CODATA is delighted to have been recognised – today at the GEO-XI Plenary in Geneva – as a Participating Organisation of GEO, the Group on Earth Observations. As described on the CODATA blog earlier this year, CODATA has been deeply involved in a number of GEO activities and particularly the GEO Data Sharing Working Group. Hitherto, our participation has been under the ICSU umbrella – and with our sister organisation, the ICSU World Data System, we shall continue to represent ICSU as appropriate.
Given the contribution that CODATA has made to GEO and GEOSS it seems appropriate to be recognised as a Participating Organisation in our own right. The intention in becoming a PO is to officially and publicly register the support of CODATA, the CODATA Officers, Executive Committee, Members, Task Groups and Working Groups for GEO and GEOSS. It is hoped also that this step will provide additional means for CODATA to contribute expertise and stakeholders views to GEO’s activities and governance. We hope also to benefit through greater visibility and opportunities for collaboration with partners in the GEO community.
In 2014, we have had the following collaborations:
- On behalf of the GEO Data Sharing Working Group, CODATA convened a Side Event ‘Implementation of Data Sharing Principles’ at the GEO-X Plenary in January and a side event on ‘Open Data and the Developing World’ at the GEO-XI plenary in November.
- Simon Hodson participated in GEO’s 2014 Work Plan Symposium and made a presentation in the side event on Capacity Building.
- GEO was a co-sponsor of CODATA’s Workshop on Big Data for International Scientific Programmes, Beijing, June, at which Barbara Ryan, Director of the GEO Secretariat gave a keynote.
- Two delegates (Noasilalao Ambinitsoa Lucie from Madagascar a member of AfriGEOSS and the DSWG, and Amani Uisso from the Tanzania Forestry Research Institute) were sponsored by GEO to attend the International Workshop on Open Data for Science and Sustainability in Developing Countries convened by CODATA in Nairobi in August.
- Yubao Qiu, from the GEO Secretariat and a member of the CODATA Early Career Data Professionals Group represented GEO at SciDataCon 2014.
- Bob Chen, Paul Uhlir and Simon Hodson have contributed to the work of the GEO DSWG, in particular to the revised GEO Data Sharing Principles which being considered for adoption post-2015.
- Simon Hodson contributed to the GEO Data Management Principles Task Force, which has produced a set of Data Management Principles for GEO which have been circulated for community feedback.