The Research Data Alliance (RDA) COVID-19 Working Group (CWG) published on April 24th, the 1st release of the COVID-19 recommendations and guidelines, which are open for feedback and comments.
In response to a direct request from the European Commission, one of the RDA funding agencies, the RDA community answered a call to action at the end of March 2020 and set up an RDA Working group, with 5 sub-groups focusing on essential thematic areas: Clinical, Community Participation, Epidemiology, Omics, and Social Sciences. The initial work was divided into these 5 areas as a way to both focus the conversations and provide an initial set of guidelines within a tight timeframe. Additional themes and details will be added over time in iterative releases of this document.
The overarching objectives of the RDA COVID-19 Working Group (CWG) are:
- to clearly define detailed guidelines on data sharing under the present COVID-19 circumstances to help stakeholders follow best practices to maximize the efficiency of their work, and to act as a blueprint for future emergencies;
- to develop guidelines for policymakers to maximise timely data sharing and appropriate responses in such health emergencies;
- to address the interests of researchers, policy makers, funders, publishers, and providers of data sharing infrastructures.
In the spirit of the RDA community and its open process, RDA is seeking feedback from the COVID-19 WG members, as well as the whole community, early and often during this process. This feedback will inform the work and will be incorporated into the sub-group discussions, and the next set of writing sprints.