CODATA-ICSTI NSF Portal Proposal DRAFT

PROJECT SUMMARY (1 page)
Include a self-contained description of the activity that would results if the proposal is funded. Write in the 3rd person and include a statement of objectives and methods to be employed. Clearly address in separate statements intellectual merit and broader impacts. Proposals that do not do so will be returned without review.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION (15 pages)
i. RESULTS FROM PRIOR NSF SUPPORT Must be included for any PI or co-PI for past 5 years. State Title, NSF award #, amount & period of support. Summarize the results of completed work to date and resulting publications. ii. INTRODUCTION NEED FOR A PORTAL

As the volume and use of scientific and technical data and information that is created worldwide continues to grow exponentially, the effective long-term preservation of and access to these information resources likewise increases in importance as an essential component of the global research infrastructure. The preservation and archiving of digital S&T data and information in many cases poses greater, and significantly different, challenges than those in print formats. These challenges are not only technical, but involve new scientific, financial, organizational, management, legal, and policy considerations. Moreover, although many of the challenges that require sustainable solutions are the same for digital data and information across all disciplines, others are distinct or unique for certain disciplines or types of information. Developing countries, in particular, face the greatest hurdles, yet there are very few international and interdisciplinary activities addressing these issues and problems in the developing world context. Resolving the many different problems in the preservation and archiving of S&T data and information successfully today will bear dividends for future generations; the costs of failure will be incalculable, but profound.

In early 2002 the U.S. National Committee for CODATA approached the international CODATA and the International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI) to develop and maintain an Internet portal to scientific and technical data and information preservation and archiving resources. It is envisioned that this portal would build upon and help integrate the work of ICSU bodies, especially of the CODATA Task Group on the Preservation and Archiving of S&T Data for Developing Countries together, with the work being done in this area by other relevant groups and organizations.

The primary task of this portal is to greatly raise the visibility of the issues concerning archiving and preserving access to scientific and technical data and information internationally. The preliminary objective for the proposed portal is to provide information about and links to:  Scientific and technical data and information archiving procedures, technologies, standards, and policies; Discipline-specific and cross-disciplinary archiving projects and activities; and Expert points of contact in all countries, with particular attention to those in developing countries. 

It also should be emphasized that the principal collaborating organizations are cognizant of many of the other national and international efforts in digital archiving that are already underway outside the ICSU family of organizations, particularly in the professional archiving and library communities. Raising visibility for S&T archiving is a challenging undertaking. The Planning Committee will take into account those other activities to avoid unnecessary redundancies and to maximize the effectiveness of the portal. The Committee will make links with, and solicit cooperation from, appropriate standards groups.

ICSTI/CODATA VALUE ADDED

ICSTI and CODATA represent many of the people and institutions engaged in the creation and management of scientific data and information. Sponsorship by these two organizations provides an appropriate institutional home. The proposed Internet portal on the Preservation and Archiving of Scientific and Technical Data and Information will be fully consistent with the international and interdisciplinary goals of ICSU, CODATA, and ICSTI. Such a portal also should help fulfill some of the important objectives of ICSU’s many constituent unions and interdisciplinary bodies.

The portal also will provide value through an editorial practice that evaluates and makes available links to content on and about scientific and technical data and information archiving that best fulfills the objectives stated above. The goal is to provide more than a simple set of ‘raw’ URLs that could be returned with a Google-type search.

iii. PROJECT PLAN Include Goals, Objectives and Deliverables. Describe your Activities. Provide enough information as to why you and your team are expert enough to accomplish the goal. What facilities and resources are available? Consider including a Logic Model. How will you address a diversity component? Include for each Objective: (1) Rationale (2) Methods/Activities (3) Expected Results/Deliverables & (4) Limitations & alternatives iv. MANAGEMENT PLAN Detail how the project will be managed. Who is responsible overall for the project and include specific roles and responsibilities information for PI, co-PIs and senior personnel. Are there advisory boards? Industry relations? How will communications be handled? Quarterly meetings? Include activities, persons responsible and timeline. Will the project be sustainable and how after the NSF funding period?

The management of the portal development and operations will be divided among a steering committee for oversight, and editorial committee for content and a portal site editor to manage overall production and operation. All operations communication will be carried out by e-mail, telephone, and other computer-based means.

v. EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT PLAN This is an area that is receiving more emphasis from NSF. Be sure to include details about how your project and objectives will be evaluated and how results will be analyzed. Project evaluation should be reflected in the budget as well. In order to assure that Internet portal on the Preservation and Archiving of Scientific and Technical Data and Information returns value, goals and measures will be established and monitored.

The following process measures are proposed. • Web site user metrics • Web site performance metrics o Average response times o System availability • Content performance metrics o Qualitative measures of users and usability gathered from interviews and on-line feedback. • Organization participation

vi. DISSEMINATION How will results be broadly conveyed? Professional conferences, papers, special seminars, etc. vii. SUMMARY Summarize project goals and expected outcomes, including how they pertain to broader impacts. An ICSTI/CODATA portal focused on providing information about scientific and technical data and information archiving procedures, technologies, standards, and policies; discipline-specific and cross-disciplinary archiving projects and activities; and expert points of contact in all countries is completely consistent with the goals of these two organizations as well as ICSU and its other member organizations. It provides an internet-based resource not otherwise available, and it supports scientists and data managers in developing countries.

Nevertheless, this is a time when interest in preserving digital content is growing in science, education, government, and business. It is important for the issues, needs, and special considerations of scientific and technical data and information to be available to support and influence the systems development that is already well underway, and to promote best practices across the international scientific and technical communities. Finally, and perhaps most important, this portal project also can provide a valuable marketing and outreach function for ICSTI, CODATA, and ICSU.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES (2 pages; may vary)
Include Professional preparation, appointments, publications (has limits), synergistic activities and collaborators. See GPG for specific details and formatting required. See NSF CV Outline.

BUDGET
BUDGET JUSTIFICATION (3 pages)