Open Science for a Global Transformation: Call for Papers for a Special Collection in Data Science Journal

2021 is likely to be a very significant year for the transformation of science and the adoption of Open Science and FAIR practices.  UNESCO, the educational, scientific and cultural organization of the United Nations, is preparing a Recommendation on Open Science to be adopted (it is hoped) by the UNESCO General Assembly in November 2021.  Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic—which has accentuated the need for international research cooperation, scientific transparency and data sharing for robust evidence and informed decisionmaking—UNESCO has conducted a global consultation and drafting process for the Recommendation on Open Science.

In June 2020, CODATA coordinated and published ‘Open Science for a Global Transformation’, a response to the UNESCO consultation from a number of partner international data organisations. The first draft of the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science was released for feedback from member states and the scientific community in early October 2020.  

To encourage further discussion around the issues addressed in ‘Open Science for a Global Transformation’ and the draft Recommendation on Open Science, we invite the global research data community to share their views, critiques and positions in an open discussion prompted by the draft recommendation and the CODATA-coordinated document.  Our intention is to create a forum for debate and ultimately a body of reasoned argumentation which can be referenced throughout the UNESCO process.  In the Data Science Journal, this will also form a significant body of scholarly material exploring and defining issues around Open Science. 

Three venues are envisaged for this discussion:

We invite scholarly essays, review articles, practice papers and research articles that discuss issues around Open Science and relate their argumentation to topics addressed in ‘Open Science for a Global Transformation’ and in the draft UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science.  Please consult the scope of the Data Science Journal and the descriptions of the categories of article.  All submissions should be scholarly and will be peer reviewed.  While ensuring quality and rigour, the editorial team will do its best to expedite publication.  The collection will serve as a scholarly contribution to the global debate on the content of the UNESCO Recommendation and on the contours and characteristics of Open Science in general.  We will aim to ensure that any articles submitted by 15 December, will be published in time to be referenced during the timescales of the UNESCO review process (see below).  Accepted articles submitted after that date will be included in the collection on Open Science and will still be relevant to the ongoing discussion and debate around the Recommendation.  Submit contributions to the Special Collection at https://datascience.codata.org/about/submissions/ 

If you would like to contribute to this discussion through something more like a blog post, and opinion piece, or if you would like to test your ideas before submitting an more scholarly contribution to the Data Science Journal, then you can do this through a curated collection on the CODATA blog.  To do so, please send your piece to asha@codata.org.  The proposed blog posted will be checked by the CODATA secretariat and a member of the author group and then published.

  • Threads on the CODATA International List

Finally, we also encourage the community to share ideas and discussion of the draft Recommendation through the CODATA International news and discussion list.  Simply subscribe to the list and send your ideas and views to codata-international@lists.codata.org.  Be sure to start the title of your message with ‘UNESCO Open Science Recommendation’.

We welcome any and all contributions to these forums!

The UNESCO Consultation and Recommendation on Open Science

The practices of Open Science and calls for transformations of the way science is practiced, communicated and assessed have accelerated in the past two decades.  Leading transnational organisations including the International Council for Science, OECD and European Commission, have recognised Open Science as the key mode for research in the 21st century.  Recognising the significance of the movement, but also aware that in a ‘fragmented scientific and policy environment, a global understanding of the meaning, opportunities and challenges of Open Science is still missing’, UNESCO launched a global consultation in March 2020.  This has as its objective ‘to build a coherent vision of Open Science and a shared set of overarching principles and shared values’ through the development of ‘an international standard-setting instrument on Open Science in the form of a UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science’ to be agreed at the UNESCO General Assembly in November 2021.

This is a precious opportunity for the worldwide research community to express priorities, report relevant experiences, and share visions for the future, thus helping to shape a new global order for research and its governance. A UNESCO Recommendation is a timely, important and urgent way to promote Open Science and provide concrete suggestions to national governments and research organisations, including scholarly societies, universities, and research groups.

