The Sarah Jones Award

The Research Data Alliance is pleased to announce the 'The Sarah Jones Award for exceptional contribution to fostering collaboration in Open Science'.

About Sarah

Sarah Jones was an esteemed member of the Research Data Alliance (RDA) Council, former member of the Technical Advisory Board (TAB), and RDA community member since 2014.

A fantastic colleague and a wonderful friend, Sarah’s energy, passion, and enthusiasm was infectious, and she was a true believer in and driver of Open Science in Europe and across the globe. Sarah didn’t just ‘talk the talk’ about openness, but she really walked the talk. Sarah invested a huge amount of time and effort into advocating for true openness. She believed in community and its power, and was a true believer in the RDA. She said it was ‘her tribe’. Sarah was professional, prepared and passionate about her work and had an incredible work ethic, but she also infused her enthusiasm and energy into social networking. With this annual award the global RDA community would like to honour Sarah’s memory and her huge contribution to the Open Science community.

Nominations

Nominations are invited for individuals who have demonstrated an exceptional contribution to fostering collaboration in Open Science (including but not limited to education & training, research data management & FAIR data) that has had positive change and impact as a result of this work. This impact can be on an organisational, community or individual level. Sarah impacted many people, organisations and communities in her work. In addition to these mandatory aspects, some desirables for the nomination include the candidate’s current career level, and Early Career nominations are strongly encouraged.

The RDA would like to bestow this award for an otherwise unrecognised contribution to the community in Open Science. This award is open to all nominees and not restricted to members of the RDA community. Finally, geographical location will be considered. As a global organisation, the RDA is aware that community and cross border activities can be more challenging in some parts of the world in respect to others.

The deadline for receipt of nominations is Thursday 12 September 2024 and the nominations will be evaluated by a panel of judges and shortlisted according to the nomination and selection criteria. The winner will be announced during the 23rd RDA Plenary Meeting , 12-14 November 2024, Costa Rica and will receive a physical award, a certificate, be included on the RDA Sarah Jones Award website listing with details of the exceptional contribution. Finally, the winner will have access to a fund to be invested in activities relevant to the winning activities (for example, further capacity building, cross community collaboration, community animation and engagement, etc.).

Contribute to the fund

The RDA greatly appreciates financial donations to the Sarah Jones Award fund for individuals who make exceptional contributions to fostering collaboration in Open Science. Thank you for your interest in supporting this initiative.