The Open Data for Open Science last 1 September in New Zealand explored open data concepts and practices and looked at how the challenges and benefits of open data are being met around the world. RADI Head and President of CODATA, Prof. Huadong Guo chaired the said workshop and gave the introduction which was followed by presentation on Open Data for Open Science by Prof Geoffret Boulton of the Royal Society.

“Open publication, release and sharing of data are vital habits that need to be redefined and redeveloped for the modern age if we are to exploit technological opportunities, retain self-correction, maintain public confidence in science and maximize the contribution of research to human understanding and welfare”, says the workshop’s background document.

“The session commented both on the recent Royal Society report on science as an open enterprise and on the review of CODATA by an international ICSU expert panel. IRDR SC member Susan Cutter is co-chairing a CODATA Task Group that looks, among other things, at the availability and usability of disaster loss data. The Task Group will produce a report of their work shortly.

The panel of commentaries included a statement from Dr Eva Alisic from Monash University, Australia, and member of the Global Young Academy. Her own main area of interest is mental health after potentially traumatic events among children. In terms of translating science into practice, she developed the Toolkit Child & Trauma for primary school teachers, which has been disseminated to all primary schools in the Netherlands. Her team’s work on ‘trust in society’ led to a successful national campaign to improve the interaction between emergency professionals and the general public.