How the IDSP is advancing data sharing for societal impact

October 27, 2023

On October 10 & 11^th 2023, leaders from various sectors, including industry, government, and academia, convened at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to discuss strategies for enhancing coherence and reducing duplication of efforts in U.S. research data policies.

The Summit fostered dynamic discussions and collaborations, resulting in a draft of data sharing principles focused on leading with empathy, empowering data workers, building trust, prioritizing equity, making evidence-based decisions, and ensuring sustainable compliance.

Potential collaborations were also identified, with one proposed initiative aiming to use a data-driven approach to strategically allocate resources to decarbonization and green energy transitions across environmental, social, and economic dimensions. This initiative would unite stakeholders from policy, corporate, governmental, private, and academic sectors, capitalizing on existing expertise and initiatives within these sectors. Using LinkedIn data was recommended as an initial step for identifying current initiatives.

Participants included the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Earth Science Information Partners, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), Cornell University, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), and more.

Representatives from the Industry Data for Society Partnership (IDSP) participated in various discussions and panels. Jennifer Hansen of Microsoft, serving as the Co-chair of the planning committee, moderated the panel on Fostering Collaborative Synergies: Exploring Opportunities for Collective Advancement while also facilitating key sessions throughout the convening.

Both Casey Weston from LinkedIn and Stefaan Verhulst from The GovLab, an affiliate of the IDSP, provided valuable insights as panelists during the session as well as contributing their expertise to the breakout sessions, Charting a Path for AI Policies, Ethics, and Cross-Sector Adoption and Collaborative Approaches for Data-Driven Application Decarbonization and Resilience.

Looking ahead, a post-summit meeting in November will report progress and determine the next steps, and the National Academies will publish a Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief in early 2024.

This summit marked a meaningful advancement in fostering relationships with the research community, promoting greater openness in private sector data, and identifying collaborations for positive societal progress. Moving forward, the IDSP will continue to seek opportunities to join and bring these communities together.