CODATA Executive Director Talks FAIR in Australia

Banner image: audience at the public lecture given by Simon Hodson. Courtesy of the Australian Academy of Science

Last month, the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) along with the Australian Academy of Science welcomed Dr Simon Hodson to Australia to participate in a series of data related events. Simon is the Executive Director of CODATA (Committee on Data, International Science Council) and an expert on data policy issues and research data management. He recently chaired the European Commission’s Expert Group on FAIR Data which produced the report Turning FAIR into Reality.

While in Australia, Simon participated in an ARDC coordinated FAIR Data Policy Roundtable. For the first time, invited representatives from key stakeholder groups including research funders, publishers, research infrastructure providers and research organisations were brought together to identify challenges and opportunities in integrating FAIR data principles into a coherent national research data policy framework. The Roundtable revealed significant progress in implementing the FAIR principles into policy and practice across participating stakeholder groups. It’s expected that future activity will focus on driving innovation and integrity across the Australian research sector by working towards a more cohesive FAIR policy landscape.

Dr Hodson’s visit sparked a series of meetings hosted at the Academy of Science laying the foundation for increased coordination between Australia’s 5 Academies (Science, Humanities, Social Science, Health & Medical, and Technology & Engineering) on common issues and opportunities around data in research.

A highlight of Simon’s visit was an evening public lecture given with support from the ARDC, the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian National University. Titled “Data for the Planet: Driving solutions for resilient cities, disaster risk reduction and infectious disease” the lecture attracted more than 200 registrants who braved a ‘bracing’ Canberra evening to hear Simon’s compelling presentation. The lecture audio was recorded and is now publicly available for you to watch.