Daphne Raban: Candidacy for CODATA Executive Committee Ordinary Member

This is the second in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 17-18 October 2025. Daphne Raban is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. She was nominated by Israel.

My interest in data and information spans over three decades, beginning with a professional career in 1992 and continuing through my academic career since 2000. Today, I serve as a full professor at the University of Haifa’s School of Business Administration. My research has ranged from early studies on the challenges of analyzing web-based data, through investigations of preferential attachment and information diffusion, to e-commerce behavior and the economics of information. More recently, I co-authored theoretical and experimental work on information markets.

Beyond research, I have been deeply involved in data-related institutional leadership. For the past five years, I served as Academic Head of the University of Haifa’s central library—the leading academic library in Israel—where I witnessed firsthand how libraries evolve from access providers into producers and preservers of digital data. I was also honored to serve in a committee of the National Academy of Sciences tasked with introducing data science education across all university disciplines, a recommendation that has since been adopted across Israeli universities.

As chair of the Israeli CODATA National Committee (NC), I have worked with colleagues to draft a mission statement, carefully aligned with CODATA’s strategic priorities, that emphasizes data management and literacy, research collaborations, and the recognition of national policy as a cornerstone for progress.

Since then, the Israeli NC has taken part in several initiatives: reviewing options for institutional data repositories, contributing to a national request to join DARIAH, leading a major preservation project for historical testimony data, and engaging with CODATA activities such as the IDPC and EDEN survey. I also make sure to circulate CODATA communications to scholars in Israel, helping to strengthen awareness and participation in this international community. During IDW, I will present two papers at SciDataCon 2025, participate in a panel discussion and attend the CODATA General Assembly.

My engagement with CODATA over the past three years, and my leadership of the Israeli NC, have been a source of valuable learning. Serving on the Executive Committee would allow me to deepen this mutual exchange: bringing CODATA’s global expertise into Israel, while also sharing the Israeli experience in building data stewardship, institutional repositories, and open science policies.

I see this candidacy as a chance to contribute, but also to learn. If elected, I will work to strengthen CODATA’s visibility, foster practical applications of its knowledge, and continue advancing open science, data stewardship, and data-driven research.

In summary, my main strengths as a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee:

  • Proven leadership: Chair of the Israeli CODATA National Committee, initiating its mission statement and aligning it with CODATA’s strategic priorities.
  • Academic excellence: Full professor at the University of Haifa with over three decades of professional and academic engagement in data and information.
  • Research impact: Contributions to web data analysis, network science, information diffusion, e-commerce behavior, and the economics of information.
  • Institutional expertise: Five years as Academic Head of Israel’s leading academic library, with experience in digital preservation and innovative data services.
  • National influence in education: Member of a National Academy of Sciences committee that shaped nationwide data science education policies.
  • International engagement: Active in CODATA initiatives (IDPC, EDEN survey), frequent dissemination of CODATA knowledge in Israel, and presenter at SciDataCon 2025.
  • Commitment to open science: Strong advocate for data stewardship, data-driven research, and making CODATA knowledge accessible to a broad audience.
  • Collaborative mindset: View Executive Committee role as a mutual learning opportunity—bringing CODATA expertise into Israel and contributing experience to the global community.