On Friday, 3 October 2025, the Office of the Chief Science Advisor (OCSA) released a new framework for governing scientific data in Canada, underscoring the importance of data as a valuable national asset. Towards a National Scientific Data Governance Framework presents recommendations to strengthen scientific data governance for improved research outcomes and benefits to Canadians.
Natalie Harrower, Executive Director of the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN), was among the expert panelists who contributed to the development of the framework as part of an Advisory Panel to Dr. Mona Nemer, Chief Science Advisor of Canada. Dr. Harrower’s participation reflects CRDCN’s commitment to supporting researcher access to rich data sources that can be analysed in order to provide evidence for the development of policy and programmes. CRDCN is also working to support FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) practices aligned with the CARE (Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, Ethics) principles, which guide ethical and effective data management and foster public trust in science. These principles are central to the newly released framework.
The report responds to the growing need for robust data governance in the face of rapid digitalization and the rise of artificial intelligence. It outlines recommendations to make Canada’s scientific data more accessible, interoperable, and sustainable by promoting shared infrastructure and harmonized governance approaches. It also emphasizes that the true value of scientific data lies not only in its initial collection but in its reuse—driving innovation, enabling cross-disciplinary breakthroughs, and informing evidence-based policy.
The framework offers tailored guidance for policymakers, researchers, and the public—highlighting how responsible data governance can maximize return on public investment in research while helping researchers to focus on their key investigations and impact, with the knowledge that that their data are secure and well-stewarded. Scientific data is a core asset for the discovery of solutions to issues both small and large that affect Canadian lives, from how to improve the delivery of a specific social service to a designated community, through tackling climate change.
“The fact that this report recognizes data as a national asset and provides a framework for bringing data governance and practices closer to supporting that recognition is a key contribution to our thinking around the relationship between data, the scientific enterprise, and the improvement of daily life,” said Dr. Harrower. “National assets require national commitments, and national coordination, and if followed, the recommendations in this report will help to move Canada in the right direction.”
CRDCN’s efforts to support a national approach to scientific/research data governance align with related efforts to support a more robust approach to sustaining national research infrastructures across all disciplines and domains. “In our current AI-focused, data-driven environment, data governance, stewardship and management are becoming domain-agnostic concerns with domain-specific requirements, so supporting research means sustaining the infrastructures that make it possible, which in turn requires a robust, consistent and best-practice approach to the data lifecycle,” said Dr. Harrower.
The full paper produced by the advisory committee, containing detailed recommendations and implementation strategies, is expected to be released later this autumn.
A podcast from CRDCN’s 25th Anniversary conference panel on research infrastructures, innovation and the centrality data, featuring Dr. Nemer, can be found here:
For more information on CRDCN’s strategic positioning in the research ecosystem, see the CRDCN 2024-2029 Strategic Plan in English or French
For more information on the work of the Office of the Chief Science Advisor in relation to Open Science, see: https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor/open-science
News, Other PublicationsConference/Seminar, News
November 11, 2025
News, Public Policy
September 16, 2025
News, Newsletter, Research and Programs
June 11, 2025