Signing of the Joint Statement of Intent. Clockwise from top left: Wynand Louw, CIPM President (on behalf of the BIPM); Mathieu Denis, ISC Science Director and Acting CEO; Barend Mons, CODATA President; Roman Schwartz, CIML President (on behalf of the OIML); Frank Härtig, IMEKO President.
The BIPM, the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML), the Committee on Data of the International Science Council (CODATA), and the International Measurement Confederation (IMEKO) signed a Joint Statement of Intent On the digital transformation in the international scientific and quality infrastructure on 30 March 2022. The joint statement provides a platform for the signatory organizations to come together to indicate their support, in a way appropriate to their particular organization, to the development, implementation, and promotion of the SI Digital Framework as part of a wider digital transformation of the international scientific and quality infrastructure. Other international organizations are expected to sign the joint statement in the future.
The joint statement is part of an ongoing collaboration, which is essential for the realisation of the FAIR principles. The CODATA TG on Digital Representation of Units of Measurement (DRUM) is playing an important role to rally the International Scientific Unions around the issue. Activities include a manifesto, a survey of units related activities and a forthcoming ‘call to action’. The DRUM TG forms an important link to the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) and its Task Group on the Digital SI (CIPM-TG-DSI) which is working to develop and establish a world-wide uniform and secure data exchange format based on the International System of Units (SI).
Prof. J. Ullrich, Chair of the CIPM-TG-DSI, commented that the signing of the joint statement marks a ground-breaking step in transforming the highly successful international scientific and quality infrastructure, with the SI as an anchor of trust, into the era of digitalization.
Prof. Barend Mons, President of CODATA and one of the original architects of the FAIR Principles, declared that the SI Digital Framework would be a major step to make data more usable by humans and machines. “The machine needs to know unambiguously what it is dealing with, and this cannot happen unless units of measurement are FAIR too.”
“All scientists, funders and infrastructure providers need to act to ensure the consistent use of units and their digital representation in all branches of science”, added Dr. Robert Hanisch, Chair of the DRUM TG. “The DRUM Call to Action will be released soon: we urge you to join us and help this transformation!”
To further reinforce the CIPM’s commitment to the digital transformation, Draft Resolution B On the global digital transformation and the International System of Units will be presented to the 27th meeting of the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) in November 2022.