Consultation on the Draft UNESCO Recommendation

The first draft of the UNESCO Recommendation was produced, on the basis of the consultation and supported by the UNESCO Open Science team, by an international Open Science Advisory Committee, and was published for consultation in early October 2020.  Feedback on the draft Recommendation is invited from UNESCO Member States and from the global research community until the end of January 2021.  After that point, the Advisory Committee will resume its work to produce a second draft.  The revised draft, approved by the UNESCO Director General will be sent to Member States in April 2021.  This will be followed by a process of negotiation culminating, it is hoped, in the adoption of the text at the General Conference in November 2021.

The draft Recommendation offers a definition of Open Science and it presents a set of core values and principles.  Importantly, it lays out seven key areas of action, directed at Member States and other named stakeholders:

  1. Promoting a common understanding of Open Science and diverse paths to Open Science
  2. Developing an enabling policy environment for Open Science 
  3. Investing in Open Science infrastructures
  4. Investing in capacity building for Open Science
  5. Transforming scientific culture and aligning incentives for Open Science
  6. Promoting innovative approaches for Open Science at different stages of the scientific process  
  7. Promoting international cooperation on Open Science

Like any such document, the draft Recommendation tries to synthesise and reconcile a range of views and positions (not necessarily opposed or divergent, but with different emphases, concerns and priorities).  Therefore, discussion and critique of the ‘Open Science for a Global Transformation’ document and the draft Recommendation are to be expected and encouraged.  It is precisely through such scrutiny that we can ensure that this global statement on Open Science is as robust as possible.

We invite the global research data community, such as the readership of the Data Science Journal and those engaged with the Data Together organisations and other data and information organisations, to seize this opportunity and to use these venues described above to share scholarly discussion, opinion pieces, critiques and proposals in relation to the UNESCO process and Recommendation.  This will both provide a resource which can be fed into the direct process of consultation and feedback, and offer a longer-lasting collection of public and reasoned views and debate on the age-defining issue of Open Science.

We are particularly interested in articles documenting regional dimensions, exploring neglected issues, critiques and arguments to improve the Recommendation, and discussions of issues to address in order to ensure positive and equitable outcomes from Open Science implementation. There will also be opportunities for further discussion at the International (Virtual) FAIR Convergence Symposium in December 2020 and other events such as the Virtual RDA Plenary meeting in November 2020. 

Disaster Risk Reduction and Open Data Newsletter: October 2020 Edition

New Zealand first in the world to require climate risk reporting
New Zealand will be the first country in the world to require the financial sector to report on climate risks, the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw has announced. The changes build on the huge progress the NZ Government has made to tackle the climate crisis.

Hurricane Sally’s Fierce Rain Shows How Climate Change Raises Storm Risks
Staggering rain totals, fuelled by a warming atmosphere that can hold more moisture, are being recorded from the storm.

WMO: Arctic sea ice minimum is 2nd lowest on record
Arctic sea ice – a key climate change indicator – has reached its annual minimum extent after the summer melt season. It was the second-lowest extent only after the record low observed in 2012.

UNDRR chief’s 5-point plan for resilient infrastructure
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mami Mizutori, delivered remarks in which she proposed “5 points to consider for investing in new or replacing existing infrastructure, as a core element of recovery from COVID-19, and beyond”

Stanford researchers identify ‘landfalling droughts’ that originate over ocean
Researchers have identified a new type of “landfalling drought” that originates over the ocean before traveling onto land, and which can cause larger, drier conditions than other droughts.

UNFCCC: Innovative approaches to accelerating and scaling up climate technology implementation for mitigation and adaptation
The Paris Agreement calls for international collaboration on technology development and transfer to support the purpose and goals of the Paris Agreement. This publication explores innovative approaches to stimulating the uptake of existing climate technologies for mitigation and adaptation

WHO Guidance on Research Methods for Health and Disaster Risk Management
The WHO Guidance on Research Methods for Health EDRM is the culmination of many face-to-face and virtual consultations among experts from WHO, Member States and partner organisations, who have contributed to the development and review of this document. The Guidance is derived from the existing scientific evidence in Health EDRM, and is delineated in 43 chapters that cover a wide range of research fields.

