On March 4, 2017, ECS will be celebrating Open Data Day! For 2017, this global initiative focuses on four key areas that open data can contribute to: open research data, tracking public money flows, open data for the environment, and open data for human rights.
What is open data? Open data is the revolutionary concept that some data should be available for public use without legal or fiscal restrictions. ECS’s Free the Science initiative aligns categorically with open research data and open data for the environment. This ECS initiative is fighting to bring science and technology into the information sharing era; as technology makes information rapidly more available, the way in which data is accessible and presented becomes evidently more important for scientific advancement. In light of this, ECS is actively seeking ways to make our research open to expedite innovation and find solutions for environmental issues and other technically relevant areas. In addition to this, we are seeking to change the way that scholarly communication among scientists is exchanged and socialized. In the coming months, keep your eye out for big announcements in these areas which are expected to help us accomplish those goals!
Do you want to participate in Open Data Day but don’t know how? On Thursday, March 2 through Saturday, March 4, ECS will be circulating a survey to determine our field’s specific needs in the realm of accessibility to data and research. The best way to contribute to open data is by sharing your knowledge and helping us to understand the accessibility needs of our researchers.
We will randomly select 20 survey respondents to receive a free open access article credit, good for publishing OA in either of ECS’s peer-reviewed journals at no charge (that’s an $800 value)! Take ECS’s open data survey now for your chance to win. The survey will be available for your participation until 12:00 AM EST on Saturday, March 4.
A special thanks to the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) and Open Knowledge International (OKI) for hosting Open Data Day and granting support to those celebrating!
Do you want to learn more about how to participate in Open Data Day? Check out over 200 events going on worldwide on March 4.
