Workshop on Open Data and Reuse in Social Science Weather Research

In April 2023, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Program Office and the Natural Hazards Center partnered to convene a Workshop on Open Data and Reuse in Social Science Weather Research.

The workshop sought to gather insights and recommendations on ethical publication and reuse of social, behavioral, and economic science data in the context of weather-related research. The workshop was organized in response to a recent memorandum that delivered guidance for federal departments and agencies to update their public access policies as soon as possible. These updates should make publications and research funded by taxpayers publicly accessible, without delay or cost. According to the new guidance, all federal agencies will fully implement updated policies no later than December 31, 2025.

In response to the guidance, the workshop addressed advancements in the publication of social science research instruments and data, ongoing challenges with ethically managing and sharing qualitative and quantitative primary and secondary social science data, and opportunities to support the necessary infrastructure and culture for data publication and reuse in the social sciences. The primary outcome of the workshop was the final report, linked below, which was released in November 2023. The report shares community-informed insights and recommendations for consideration by NOAA, other federal agencies, academic researchers, and data repositories regarding how to make social science data more equitable and accessible in accordance with new federal requirements.

The workshop brought together program administrators and researchers from NOAA and the Natural Hazards Center, program directors from the National Science Foundation (NSF), representatives from data repositories and data governance experts, and social science and interdisciplinary researchers.

Final Report

The Final Report for the Workshop on Open Data and Reuse in Social Science Weather Research is available for download as a PDF.

Supplementary Materials

Workshop Description and Planning Process: The Workshop on Open Data and Reuse in Social Science Weather Research took place on April 10-11, 2023 at the University of Colorado Boulder. The Workshop Description provides an overview of workshop logistics, background, outcomes, and materials for review. The Workshop Planning and Convening Process document provides an overview of the specific steps that the planning team took in preparation for, during, and after the meeting.

Participant List: A total of 39 participants attended the in-person meeting at the University of Colorado Boulder and 12 joined the meeting virtually. This Participant List includes the names, titles, affiliations, and bios for all participants.

Agenda: The two-day workshop featured 7 highly interactive sessions that were designed to encourage participants to share challenges, concerns, and suggestions. Sessions included federal policy updates for data sharing, publication, and reuse, advancements in social science data infrastructure, challenges to publishing and reusing social science instruments and data, brainstorming on overcoming challenges, and more. The Workshop Agenda summarizes the objective for each session.

Workshop Slides: The workshop featured a mix of formal presentations, lightning talks, facilitated discussions, and breakout groups. PDFs of the presentation slides are available below:

Session 1: Federal Policy Updates for Data Sharing, Publication, and Reuse

Session 2: Advancements in Social Science Instrument and Data Publication Infrastructure

Session 3: Advancements in Training and Mentoring for Data Publication

Session 4: The Elephant in the Room – Challenges to Publishing and Reusing Social Science Instruments and Data

Resources: This document features Resources that the planning team compiled in advance of the workshop. It was later updated to include additional resources shared by those who attended the meeting.

Participant Guidelines: Participants followed the following set of Participant Guidelines to maintain a critical, respectful, and interactive environment for idea sharing. Some of the guidelines included being present, making an effort to get to know other participants, taking breakout groups seriously, avoiding using acronyms, among others.

Participant Commitments: During the closing session, participants were invited to share an action or commitment that they were personally planning to take in response to the substance of the meeting. Then everyone was asked to reflect on a collective commitment that they thought members of the community (social scientists, funders, data repositories–working independently or together) should take. This Participant Commitments and Action Items document summarizes what was shared in writing and verbally during the meeting.

Thematic Challenges and Recommendations: Throughout the workshop, participants were invited to share challenges, opportunities, and recommendations related to the 2022 OSTP guidance. The Thematic Challenges and Recommendations document offers a summary of what was shared in writing and verbally during the meeting.

Workshop Planning Committee: The following individuals from NOAA’s Weather Program Office (Gina Eosco, Alison Agather, Jonathan Mote, and Cassandra Shivers-Williams) and from the Natural Hazards Center (Lori Peek, Jennifer Tobin, and Mary Angelica Painter) envisioned and organized this meeting.

Questions should be directed to Lori.Peek@colorado.edu or Gina.Eosco@noaa.gov.