Strengthening global research through open data and collaboration

The University of Cape Town (UCT) recently joined the World Data System (WDS), reinforcing its commitment to advancing open science, data accessibility and research excellence on a global scale.

The WDS is an affiliated body of the International Science Council (ISC) that aims to enhance the capabilities, impact and sustainability of its member data repositories and services. For UCT eResearch, membership in the WDS aligns closely with its vision of fostering open science and supporting global research collaboration.

Reinforced leadership in data stewardship

Membership in WDS means joining a trusted international community dedicated to strengthening the scientific enterprise across the entire data lifecycle. It ensures that UCT’s data repositories uphold rigorous international standards of trust, sustainability and interoperability – enhancing the visibility and impact of its researchers’ work worldwide.

The significance of this milestone was highlighted by Professor Mattia Vaccari, Director of eResearch at UCT: “Becoming a member of the World Data System underlines UCT’s dedication to creating high quality and accessible data infrastructure that supports our researchers in producing impactful, reproducible science.

“Membership strengthens our ability to collaborate internationally, reinforcing our leadership in responsible data stewardship.”

Professor Vaccari said this includes creating first-class, quality-assured data that feeds first-class research outputs. “It is about advocating for accessible, transparent, impactful and reproducible science.”

Professor Jeff Murugan, UCT’s acting deputy vice-chancellor for Research and Internationalisation, emphasised the strategic importance of WDS membership for the university. “This is a key step in our broader commitment to open science and global research excellence. It not only advances our digital identity but also ensures our research outputs are connected and recognised within the worldwide scientific ecosystem.”

Earlier this year, UCT officially joined DataCite, a global non-profit organisation dedicated to providing persistent digital object identifiers (DOIs) for research data. This move empowers UCT researchers to establish a stronger digital identity, ensuring their contributions receive the recognition they deserve in academic and public domains. With the new WDS affiliation, UCT now joins a worldwide community devoted to the provision of quality assured data and data services.

Membership entails the university’s participation in a trusted network that supports data repositories in enhancing data discoverability, reliability and accessibility, fostering an environment conducive to collaboration.

Advancement of Open Science and reproducibility

UCT’s engagement with the WDS builds on its existing achievements such as the CoreTrustSeal certification awarded earlier this year to the institutional repository ZivaHub: Open Data UCT. Hosted by UCT Libraries, the ZivaHub platform publishes UCT research data and scholarly outputs.

UCT’s membership in the World Data System is a key step in our broader commitment to open science and global research excellence.

“UCT Libraries’ continued support to the university is now bolstered by membership of WDS,” said Nikki Crowster, director of Information Systems and Resources. “It reinforces our commitment to the ongoing advocacy for FAIR (findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability) data principles and Open Scholarship.”

A core principle of WDS is to improve and facilitate access to research data, supporting the open data movement and making data available to researchers and the public. As a trustworthy repository, ZivaHub sets high standards in research data management and accessibility. ZivaHub has been recognised for its outstanding contribution to science, engineering and technology (SET) and innovation in South Africa, and was a recent finalist in the 'Data for Research' category at the NSTF-South32 2024/2025 Awards.

Overall, being part of the World Data System means that UCT will continue to champion accessible data, sustainable data management practices, and global collaboration, ensuring that its research data infrastructure supports the university’s position as a leader in research excellence and innovation.

For more information on UCT’s research data services, visit ZivaHub or contact eresearch@uct.ac.za.