Opening Big Data for a Sustainable Future: Review of the CASEarth Program's Data Policy

The Chinese Academy of Sciences Big Earth Data Science Engineering Program (CASEarth Program) is a well-structured, well-funded research activity that is perhaps the most prominent research program now at CAS.  By revising its focus to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the course of this review, the Program has sought to achieve global international prominence and relevance that will carry it forward through the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development, or CBAS, beginning in early 2023.  It therefore promises to assume a leadership role in Chinese and international research on the SDGs using Big Data. 

A major part of that leadership and prominence can be attributed to the CASEarth Program’s open data policy and the free, online availability of many of its data holdings.  These networked data have both classic public-good characteristics and support the highly important public-interest objectives that are embodied in the SDGs themselves, particularly for the Low-to-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). 

This review report is intended to strengthen the CASEarth Data Policy and, accordingly, the impact of the Program for the SDGs, the international research community, and CAS itself.  It is our hope that the suggestions presented here will help improve the Program to achieve its desired full potential.

This independent review was conducted by CODATA, the Committee on Data of the International Science Council.