*SciDataCon 2014: * *International Conference on Data Sharing and Integration for Global Sustainability * *New Delhi, 2-5 November 2014 * *First Call for Abstracts and Sessions (Deadline: 30 April 2014) * There are many pressing sustainability challenges facing today's society, from food and water security to poverty alleviation and climate change. Such challenges cannot be solved without multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, as well as the collection, sharing, integration, use, and stewardship of data across scientific disciplines and domains, and from international sources. The effectiveness and credibility not only of research but also proposed solutions will be highly dependent on the availability of well-documented, quality-assessed, and timely scientific datasets. To facilitate the work of international research undertakings (including the 'Future Earth' research programme on global sustainability to be launched by ICSU and its partners in 2014) and to amplify the message of like- minded global data initiatives promoting data sharing and interoperability (including the Group on Earth Observations and the recently established Research Data Alliance), SciDataCon 2014 will highlight the theme of Data Sharing and Integration for Global Sustainability. *The SciDataCon 2014 Steering Committee* now invites proposals for sessions, and abstracts for oral presentations and posters, addressing the overarching conference theme of 'Data Sharing and Integration for Global Sustainability' and related themes such as those indicated below. 1. Data sharing, integration, and interoperability to address research challenges in global sustainability: 2. Big Data science and technology: 3. Development and sustainability of data services: * Data publication and citation * Innovative approaches to data integration and interoperability * Semantic data integration * Interoperability standards and reference data * Software architecture and systems * Disciplinary and interdisciplinary case studies: environment, health, social sciences, humanities, biodiversity, climate change, materials, energy, disasters, etc. * Data-intensive scientific discovery * Large-scale computing software and systems * Presentation, analytics, learning, and knowledge discovery * Data mining and visualisation * High-impact applications * Data systems and infrastructure sustainability * Data curation and stewardship, and development of trusted repositories * Solutions and tools for research data management and data security * Rescue of scientific data at risk * Capacity building and education in data science * Private sector roles and public-private partnerships 4. Scientific data for decision making and policy: 5. International collaboration on research data: * Assessment of the impact and economic and societal value of data * Data quality, documentation, and credibility * Data-driven models and data products for decision- and policy-makers * Citizen science and crowdsourcing * Sustainability indicators and metrics * Open government * Development of new observational and data networks * Interoperability and integration of existing data networks * Data policy and access, particularly in developing countries * Open scientific research data frameworks, including legal issues * Capacity building and advocacy * Lessons learned from past or current international research and data programmes * New opportunities to support Future Earth and other international research initiatives *Submission Instructions* Proposals should be submitted before 00:00 UTC on 1 May 2014. Abstracts for oral presentations and posters Proposed abstracts must be submitted online, and uploaded files must conform to the format used in the following MS Word template: [LINK to the File on the website] ** Abstract Submission [LINK]* *Proposals for sessions* Proposed sessions must also be submitted online, and envisage a panel discussion, a workshop, or a series of papers on a coherent theme. The proposal should include information about the theme, format, and speakers, in addition to including the status of speaker invitations and their commitment. * *Session Submission [LINK]* *Abstracts publication* All accepted abstracts will be published in the Conference Proceedings, following the prescribed submission format. Selected authors, who indicated their intention to submit full papers, will be invited to publish a peer- reviewed manuscript in a special issue of the CODATA Data Science Journal. *About * SciDataCon 2014 is jointly organized by the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) and the World Data System (WDS) interdisciplinary committees of the International Council for Science (ICSU), in collaboration with the Indian National Science Academy (INSA). *For enquiries: secretariat@scidatacon2014.org <secretariat@scidatacon2014.org> Conference Website: www.SciDataCon2014.org <http://www.SciDataCon2014.org>* -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.