NZ Climate Measurement Standards Initiative (CMSI): Seamless Integration for Foreseeable Future
As the effects of climate change and extreme weather become more apparent, the need for improved prediction and forecasting of these events is increasing. This allows for enhanced risk reduction measures to be implemented, as well as providing readiness for emergency responses. This need is of relevance to all sectors, particularly insurance, finance and banking – as the New Zealand government moves toward implementing mandatory climate-related financial disclosure reporting

UNEP FI and IIF’s TCFD Report Playbook
UNEP FI and the Institute of International Finance (IIF) have developed a TCFD Playbook to serve as a resource for firms at different stages of their TCFD journey, with support from EY. The TCFD Playbook provides guidance and insight for each of the 11 recommended TCFD disclosures in order to help firms enhance their TCFD reports and climate risk disclosures

UNDP: Global compendium of good practices on post-disaster recovery
This systemisation prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) compiles Good Practices on Post Disaster Recovery, to disseminate and highlight the work and recovery processes that are being carried out in different countries of the following regions: Africa, Asia, East Europe (ECIS) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

UNICEF: The climate crisis climate change impacts, trends and vulnerabilities of children in Sub Saharan Africa
This report reviews the climate change risks, trends and impacts and the related vulnerabilities on children in sub-Saharan Africa. It also highlights UNICEF’s mandate as the advocate for children and women affected by the climate crisis, and demonstrates existing climate adaptation, mitigation, and communications and advocacy initiatives

The Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services (SCOSS) – Fundraiser
The Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services (SCOSS), of which the Association of African Universities is a member, launched its second funding cycle which will benefit three vital Open Science infrastructure service providers: the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) and Open Access Publishing in European Networks (OAPEN), the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), and  OpenCitations.

Virtual UN World Data Forum – 19–21 October
The Programme of the UN World Data Forum is organised around six main thematic areas covering a wide range of topics, and developed through an open call for session proposals. The live stream programme structure and session titles for the Virtual Forum can be found in the link above.

Science for a Sustainable Future: A Global Virtual Conference – Oct 8 
Springer Nature and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) with its Thematic Research Network on Data and Statistics (TReNDS) will host a three-hour virtual conference on science for a sustainable future. This global virtual conference will bring together policymakers, government representatives, UN officials, as well as leading scientists and researchers from around the world to discuss the role of science in achieving the SDGs.

WMO Data Conference (Virtual Conference) – 16 Nov-19 Nov
The WMO Data Conference aims to develop a common understanding among entities from all sectors of society of the roles, requirements and arrangements for the international exchange of observations and other data for monitoring and prediction of the Earth System environment, including weather, climate and water.

2020 Asia Pacific Science and Technology Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction – 15 Oct
Malaysia will host the 2020 Asia-Pacific Science and Technology Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (eAPSTCDRR) virtually on 15 October 2020, in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNDRR) Asia Pacific Science Technology and Academia Advisory Group (APSTAAG).

The Stockholm High-Level Meeting on Addressing the Humanitarian Impact of Climate Change – 21 October
The Government of Sweden, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are pleased to invite you to a High-Level Meeting on Addressing the Humanitarian Impact of Climate Change. The meeting is organised in collaboration with the Swedish Red Cross.

Digital Preservation Awards 2020

Digital Preservation Awards season is upon us!  Celebrating excellence in maintaining our digital legacy, the Digital Preservation Awards take place every two years and I’m delighted to be one of this year’s judges[1].

Digital preservation is a compelling research area as well as the technological bedrock of data infrastructure, and as such the resources and community of the Digital Preservation Coalition are invaluable resources for my work here at CODATA.

How does digital preservation connect to research data?  Preservation, including appraisal, selection and storage decision-making, is fundamental in any effort towards making and keeping digital research data findable, comprehensible and reusable.

