|
NSF Community based Data Interoperability
Solicitation
The US National Science Foundation Office of Cyberinfrastructure
has just issued a solicitation for proposals for a program titled
Community-based Data Interoperability Networks (INTEROP), which is
another important step in the agenda of scientific data stewardship
and reuse. You can find information about the call here:
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=502112&org=OCI&from=home
or by following links from the Office of Cyberinfrastructure home
page. I've reproduced the summary of the call below.
Clifford Lynch
Director, CNI
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digital data are
increasingly both the products of research and the starting point for
new research and education activities. The ability to re-purpose
data - to use it in innovative ways and combinations not envisioned
by those who created the data - requires that it be possible to find
and understand data of many types and from many sources.
Interoperability (the ability of two or more systems or components to
exchange information and to use the information that has been
exchanged) is fundamental to meeting this requirement.
This NSF crosscutting program supports community efforts to provide
for broad interoperability through the development of mechanisms such
as robust data and metadata conventions, ontologies, and taxonomies.
Support is provided for Data Interoperability Networks that will be
responsible for consensus-building activities and for providing the
expertise necessary to turn the consensus into technical standards
with associated implementation tools and resources. Examples of
the former are community workshops, web resources such as community
interaction sites, and task groups. Examples of the latter are
information sciences, software development, and ontology and taxonomy
design and implementation.
|