RDA COVID-19

I.  RDA COVID-19 Working Group Objectives

II.  Group & Website Navigation

III.  Weekly Webinar RDA COVID-19 Updates - Completed

I.  RDA COVID-19 Working Group Objectives

The overarching objectives of this Working Group (WG) are:

1.  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,

2.  To develop guidelines for policymakers to maximise timely data sharing and appropriate responses in such health emergencies, and

3.  To address the interests of researchers, policy makers, funders, publishers, and providers of data sharing infrastructures.

The group thus far has developed detailed guidelines on the deposit of different data sources in any common data hub or platform. The guidelines aim at developing a system for data sharing in public health emergencies that supports scientific research and policy making, including an overarching framework, common tools and processes, and principles that can be embedded in research practice. The guidelines address general aspects related to the principles the data should adhere to (FAIR and other principles), as well as specificities related to four thematic and four overarching areas (below).

The COVID-19 WG, from April 1st through June 30th, 2020, created more than five releases of the recommendations and guidelines, leading to the final endorsed version, "RDA COVID-19 Recommendations and Guidelines for Data Sharing," with ongoing efforts to add and review materials:

1. The main guidelines document highlights the primary data sharing resources in four areas, each with different data types, and four cross-cutting themes (community participation, Indigenous population data, legal and ethics, software). Other areas may be added, in future iterations, as the effort proceeds.

   1. Clinical

   2. Omics

   3. Epidemiology

   4. Social Sciences

   5. Community Participation

   6. Indigenous Data

   7. Legal and Ethical

   8. Software

2. A set of Resource lists in each of these areas, compiled in a publicly available Zotero collection.

3. A Decision Tree tool to facilitate navigation to specific Resources.

4. Supporting outputs from some of the subgroups described above.

This Working Group operates according to the RDA guiding principles of Openness, Consensus, Balance, Harmonization, Community-driven, Non-profit and technology-neutral and is OPEN TO ALL. This group is part of the joint activities carried out by CODATA, GO FAIR, RDA and WDS under their Data Together statement.

II.  Group & Website Navigation

If you would like to review and contribute to content pertaining to the RDA COVID-19 WG initiative, please do the following:

1. Become a member of the RDA.
2. Join the main COVID-19 WG by clicking the "Join Group" link. This will enroll you in the email list for overall updates on the initiative, including announcements regarding the update webinars.
3. Join the COVID-19 sub-group according to your expertise and interest; follow the links below to find your sub-group(s) and then click the "Join Group" link:

   1. Clinical

   2. Omics

   3. Epidemiology

   4. Social Sciences

   5. Community Participation

   6. Indigenous Data

   7. Legal and Ethical

   8. Software

Helpful information can be found on the main COVID-19 WG wiki, including Q&As from the finished webinar series and how to submit resources for the Zotero catalogue output. Updates and discussions on the overarching COVID-19 group can be found within the Posts section of the wiki, including all emails sent via the main WG's mailing list. Update webinars and related meetings for the overall group can be found at Events.

Sub-groups will organize their specific wiki pages and processes according to their group preferences, but in general, the structure is the same as for the main WG's webpages. Please reach out to the sub-group moderators or use the applicable email list for more information; see the Working & Sub-Group Organization wiki page for contact information.

To provide feedback on the RDA COVID-19 outputs under review:

Materials under development can be reviewed in the Outputs section of this webpage; be sure to select the most current document version that is attached for review, and provide comments using the "Add new comment" link below the attachments.

III.  Weekly Webinar RDA COVID-19 Updates

The weekly "RDA COVID-19 Update Webinar" occurred almost every Tuesday at 11:00 am Universal Time (UTC), and provided updates on the overarching COVID-19, Legal and Ethical, Research Software, Community Participation Working Groups, Indigenous Data contribution, and the four research themes (clinical, omics, epidemiology, social sciences), along with an opportunity for members to ask questions. Recordings and presentations from these sessions are posted on the Events meeting links.