Judging is a fantastic way to get better informed on the global digital preservation community – it’s a chance to wade through a large stack of interesting, innovative and sometimes surprising ideas showing the range and diversity of recent activity in digital preservation. Projects include technical development, community building and skills development activities, all of which are necessary for digital preservation to happen. Each nominated project must be formally supported by a senior colleague – a useful way to ensure that each organisation is aware of the innovative work being developed by their staff.

How do we handle such a range of different types of work? Nominations are sorted into six broad categories, with a prize going to the winner of each category. This year, categories are:
– Communication and Collaboration
– Research and Innovation
– Teaching and Communication
– Commerce, Industry and The Third Sector
– Best Student Work
– Safeguarding the Digital Legacy

Each category is assessed on ten separate criteria and we are looking for things like usability, community engagement, value for money, transparency and ethical design, plus that elusive sparkle and verve in the projects that we review. The shortlist we have decided upon will soon be open to voting by DPC members. Our next step will then be to interview finalists and delve deeper into each project. The winner of each category will be announced on World Digital Preservation Day[2], 5th of November 2020.

To find out more about the work of the Digital Preservation Coalition – and the Digital Preservation Awards – please visit https://www.dpconline.org, or follow @dpc_chat on Twitter.

Laura Molloy
CODATA Senior Research Lead
Tw: @LM_HATII

[1] https://www.dpconline.org/events/digital-preservation-awards/judges
[2] https://www.dpconline.org/events/world-digital-preservation-day

Disaster Risk Reduction and Open Data Newsletter: September 2020 Edition

World Bank: Hurricanes don’t know borders. Neither does a pandemic.
In the field of disaster risk management, when a new risk appears in an already risky situation, we call it a compound risk. The COVID-19 pandemic means communities need to prepare even more thoroughly for disasters, as resources are limited or have been reallocated to respond to the health crisis. In simple terms, the economic and health impacts of COVID-19 are making already-disaster-prone countries more vulnerable than ever before.

U.S. flood strategy shifts to ‘unavoidable’ relocation of entire neighbourhoods
Using tax dollars to move whole communities out of flood zones, an idea long dismissed as radical is swiftly becoming policy, marking a new and more disruptive phase of climate change.

Scientists drove radars inside Hurricane Laura’s fiercest winds, hoping to unravel their mysteries
The scientists’ goal? Capture ultra-detailed radar scans from the inside of Laura, probing the tempest in a way that traditional Doppler radar simply couldn’t. The team was particularly interested in Hurricane Laura’s eyewall, the unbroken ring of extreme winds and rain surrounding the storm’s eerily calm eye.

Tackling the Environmental Crisis Can Boost the Economy Says WEF Report
Entitled ‘The Future of Nature and Business’, the report warns that when the world recovers from the coronavirus pandemic there can be no business-as-usual, with today’s destruction of the natural world-threatening over half of global GDP.

How can the UN help prevent another Beirut disaster?
The devastation caused by the Beirut explosions on 4 August has focused attention on the risks involved in the transportation and storage of dangerous goods around the world. The UN is at the forefront of international efforts to reduce these risks and save lives.

Community-based response to the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of South Asian community in Auckland, New Zealand
This policy brief is based on the survey of the South Asian community living in New Zealand and their coping with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) impact. The findings of this survey may also be useful for other ethnic groups. Understanding the impact of a pandemic on ethnic minority groups is important to better prepare for transition and recovery strategies, and build community resilience. The brief concludes that capacity building and community cohesion are therefore essential to prepare the population for a possible future re-emergence of the pandemic outbreak

World Economic Forum: The future of nature and business
This report lays out in practical terms what needs to be done to achieve this new future, by laying out a pragmatic framework for the industry to lead the transition towards a nature-positive economy. According to the authors, this is a path that can provide a win-win for nature, people and business. It can unlock an estimated $10 trillion of business opportunities by transforming economic systems that are responsible for almost 80% of nature loss.

