Under the name SciDataCon 2014, the next CODATA International Conference will take place in New Delhi, India on 2-5 November 2014.

Research data is at the core of the scientific endeavour, but several cultural and technological challenges are still preventing the research community from realising the full benefits. The emerging cultures of data sharing and publication, open access to, and reuse of data are the positive signs of an evolving research environment.

Under the umbrella of the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) and the World Data System (WDS) are supporting and encouraging these positive changes by actively promoting effective data policies and good data management practices in the research community, to produce better science, which ultimately benefits society.

As a major contribution to this effort, the two organizations have decided to co-sponsor and organize a high profile international biennial conference on scientific research data. SciDataCon will provide a unique platform bringing together international experts and practitioners in data management and technologies, researchers from the natural sciences and social sciences, research funders, and policy makers.

The sustainability challenges facing society today cannot be solved without multidisciplinary and transdiscplinary research on global sustainability, which requires the use of data across scientific disciplines and domains and from international sources. The effectiveness and credibility of this research will rely on the availability to the research community of quality-assessed and interoperable datasets.

In order to facilitate the work of international research undertakings—including the Future Earth research programme on global sustainability launched by ICSU and its partners in 2014— and amplify the message of like-minded global data initiatives promoting data sharing and interoperability—including the Group on Earth Observations and the Research Data Alliance—SciDataCon 2014 will highlight the theme of Data haring and Integration for Global Sustainability.

With high-level keynotes, four parallel sessions and a stimulating poster session, SciDataCon is conceived as a focussed—yet inclusive—conference to address major issues in global data management. The scientific programme will be designed by an International Scientific Programme Committee with innovative online consultation and input from research and data communities worldwide.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this exciting conference planned on 2–5 November 2014 in New Delhi, India and hosted by the Indian National Science Academy.  More information, calls for papers and invitations to participate in discussions around the themes of the conference will appear soon at http://www.scidatacon2014.org