Government Accountability Office (GAO) Announcement
Report on the Importance of sharing climate data
Report number: GAO-07-1172
For the full report, please go to:
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d071172.pdf
Or contact John B. Stephenson at:
E-mail: stephensonj [at] gao.gov
Phone: (202) 512-3841
"Climate Change Research: Agencies Have Data-Sharing Policies but Could
Do More to Enhance the Availability of Data from Federally Funded
Research"
Much of the nearly $2 billion annual climate change research budget
supports grants from the Department of Energy (DOE), National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Science Foundation
(NSF). Some of the data generated by this research are stored in online
archives, but much remains in a less accessible format with individual
researchers. As a result, some researchers are concerned about the
availability of data.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) analyzed three main areas of
concern:
- key issues that data-sharing policies should address,
- the data-sharing requirements, policies, and practices for external
climate change researchers funded by DOE, NASA, NOAA, and NSF, and
- the extent to which these agencies foster data sharing.
The GAO recommends the agencies explore opportunities in the grant
process to better ensure the availability of data to other researchers
and determine if additional archiving strategies are warranted.
To view the full report, please go to:
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d071172.pdf
Or contact John B. Stephenson at:
E-mail: stephensonj [at] gao.gov
Phone: (202) 512-3841