As data-driven research reshapes global science, industry, and governance, a critical question remains: how do we ensure that the infrastructures we build are both technologically robust and socially fair? To address this challenge, the EDI, in collaboration with the University of Exeter and the Technical University of Munich, is hosting The Ethical Data Initiative Stakeholder Forum: Framing the Future of the Global Research Commons on the afternoon of Monday 5th October at The Foundry, London SE11.

The Stakeholder Forum is a hybrid event which precedes the Research Data Alliance’s 27th Plenary Meeting (RDA P27) which in turn runs from Tuesday 6th to Thursday 8th October at The Kia Oval in London. This pre-plenary Forum will unite leading global voices in research governance, international funding, and data policy to bridge the gap between technical infrastructure and ethical stewardship.

The afternoon features two complementary panel discussions: the first examines the governance of data sharing to ensure research commons remain inclusive and equitable, while the second explores the practical challenges of reconciling complex management principles such as FAIR, CARE, and TRUST. Together, these sessions provide a strategic roadmap for moving beyond theory to build robust, socially responsible data infrastructures.

Programme and Panels

The afternoon will be organised into two complementary panel discussions designed to move from the governance questions that shape why research commons exist, to the management practices that determine whether they actually work. For more information please see the agenda.

Please note: The agenda is currently in draft. Please check back for updates as further panellists are confirmed.

Panel 1 organised in collaboration with DORA: Why research commons and for whom? The governance of data sharing

This session sets the terms of the debate before moving to practice. Panellists will discuss who shared data infrastructures are built to serve, who currently benefits from them, and what governance arrangements are needed to keep data commons from being captured by corporate platforms or a narrow set of well-resourced institutions. 

Featured Experts: Panel 1

Dr June Brawner is an anthropologist and policy professional who specialises in data governance, AI ethics, and privacy-enhancing technologies. Her research examines the social life of data, exploring how measurement and classification systems shape decision-making across science, policy, and society. She previously led data and AI policy initiatives at the Open Data Institute and served as Senior Policy Adviser at The Royal Society, where she directed programs on responsible AI, data for research, and privacy-enhancing technologies. Over the course of her career, Dr. Brawner has advised international organisations, including the UN, OECD, UK Parliament, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and US National Academies. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Georgia, alongside degrees in soil science and sociology, and has held research fellowships with the Fulbright Foundation, Columbia University, and the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Science and Policy. 

Ed Humpherson is the Head of the UK Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) and Director General for Regulation at the UK Statistics Authority, a role he has held since January 2014. He leads the independent regulatory body responsible for upholding public confidence in the trustworthiness, quality, and public value of UK official statistics. A staunch advocate for “intelligent transparency,” Ed champions the accessible and context-rich use of data to support informed public discourse. Prior to his current role, Ed spent over two decades at the National Audit Office (NAO), where he served as a Board Member and Executive Leader for Economic Affairs, directing major work programs on economic policy, financial crisis oversight, and infrastructure.   

Dr Giovanna Lima is the Programme Manager for the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), a global initiative advancing fair and responsible research evaluation practices. Prior to DORA, she served as Senior Project Officer for Societal Impact and Recognition and Rewards at Erasmus University Rotterdam, leading strategies to embed research impact into education and engagement. Earlier in her career, she was Trinity College Dublin’s first Research Impact Officer, where she developed the widely translated Researcher Impact Framework. She has also worked as a research consultant for The Economist Impact and held senior public management positions in Brazil. Dr Lima holds a Master’s and PhD in Public Administration.

Julia Pescarini is a social epidemiologist, Associate Professor at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK) and researcher at The Centre for Data and Knowledge Integration for Health (Brazil). Her research focuses on investigating how poverty, social vulnerability and deprived living conditions affect the chances of people becoming ill. She is especially interested in understanding how new global pressures can impact the social determinants of health and how social protection can mitigate those effects. She currently leads the “Equity in Migration and Environmental adaptation study (EMERGE) funded by the Wellcome Trust, a research programme on understanding the impacts of climate extremes on migration and on migrant health; and co-leads the Impact Evaluation group at the Global Health Research Unit of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) on Social and Environmental Determinants of Health Inequalities (SEDHI). Her work combines large-scale linked administrative datasets, social epidemiology, causal inference, and impact evaluation to generate high-quality and policy-relevant research.

Panel 2: The practice of data as commons: Reconciling Research Data Management Principles

Transforming data governance into everyday data stewardship is highly challenging. This session transitions from governance to research management, focusing on how to effectively run and oversee a data commons. The principles of FAIR, CARE, and TRUST were developed independently, and integrating them can sometimes cause conflicts, such as balancing open access with community control over data. Panellists will explore practical workflows, policy options, and infrastructure decisions for applying these principles, including strategies for prioritising when they clash.

Featured Experts: Panel 2

Dr. Louise Bezuidenhout is a Senior Researcher in Open Science at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University, and serves as UNESCO Co-Chair for Diversity and Inclusion in Global Science. A specialist in the social and ethical dimensions of open research, her work focuses on research data management, infrastructure development, and the implementation of FAIR and CARE principles. Dr Bezuidenhout collaborates extensively with global bodies, including CODATA and the Research Data Alliance (RDA), to build research environments that are both technologically robust and socially equitable. Her research addresses critical tensions in data sharing and stewardship, advocating for frameworks that ensure diverse research communities can effectively engage with, and benefit from, the Global Research Commons.

Carole Goble is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Manchester and Head of the ELIXIR-UK Node. A world-leading expert in research data infrastructure, she has dedicated her career to developing robust, sustainable digital research commons. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between theoretical data management principles – particularly FAIR and CARE – and their practical implementation within complex scientific workflows. As a pioneer in standard-setting and infrastructure design, she leads initiatives that ensure data resources are not only interoperable and discoverable but also equitable and accessible to diverse research communities. Her research addresses the technical and institutional challenges of data stewardship, aiming to transform high-level policy into efficient, actionable research practices.

For more information regarding the RDA P27 programme, visit the RDA website here.