You’ll Be Surprised How Often You Actually Touch Your Face​
Coronavirus has made people more aware of personal hygiene, but there are still many unhygienic things you probably don’t know you’re doing. One is just how often you touch your face — an activity that happens far more frequently than you might think.

ESCAP: Investing in innovative solutions to manage cascading disaster risks: Key takeaways for stakeholders
This issue brief on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) focuses on the innovations which are protecting communities from cascading hazards, the challenges, and opportunities therein, and offers policy guidance to shape the future management of cascading hazards.

An integrated approach to sustainable development, National Resilience, and COVID-19 responses: The case of Japan
The aim of the paper is to review whether the Japanese governments’ responses in terms of financial stimulus considers longer-term resilience and sustainability. This paper reviews pertinent academic literature and publicly available data from governments and organisations.

Psychological distress and state boredom during the COVID-19 outbreak in China: the role of meaning in life and media use
Epidemics are associated with increased burden of psychological distress. However, the role of boredom on mental health during epidemic periods has seldom been explored. This study attempted to examine the effect of state boredom on psychological outcomes, and the role of media use and meaning in life among the indirectly exposed Chinese adults in the initial phase of the COVID-19 outbreak.

WMO Data Conference (Virtual Conference) – 16 Nov-19 Nov
The WMO Data Conference aims to develop a common understanding among entities from all sectors of society of the roles, requirements and arrangements for the international exchange of observations and other data for monitoring and prediction of the Earth System environment, including weather, climate and water.

2020 Asia Pacific Science and Technology Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction – 15 Oct
Malaysia will host the 2020 Asia-Pacific Science and Technology Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (eAPSTCDRR) virtually on 15 October 2020, in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNDRR) Asia Pacific Science Technology and Academia Advisory Group (APSTAAG).

ICSD 2020: 8th international conference on sustainable development – 9-10 Sept
The International Conference on Sustainable Development is organised by the European Center of Sustainable Development in collaboration with CIT University. The 8th ICSD 2020 is inspired by the critical challenge of human, environmental, and economic sustainability concerning the present and future generations in a global-scale context.

Loss and damage – research, policy and lived experience in least developed countries – 8 Sept
The IIED and ICCCAD will host a webinar featuring least developed countries’ national experts sharing their research and lived experience of loss and damage. The discussion aims to ensure that loss and damage remains a priority issue in the lead up to COP2.

Protecting our Most Vulnerable- Disaster Impact Assessment for the Rohingya Refugee Community, Thursday 17th Sept
In 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya people fled their home country of Myanmar to escape the horrific ethnic cleansing they faced for being Muslim. They settled in the southeast of Bangladesh, joining 250,000 Rohingya already living there. Now, more than one million Rohingya inhabit the largest refugee camp in the world, with no sign of a return home in the near future. United Nations Development Programme engaged Tonkin + Taylor International to develop a multi-hazards impact model for the Rohingya refugees and surrounding host communities.

Making Cities Resilient: Developing and implementing local disaster risk reduction strategy to respond to COVID-19 and to better prepare for the future 8 Sept-6 October
The aim of this training is to strengthen an understanding on making cities resilient and to provide a suite of tools to develop an evidence-based local disaster risk reduction planning with multi-stakeholder engagement and in alignment with the national DRR strategies and Sendai Framework.

August 2020: Publications in the Data Science Journal


Title: SparkNN: A Distributed In-Memory Data Partitioning for KNN Queries on Big Spatial Data
Author: Zaher Al Aghbari, Tasneem Ismail, Ibrahim Kamel
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-035

Title: Unified Geomagnetic Database from Different Observation Networks for Geomagnetic Hazard Assessment Tasks
Author: Michael Dobrovolsky, Dmitriy Kudin, Roman Krasnoperov
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-034

Title: Progress in Activities of WDS-China Data Centers
Author: Juanle Wang , Kun Bu, Yanjie Wang, Yating Shao
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-033

