The Changing Role of Data Stewardship in Creating Trustworthy, Transdisciplinary High Performance Data Platforms for the Future

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1 AGU Fall Meeting 2016 IN31-G The Changing Role of Data Stewardship in Creating Trustworthy, Transdisciplinary High Performance Data Platforms for the Future Clare Richards, Ben Evans, Lesley Wyborn, Jingbo Wang, Claire Trenham and Kelsey Druken.

2 The NCI Data Collections The Australian Government has invested more than A$50 million in data storage infrastructure for 8 high capacity nodes and the development of services to support collaborative access to research data assets of national significance. The National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) manages more than 10PB of data including: Geophysical, climate and weather, environmental, Earth observation Genomics, optical astronomy and social sciences data. BoM

3 The NCI Data Collection Goals Creating Trustworthy, Transdisciplinary High Performance Data Platforms The goals of the NCI High Performance Data Repository is to: Share and reuse significant collections of data that were difficult to access Complement and augment these collections with other community collections Access the data in a consistent manner which will support: a general interface; and discipline specific access Establish these collections within a high- end computational and data- intensive environment.

4 Creating a future that is F.A.I.R for all At NCI we are transforming the way we organise data to make it available to a diverse range of users, suitable for programmatic access and high performance applications. Aligned with the US GEO Common Framework for Earth Observation Data Increasing use of common data formats (netcdf4, HDF5) Data collection reorganisation applying the data catalogue and directory policy (datasets). Standards for Data Product Specifications and Data Management Plans Compliance through QC/QA and benchmarking to ensure data is fit for purpose DOI, data citation and RD- Switchboard And there s more

5 The importance of stewardship Stewardship from US National Research Council (NRC, 2007): All activities that preserve and improve the information, content, accessibility, and usability of data and metadata. ensures that information is preserved, remains continually accessible, and can be improved as future discoveries build understanding and knowledge. Other relevant community standards that have also emerged: Stewardship Maturity Matrix CMMI AGU Data Management Maturity Model Trustworthy Digital Repositories: ISO 16363/ISO and the RDA/WDS

6 Definition of Data Steward Wikipedia ( A data steward is a person responsible for the management and fitness of data elements - both the content and metadata. Data stewards have a specialist role that incorporates processes, policies, guidelines and responsibilities for administering organizations' entire data in compliance with policy and/or regulatory obligations. The overall objective of a Data Steward is Data Quality

7 Evolution of the Data Steward Unified framework for measuring stewardship practices (Peng et al, 2015, 2016): Proposes an integrated stewardship team : 1. Data Steward data management and preservation 2. Scientific Steward scientific data quality and usability 3. Technology Stewards system engineering and software development These stewards facilitate the gap between Data Producers and Data Managers Capture and provide sufficient information (of quality) to support the needs of users to access

8 Implementing best practice and navigating change Engaging stakeholders Research Communities, Universities, Government Research Agencies Data Collections Technical Advisory Group Domain User Reference Committees (e.g., Earth Systems and Geophysics) Objectives Develop policies and guidelines Discuss compliance with standards and protocols Understand user requirements and priorities - data is fit for (emerging) purpose Check whether we are working towards the same goals Make sure efforts are consistent and complementary Bring about change in ways which achieve the maximum benefits of the data Benefits Increased usage transdisciplinary, particularly for programmatic/hpd applications New services and capabilities enabled Easily accessible and streamlined data products Cost savings time for data wrangling, storage.

9 How does it really work? Collaborating in a multicultural environment : Different business objectives Different approaches to management across different organisations/groups Different levels of Data Management and Stewardship maturity Disbenefits of change - $$$ and people Changing the way users work is a real cost inertia Software changes due to dependency on legacy formats Relationships/services dependent on existing data (BAU) May have existing financial models around access Managing shared responsibilities Agree on what level of data management is acceptable Work towards common objectives Manage differences AGU 2016 IN31G - Clare.Richards@anu.edu.au

10 So, what is the role of stewardship for the future? Data Stewardship is an increasingly complex role: Data Champion to build collaboration between stakeholders/organisations/domains No longer represent single organisation Promote value of integrated data, scientific and technology Maintain and improve data quality Look to identify/implement future trends and improvements Navigate change while supporting current usage of data. Help manage the interests of the data users and data producers While challenging, a well- executed steward is critical for future success Image B y Eric S ala & Tània García

11 Challenges for data stewardship into the future How do we support Data Stewards to fulfil these complex requirements into the future? Technologies are challenging and changing Information infrastructure getting harder Expectations of stakeholders are increasing Potentially a para- academic role Need to form supporting collaborations because not one person can do all these roles. May need to be cross- organisational Data Stewards Wanted Do you have a passion for implementing policy and procedures at the same time as being an advocate for the next best thing in technology, metadata and data management? Do you enjoy engaging with users and stakeholders to identify their data and data services requirements? Can you build commitment across organisations to improve data quality and scientific integrity while preserving existing value? If you answer yes to these questions then we really need people like you to fill the roles of data steward! Call