1. 1 Interim Report of the IWGDD May 2009

2. Overview: Pursuing Goals to Harness the Power of Digital Data for Science and Society The IWGDD recommends that appropriate departments and agencies lay the foundations for agency digital scientific data policy and make the policy publically available. Enabling the strategy of Harnessing the Power… Sharing data is essential for collaborative science and the knowledge economy. Data are often a public good necessary for science as well as citizens. Federally funded data should be available to the Federal government, researchers and to citizens, subject to appropriate legal, security, privacy and other protections. 2

3. Report of Subgroup Status Annotated Outline is complete to assembled maturity of Version 0.9. Key Components Section, containing the Agency Science Data Policy template, and background information with emphasis on the policy choices that need to be made by each Agency in producing their Science Data Policy will be addressed in the following months. Other sections still to be developed incorporated –Examples and Best Practices –Terminology and Definitions of Terms 3

4. Annotated Outline Preamble Report Scope, Intent, Topics and Charge 1.Guiding Principles and Concepts 1.1 Guiding Principles 1.2 Concepts 2.State of the Art Motivate by summarizing existing status 3. Key Components (to contain agency policy template) 4. Examples and Best Practices Being collected in Wiki Parking Lot Appendix A. Terminology and definitions of terms Being developed by David Wojick 4

5. Key Concepts 1.Digital Data Life Cycle 2.Identification 3.Accessibility 4.Usability 5.Quality 5.Appraisal and Disposition 5

6. 6 Presentation Material for Interim Report of IWGDD To CoS

7. Guiding Principles Encourage all Federal agencies to recognize digital scientific data as a public good and a national asset; and to actively take all practical steps necessary to enable an Agency digital scientific data policy that provides and promotes public data discovery and use, consistent with US Law. Agencies should establish clear criteria or procedures for determining whether data are appropriate for preservation and access, consistent with the Agency’s purpose and mission. Best practices recommend that Agency planning encompass the full data life cycle, including all roles and responsibilities. Recognize that differences among Federal Agencies require that a IWGDD-recommended Agency Digital Scientific Data Policy framework must be sufficiently flexible. 7

8. State of the Art of Digital Scientific Data Policies A number of Federal policies were analyzed for completeness from the perspective of fulfilling a model policy, including from the Federal, Agency, Inter-Agency, and Program level. IWGDD found that, where Agency policies exist, they are often vague, unacknowledged and unenforced. At the individual Program level, many agencies can boast well-constructed and consistent policies. 8

9. Digital Data Life Cycle Agencies’ science data policy enables the proper planning and incorporation of records management best practices into the design, development, and implementation of its data- producing projects and programs. Report recommends that Agency policies state guidelines that evaluate the value of records and identify what records will be retained, and for how long Report provides points to consider in the science data policy are 9

10. Key Concepts Key tenets of Digital Data Life Cycle for agencies to consider when formulating an Agency scientific digital data policy 1.Identification of Agency scientific data is a first step 2.Accessibility addresses to whom in the public sector access is granted and under what conditions as well as rationale 3.Usability best practices recommend that the data be protected, to guarantee their quality, and documented, to ensure ability to interpret the data. 4.Quality can be achieved by providing guidelines to data producers to address explicitly quality control 5.Appraisal and Disposition are the life cycle functions that determine whether identified data are appropriate for preservation and access, and the management strategy for the data once intended purposes are satisfied 10