Title: FAIRness Literacy: The Achilles’ Heel of Applying FAIR Principles
Author: Romain David , Laurence Mabile, Alison Specht, Sarah Stryeck, Mogens Thomsen, Mohamed Yahia, Clement Jonquet, Laurent Dollé, Daniel Jacob, Daniele Bailo, Elena Bravo, Sophie Gachet, Hannah Gunderman, Jean-Eudes Hollebecq, Vassilios Ioannidis, Yvan Le Bras, Emilie Lerigoleur, Anne Cambon-Thomsen, The Research Data Alliance – SHAring Reward and Credit (SHARC) Interest Group
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-032

Title: Developing Open Science in Africa: Barriers, Solutions and Opportunities
Author: Joseph Mwelwa , Geoffrey Boulton, Joseph Muliaro Wafula, Cheikh Loucoubar
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-031

Title: Research Data Management for Master’s Students: From Awareness to Action
Author: Daen Adriaan Ben Smits, Marta Teperek
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-030

Title: Research Data Management Status of Science and Technology Research Institutes in Korea
Author: Myung-seok Choi, Sanghwan Lee
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-029

A CODATA Connect Webinar on “Urban Data Observatory Framework and ClimateSmart City Assessment Framework in India” by Umamaheshwaran Rajasekar

On 30 June 2020, a webinar titled “Urban Data Observatory Framework and ClimateSmart City Assessment Framework in India” was organized by the CODATA Connect Alumni and Early Career Network. This was the fifth webinar in the series on Smart and Resilient Cities, while other webinars are planned in the coming months throughout 2020. Dr. Shaily Gandhi of the CODATA Connect introduced the speaker and theme of the webinar series. As introduced, the speaker Dr. Umamaheshwaran Rajasekar is the Chair of Urban Resilience at the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) in New Delhi, India. As a team leader and project manager, he has spearheaded pioneering data-informed policy efforts in India including implementation of end to end early warning systems for urban floods, the establishment of urban health and climate resilience centre, development of urban disease surveillance system, mainstreaming of urban service monitoring systems, the conduct of urban risk analysis, and preparation of city resilience strategies. He has recently worked towards bridging the gap between technology and society to enable informed decision-making in a changing environment across 100 smart cities in India.

Umamaheshwaran began his talk by introducing India’s urban futures. He opined that half of India’s population is expected to be living in urban areas by 2050. Indian cities need to be better prepared to accommodate the expected growth as well as manage shocks and stresses. He further stated that many cities in India face challenges in providing essential civic services and managing their natural resources. He also opined that the poor planning for Indian cities would cost the economy between 1.2 and 6.3 percent of GDP. Many Indian cities are underprepared to manage shocks, such as the Chennai floods in 2015, and the Cyclone Hudhud in 2014 resulted in cumulative damages worth more than INR 240 billion, and loss of many human lives. Additionally, 116 AMRUT cities and 30 smart cities in India are prone to high risk of earthquakes. He then introduced the Datasmart Cities initiative in India of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to help 100 smart cities promote data for better governance and innovation. In 2020, MoHUA established the Climate Center for Cities (C-CUBE) within NIUA with a vision to build climate actions in cities. This is a one-stop-shop for informed climate actions. He then introduced the Climatesmart Cities Assessment Framework 2.0, a first-of-its-kind city assessment framework on India’s climate-relevant parameters. The Framework is progressive and aspirational in nature and includes indicators in five broad categories, namely, Energy and Green Building; Urban Planning, Green Cover and Biodiversity; Mobility and Air Quality; Water Resource Management; and Waste Management.

He then discussed the concept of Data Observatory for Indian Cities. He defined an urban data observatory (UDO) as a platform that serves as a repository for accurate and frequently updated city-specific spatial and non-spatial data, and aids as a decision support system. The decision-makers will be able to use the data observatory to visualize trends, analyse data, and build scenarios to help stakeholders solve complex urban problems. The UDO adopts a multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral approach, collating and visualizing data from various government and non-government agencies. He informed the audience that the NIUA is establishing a UDO in Chennai very soon in collaboration with Chennai Smart City Ltd, the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and IIT-Madras. He then presented a use case on water challenges in Indian cities. At the same time, a typical UDO for an Indian city serves the stakeholders such as the Municipal Commissioner, local businesses, and city dwellers. For each stakeholder, how a UDO contributes to a changed scenario is also discussed.

