We continue to make progress to the next set of milestones.  Right now we are finalizing the “testing” phase, with the Repository Finder Tool needing the most time to finish development.  We are planning on measured steps to our public release of the commitment statement. “Slow and steady” is the rule.  Here is what to watch for in the next few months:

  1. July 23rd (week of): Finalize the “neutral” website with the commitment statement, a webform to capture signatories, and all the supporting information, including the Author Guidelines and FAQs.  We had hoped to do this the previous week, but needed more time to get the content for the web ready.  We are very grateful for Erin Robinson’s web developer skills as she builds the pages for us.  We will also have a slide deck prepared that you can use/rebrand to introduce the project and commitment statement to your communities.  Talking points will be in the notes section.
  2. July 23rd (week of) following the completion of the website described in #1: Low-key email invitation to sign the commitment statement – limited to our project stakeholders for the Enabling FAIR Data project (300+ folks).  Everyone receiving this email will get the invitation when it’s ready.  When you sign, it means that you aspire to the tenets in the statement and will begin to prepare plans to implement what is necessary to comply.  We ask that you hold off with actual implementation until the Repository Finder Tool is ready the first week of September.  We call this invitation the “soft release”.  This will give everyone on the project team a chance to see if there is any adjustment we need to make to the approach before we do a full public release and invite the full ecosystem (and their friends).
  3. End of July through Sept 12-13 (Second Stakeholder Meeting):  Engage with the first-line support to researchers:  Editors, research offices, program officers, librarians, data managers, etc., and provide information on the upcoming journal/repository policy changes and how this impacts researchers.  Provide access to FAQs and information about the Repository Finder Tool.  Also during this time, check in on different stakeholder communities to make sure questions on implementation are getting answered.
  4. First week of September:  Completion of Repository Finder Tool.  Ready for broad use.  Thank you to the DataCite and re3data team for this incredible work. And thank you to all the usability testers to make sure it’s valuable to our community.
  5. Between Sept 12-13 (Second Stakeholder Meeting)  – and the week of November 5th with International Data Week, public announcement of the Commitment Statement – with press coverage and coordination with our stakeholders.   We prefer the September week but are being cautious about how much engagement we can get with the first line support to researchers.  It’s important that they are informed before the public release. We may need to wait until November.
  6. Following the public release,  plan and conduct researcher-focused webinar series – short 10-15mins episodes – that give the information necessary for each of the elements in the researcher section of the commitment statement and where they can learn more.  The goal is awareness with information on existing education.  We have done some work on finding speakers on each of the subjects that are experts in these areas.  We also want to highlight the material managed in the Data Management Clearing House as valuable support. [Plug for work happening at ESIP Summer next week:  Updates to the Data Citation examples so they are current, and new content for Software Citation examples specific to Earth, space, and environmental sciences.  Folks from Force11 are giving us a hand here – with special guest Mingfang Wu from Australia.  Lots of thanks. ]
  7. Continued monitoring of implementation and communicating progress.

A few other items:

Repository Finder Tool Usability Testing:  If you volunteered to help with usability testing, please take a moment and enter your information into this web form.  We tried to get everyone directed here, but feel we missed too many folks because of asynchronous processes.  Please assume we missed you, and enter your information.  This is most important if you volunteered right after I asked.  Wasn’t there an adage about the early bird?  The usability testing is being conducted by DeveloperTown and will last about 15 minutes.  No preparation is required.   Many thanks for being willing to help out.  If you are going to Summer ESIP next week, make sure you come to Research as Art for another form of usability testing.  Art = better usability, remember that.   You are welcome to share the invitation and link with your communities.

European Commission, Interim Report on FAIR Data & Action Plan – Comments Due by Aug 5:  Enabling FAIR Data made it in as a footnote!!  The work of the Expert Panel is excellent.  Please take the time to absorb these documents and provide your comments.  The framework developed for how to move forward with FAIR is strong and viable — valuable worldwide.

Turning FAIR data into reality: Interim report from the European Commission Expert Group on FAIR data

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1285271

FAIR Data Action Plan: Interim recommendations and actions from the European Commission Expert Group on FAIR data

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1285289

Also – see the recent recording of Advancing Open Science in the EU and the US held at the Wilson Center recently with one of the report authors summarizing the effort.  Look for the fourth webcast for this section of the program.  Panelists include:  Raleigh Martin (moderator), Daniel Mietchen (EC report co-author), Barend Mons (GO FAIR Director), Shelley Stall (me)

Second Stakeholder Meeting – Sept 12-13, 2018:  Thank you for your patience.  We will have more detailed information at the end of July.

Sharing information about the project:

Our email distribution list is managed on the RDA website.  You are welcome to encourage others to join the conversation.  Becoming an RDA member is free, and you can add yourself to the list.  If you would prefer to not be an RDA member, send sstall@agu.org  an email to be included.

If you have questions or would like support in discussing this project with your communities, please reach out.

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