Roundtable 2
Presentations

Networking European
Social Science Research Infrastructure
Presented by: Marcia Freed Taylor

NESSIE

• Network of Economic and Social Social Science Infrastructures in Europe
• Partners = 4 Social Science Infrastructures
• Funded by EC until March 2004

NESSIE Social Science Infrastructures
NESSIE Topics

• Data Access and Transfer
• Harmonisation and Coordination
• Data protection, data policies, code of ethics
• Data Comparability
• Description Standards
• Development of European Infrastructure 

NESSIE Aims

• to foster growth of “virtual European research infrastructure”
• to foster cooperation linkages
• to broaden the European resource base
• to develop “Guidelines of Best Practice” for European comparative research

NESSIE Activities

• Roundtable meetings to bring together experts to discuss and make recommendations
• NESSIE web page as centralised resource on comparative European research
• Development of Guidelines on Best Practice
• Formulation of  joint research projects
• First Roundtable to Launch the Network

ECASS UK
September 12-13 2002

"Data for Comparative European Socio-Economic Research: Challenges, Opportunities and Constraints"

Roundtable One
Recommendations
Information Exchange 

• Need for coordinated of information exchange & action in data production & analysis  -> joint initiatives
• NESSIE detailed inventory of existing data sources expanded and given wider visibility
• Importance of good quality data therefore need thorough & well-constructed documentation of data.
• “Question Bank” of survey questions should be established to allow researchers who require information on a wide variety of topics to locate data easily surveys.

Exchange and Collaboration

• Collaboration  between European data archives a model for development of the wider research data infrastructure.
• Need for good national level links between research community & NSI. Relationship between data access arrangements and data quality improvements.
• Encouragement of active involvement of Eastern European countries in all activities.
• More open access to data produced by the commercial sector; collaboration between data users and data producers.

Awareness & Lobbying

• Linkage of  socio-economic data needs to EU policy priorities (cf. INSPIRE,  ESS and e-living surveys).
• Researchers as pressure group to represent the views of academic and private research.

Lobbying of politicians and MEPs.

• Awareness and Lobbying
• Watching brief on restrictive pricing policies.
• Awareness of dangers of restrictive confidentiality regulations limiting access to Europe-wide data.

How Can You Participate ?

• Participate in NESSIE activities
• Consult NESSIE web pages
• Comment on documents and proposed standards
• Suggest improvements, additions & links

Contact NESSIE

marcia@essex.ac.uk (coordinator)

nessie@isermail.essex.ac.uk