Mr. Felix Emeka Anyiam of the CODATA Connect moderated the Question and Answer session and was assigned to obtain questions from the online participants keyed into the webinar question handle. Some of the questions were related to the urban rejuvenation of Indian cities, their sustainability pathways, green cover, online availability of city-level data, data-driven decision making, and the climate-smart city assessment framework.

The session was concluded with a vote of thanks presented by Shaily. She also announced the forthcoming activities of the CODATA Connect, including an Essay Writing Competition on “Open Data Challenges to Address Global and Societal Issues”, the second webinar series “Research Skills Development”, and Smart and Sustainable Cities Datathon for the CODATA alumni and early career professionals.

Prepared by:
Anup Kumar Das
(Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, anup_csp@jnu.ac.in)

Disaster Risk Reduction and Open Data Newsletter: August 2020 Edition

UNDRR Sendai Hazards Report Launched
“We believe the report, which classifies over 300 types of hazard across the extended range of risk identified in the Sendai Framework, namely natural and man-made hazards, as well as related environmental, technological and biological hazards and risks, will be an important stepping stone for the international community to achieve sustainable development within the increasingly complex, interconnected and systemic risk landscape”, says head of UNDRR Mami Mizutori.

An update from Mami Mizutori, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction — 30 July 2020
Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, shares an update on response, recovery, prevention, partnering and sharing, and advocacy.

UNDRR: Haiti approves a new Risk and Disaster Management Plan
In an important step towards creating a more resilient region and better prepared to face disasters, the Government of the Republic of Haiti approved the National Risk and Disaster Management Plan 2019-2030, a result of an inclusive, multisectoral and participative process.

New Zealand’s White Island is likely to erupt violently again, but a new alert system could give hours of warning and save lives
Tourists visiting Whakaari/White Island on December 9 last year had no warning of its imminent violent eruption. The tragedy prompted the development of an early alert system from David Dempsey and Shane Cronin from the University of Auckland. Their research shows patterns of seismic activity before an eruption that make advance warning possible.

New Open Access Timely Data Portal Launched
In partnership with Esri and National Geographic Society, SDGs Today: The Global Hub for Real-Time SDG Data, is a new data platform developed by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). This one-of-a-kind open access data platform aims to provide a snapshot of the state of sustainable development around the world right now, while enabling users to access and engage with timely data on sustainable development, obtain GIS training and resources, and learn how to use the data effectively to drive action on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its set of 17 SDGs. All datasets were curated and validated by SDSN’s Thematic Research Network on Data and Statistics (TReNDS).

UNDRR: Hazard definition and classification review
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (‘the Sendai Framework’) was one of three landmark agreements adopted by the United Nations in 2015. The other two being the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The UNDRR/ISC Sendai Hazard Definition and Classification Review Technical Report supports all three by providing a common set of hazard definitions for monitoring and reviewing implementation which calls for “a data revolution, rigorous accountability mechanisms and renewed global partnerships”.

International Science Council Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Review
Supported by the Integrated Research for Disaster Risk (IRDR) programme of the ISC, a dedicated technical working group which brought together scientists, technical UN agencies and other experts from the private sector and civil society developed a detailed report including six targeted recommendations.

First national climate change risk assessment for New Zealand
New Zealand’s first national climate change risk assessment has identified 10 significant areas that need to be urgently addressed in the next six years to reduce their impacts. The risk assessment is an overview of how New Zealand may be affected by climate change-related hazards, and will be used to develop a national adaptation plan over the next two years.

ISC Webinar: Launch of a new scientific report on hazards definition
The UNDRR-ISC Sendai Hazard Definition and Classification Review Technical Report was officially launched online on 29 July 2020. This webinar launched and presented the detailed report, including six targeted recommendations.

