-CHPC National Meeting 2016- RESEARCH DATA OPENING : TRENDS AND CHALLENGES FOR THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA -CHPC National Meeting 2016- Theme: The Last Decade of Accomplishment, the Next Decade of Opportunity 5-9 December East London ICC South Africa Kay H. Raseroka PhD (Hon).

Kay H. Raseroka Managing Partner BOTSWANA

Presentation Overview Opportunities for Open Data and Open Science Participation in the New Open Data Movement. Advocacy work in Botswana and the greater SADC region and Africa

BACKGROUND Joint Minds Consult (JMC) is a think tank with a focus on Research, Knowledge Development and Management, Training and Student Support Research co-ordination and advocacy for research based policy and decision making in Botswana and SADC JMC is a regional organization based in Gaborone, Botswana JMC is a member of the Research Data Alliance. JMC has endorsed the Science International accord on Open Data Open Science (ODOS)

THE CHANGING GLOBAL LANDSCAPE FOR RESEARCH AND DATA Landscape for research and data policies continue to change around the world. Science International – a body that articulates policy and actions on behalf of the International science community formulated an international accord on ODOS SI= [ 4 bodies] International Council for Science (ICSU), The Inter Academy Partnership (IAP), The International Social Sciences Council (ISSC) & The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) 2013/14 Research Data Alliance (RDA) established to advocate for Open Data and Partnerships Governments, institutions and individual researchers/scientists. RDA works closely with ICSU and the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) to promote open data and data sharing to solve challenges affecting countries African countries NEED to position themselves to participate effectively in a big data world to solve challenges in their respective countries

REALITY TODAY AND IN THE DECADE AHEAD Our World networked: people, objects Connections producing data at unprecedented rates, Actively and passively. RESULT: Large data volumes Distinctive data streams … termed “big data” (Science International)

What do Global institutions think of big data on global Landscape? EXAMPLE - RDA RDA ‘s core value Researchers and innovators openly share data across technologies, disciplines, and countries to address the grand challenges of society (https://www.rd-alliance.org/).

THE GLOBAL TRENDS Countries world wide embracing the Open Data movement As at November 2016, RDA has 4,500 members from 115 countries. RDA supported by EU, United States National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Australian National Department of Innovation. RDA supported by many research funding foundations across the world.

GLOBAL TRENDS ON OPEN DATA AND RESEARCH The RDA mission is to: Enable data to be shared across barriers through focused working groups, formed of experts from around the world - from academia, industry and government (RDA, 2016 , https://www.rd-alliance.org/). THE RATIONALE FOR OPEN DATA - CODATA: the digital revolution that kicked off in the final decade of the 20th century … has resulted in enormous growth of digital systems to acquire, store, analyze and instantaneously communicate data and information and to do so at continuously reducing cost CODATA, 2016). CODATA promotes and encourages, on a world-wide basis, the compilation, evaluation and dissemination of reliable numerical data of importance to science and technology. CODATA gives emphasis to data management problems common to different disciplines and to data used outside the field in which they were generated (http://www.codata.org/about-codata/our-mission). Both RDA and CODATA reflect the goals of Science International

THE BENEFITS OF OPEN SCIENCE/OPEN DATA Reducing cost and improving efficiency; Standardization and elimination of data fragmentation that reduce data utility across disciplines, countries, institutions and researchers; Improved access to global data Enhanced researchers’ capacity to innovate Decision makers have more options and choices based on readily available comparative data.

WHAT IS AFRICA’S RESPONSE TO THIS GLOBAL TREND ON OPEN DATA? How are African governments, institutions and scientific communities responding to the open data/open science movement that is originating as it is, from the north?

