Research Data Alliance (RDA)
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) is an international, inter-disciplinary organization whose mission is to build social and technical bridges to enable the open sharing and reuse of data. With over 11,000 members in 145 countries (as of September 2020), it federates scientists and research data professionals from a range of organizations and disciplines across the globe.
The RDA was launched as a community-driven initiative in 2013 by the European Commission, the U.S National Science Foundation and National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Australian government’s Department of Innovation. It has a grassroots, inclusive approach covering all stages of the data life cycle, engaging data producers, users and stewards.
Organization and membership
RDA’s members work together in specialized Working Groups and Interest Groups to compare notes and share new knowledge, discuss obstacles and potential solutions, explore and define policies, harmonize standards and much more besides.
Participation in RDA is open to any person or organization, from any profession or discipline, who is seeking to facilitate sharing and reuse of data and agrees to its guiding principles of openness, consensus, balance, inclusivity and harmonization, with a community-driven, non-profit and technology-neutral approach
The alliance’s governing bodies are its Council, Secretariat, Technical Advisory Board (TAB) and Organizational Advisory Board (OAB). These bodies and how they work with each other are described in the RDA Governance Document.
RDA France national node
Under the auspices of the European RDA Europe 4.0 project (2018-2020), which got underway on 1 March 2018, the French national scientific research centre CNRS is in charge of developing the RDA France national node.
The Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI) is supporting this national node within the framework of the National Open Science Plan.
The RDA France national node conducts the following activities:
- Building, organizing and leading a national RDA community
- Interacting with national research structures (ministry, research bodies, universities, focus groups, funders, etc.) and RDA’s governing bodies
- Organizing events (meetings, workshops and training) to communicate on RDA activities and results, and to encourage the French community to get involved
- Promoting events organized by RDA by extending French participation through plenaries and webinars
- Contributing to and representing the French national node on RDA’s Regional Advisory Board
One of its priorities is to advance certification of data warehouses and services in France.
