation

Open collaboration = inflow of ideas, don´tresist it with too ridig models and roles

Expences for data preservation2013-2024For 12 PB by 2022

103 M€

Cost and benefit analysis

Open code as one tool for managing change

• Open code facilitates continuity planning of software componets.

• Open and standard file formats are importantin preserving content.

• Most important: open standards for connections and communication between data and software, extentensive use of standards

rising costs of technology development, if not done openly with others

shortening idea life cycle, when struggling with infrastructure takes valuable research time

Open Closed

Agile change: open development

• Good ideas are widely distributed today, no one has a monopoly on useful knowledge

• Innovation is now done within networks, rather than within a single firm

• Not all of the smart people in the world work for us • Avoid vendor lock-in, service lock-in, organization lock-in

Open framework:- Ability to profit from technology- Ability to scale up technology- Ability to continue innovating technology- Ability to acquire technology- Ability to involve new skills

Breaking points in governance

Commitments: importance of high-level coordination, system linkages

Capabilities: co-operation in capability building

Resources: contingency management

Strategies

Protectionism of resources

Primary documentation

Local, National, Global: Principles of availability (free, licensed, machine readable)

"πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει" καὶ "δὶς ἐς τὸν αὐτὸν ποταμὸν οὐκ ἂν ἐμβαίης" Panta chōrei kai ouden meneikai dis es ton auton potamon ouk an embaies ”

Everything changes and nothing remains still ... and ... you cannot step twice into the same stream” Heraclitos

Thank you!

More info: tdata.fi

openscience.fi

Pirjo-leena.forsstrom@csc.fi

Manage the change and you

can manage everything