HERE IS AFRICA’S GENERAL RESPONSE African governments are displaying cautious optimism on the issue There is lack of readiness and some fear to being exposed and exploited. Universities and research institutes and researchers are tightly holding on to their data UN Report,2015 “ A world that Counts- (www.undatarevolution.org) :”Data are lifeblood of decision making. Without data, we can not know how many people are born….at what age they die; how many men, women and children still live in poverty… how many children need education etc National initiatives: Kenya and South Africa

HOW DOES AFRICA PARTICIPATE IN OPEN DATA AND OPEN SCIENCE? There is need for domestication of the data revolution National development agenda Collaborative approaches to developing open data capacities Open Science and Innovation Platform to promote and support developments of systems and procedures (CODATA; RDA). Protocols, policies and procedures in the science system Training for skills development on the use of data This will provide the structure and support to ensure that open science/open data objectives are achieved. National development agenda, which is aligned with regional and global goals based on engagement of stakeholder communities on the information aspects of development decision-making eg evidence based decisions

AFRICA’S RESPONSE: CASE STUDIES Some African governments such as Kenya and South Africa are responding positively and leading the way by: establishing policies on Open Data and Open Science Exploitation of existing physical/hard infrastructures Science International through CODATA and RDA is promoting a collaborative initiative involving the South African Government’s Department of Science and Technology and other national science bodies in sub- Saharan Africa in the launch of the African Open Science Platform in Pretoria, parallel to this Conference: For example, through the Academy of Sciences of South Africa( ASSAF) and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Open Science/ Open Data platforms being developed for South Africa and Kenya respectively Individual research levels: willingness of scientists /researchers to open up their data for sharing; re-use and re-purposing, even if there are personal, technical organizational and political barriers to do so’ Change / extention of reward systems at Universities: from exclusive reward based on publishing in peer reviewed journals to inclusion of data stewardship developments and contributions eg development of open software

BOTSWANA’S RESPONSE TO OPEN DATA/OPEN SCIENCE: TRENDS Botswana’s data like other countries’ are closed, fragmented and highly underutilized by government, institutions and researchers. The system of open government is at rudimentary stages. The level of readiness by government to open data systems is very low.

BOTSWANA’S RESPONSE … TRENDS In 2013, with the help of the World Bank, Botswana undertook a readiness assessment for open data/open government. The assessment focused on leadership, policy/legal framework, institutional preparedness, data within government, demand for data, open data ecosystem, financing, technology and skills infrastructure and key datasets. Researchers used colour codes to indicate level of readiness by examining evidence or lack of evidence to assess readiness: Green = clear evidence, Yellow = evidence not clear, Gray = insufficient evidence and Red = No evidence to assess.

BOTSWANA’S RESPONSE TO OPEN DATA/OPEN SCIENCE TRENDS The conclusion was that Botswana was not ready. Yellow was prominent, while there were incidences of Red on two key measures. (World Bank Group Botswana Open Data Readiness Assessment Report, 2014) Like in other African countries, leading researcher institutions in Botswana – universities and colleges and even industry and non governmental sectors are keeping fragmented, underutilized and inaccessible datasets of varying quality and national and international relevance. Research collaboration and data sharing initiatives are almost alien to institutional operations.

BOTSWANA’S RESPONSE CONT’D Even within institutions, cooperation and collaboration across disciplines is low. The research community is fragmented by disciplines. No clear policies and advocacy strategy to promote open data currently exist in the country.

PROPOSED WAY FORWARD FOR BOTSWANA Joint Minds Consult -as a member of RDA - invited and introduced the leadership of RDA and CODATA to Botswana October 2016. Through JMC the RDA and CODATA leadership addressed key research institutions and the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology (MTERST) Meetings following the symposia reached agreement: Consensus building for advocacy for an Open Data movement must begin with stakeholder communities from government, academia, private sector civil society, local communities, professional associations etc who engage on the informational aspects of decision-making

PROPOSED WAY FORWARD FOR BOTSWANA Joint Minds Consult was requested by local stakeholders to broker stakeholder community conversations . The outcome is the development of a draft whitepaper, currently in circulation among stakeholders. Joint Minds Consult is presenting the consultative draft whitepaper at the African Open Science Platform side event - Open Science South Africa in Pretoria for external inputs

Conclusion Botswana: Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science, and Technology, authorized Joint Minds Consult, (in consultation with Universities, CODATA and RDA,) to facilitate the process for convening of a stakeholder communities’ consultative forum. MERST will chair discussions of revised draft Whitepaper on Open Data/Open Science issues to be held in first quarter of 2017 Objective: develop a National Data Forum and Strategy for Botswana.

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