Using Mobile Data For Health Monitoring: A Case Study of Data Sharing
A new case study from SDSN TReNDS documents a data collaboration between the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), Vodafone Ghana, and Flowminder. The collaboration enabled the GSS to access insights from mobile phone data to plan public health and sustainable development policies, and it is a useful example of how a government and a private company were able to work with an intermediary partner to gain insights from sensitive data. The mobile data being used by the GSS as a result of the collaboration has proven especially valuable during the current COVID-19 pandemic to document the impact of restriction measures in Ghana.

United Nations comprehensive response to COVID-19: Saving lives, protecting societies, recovering better​
The overview recounts the UN’s key guidance, lessons and support so far – and points the way to the crucial steps that must follow to save lives, protect societies and recover better. It amounts to a recipe for a comprehensive response to and recovery from COVID-19 that will leave no one behind and address the very fragilities and gaps that made us so vulnerable to the pandemic in the first place.

Webinar – 11 Aug: Create resilient communities with medium-range hazard warning systems
Early warning systems are a major component in disaster risk reduction. Despite forecasting system advances, hydro-meteorological and geo-hazards continue to claim thousands of lives, while wreaking irreparable damage upon homes, businesses and critical infrastructure. Key issues to be discussed include policy + political issues, ensemble-based guidance and decision-making.

Webinar – 04-06 Aug – Climatological, Meteorological and Environmental factors in the COVID-19 pandemic
This international virtual symposium will help elucidate what is known, understood, and can be reliably predicted about environmental variables’ influence on the trajectory of the COVID-19 epidemic, from global, hemispheric, regional and local perspectives. Symposium outcomes will include a synthesis of the information presented and recommendations for further research at local to global scales.

Call for contributing papers: The UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2022
The UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR) is the flagship report of the United Nations on worldwide efforts to reduce disaster risk. The GAR main report is published every three years by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and is the product of the contributions by nations and public and private science and research partners, amongst others.

International Symposium “Global Collaboration on Data beyond Disciplines”, 23-25 Sept 2020; Presentation submission deadline: August 15​
The goal of this symposium is to build consensus on various aspects of research data management by all stakeholders in alignment with Open Research policies and initiatives. It will explore new paths for activities significant in promoting interdisciplinary and collaborative research and data reuse under different scientific disciplines based on evidence and feedback from data communities.

CODATA Webinar – 13 Aug: Thinking Reproducibility in Your Research Work
In this session, participants will be introduced to the landscape of reproducibility in scientific research and the main tools required for the implementation of reproducibility in their own research work. The session will present some case studies to highlight the issues being discussed.

28-30 Sept: 2020 Annual CAP Implementation Workshop
CAP Implementation Workshops focus on emergency alerting as enabled by the CAP standard, ITU-T Recommendation X.1303. At the Workshops, implementers of CAP and other associated organisations discuss common issues and how best to leverage the expanding adoption of CAP. At this 2020 Workshop, 21 presentations will address a wide range of topics, presented by experts from around the world.

July 2020: Publications in the Data Science Journal


Title: YARD: A Tool for Curating Research Outputs
Author: Limor Peer, Joshua Dull
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-028

Title: An Infrastructure for Spatial Linking of Survey Data
Author: Felix Bensmann, Lars Heling, Stefan Jünger, Loren Mucha, Maribel Acosta, Jan Goebel, Gotthard Meinel, Sujit Sikder, York Sure-Vetter, Benjamin Zapilko
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-027

An interview with Alena Rybkina, Vice-President, CODATA on “Building foundation for a world of open data and open science”

This interview is with Alena Rybkina, a Vice President of the CODATA Executive Committee.

“Building foundation for a world of open data and open science” was posted in Options magazine (published by IIASA). The link to online magazine – https://iiasa.ac.at/web/home/resources/publications/options/2020_Summer.html

Read the full interview here