NCI’s Office of Data Sharing builds momentum to advance cancer research and care

Abstract

The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Office of Data Sharing (ODS), established in 2018, advances a comprehensive vision and strategy to ensure that the scientific outputs of NCI-supported research maximally benefit the cancer community and are in alignment with federal data management, sharing, and public access expectations. NCI’s large portfolio of scientific research spans the full continuum of cancer science from basic and population studies to translational and clinical research and generates a diverse landscape of research outputs including data, publications, clinical trials, tools, and resources. The NCI ODS serves as a critical coordinator across this ecosystem to steward NCI’s data sharing strategy during all phases of the research data lifecycle, engaging investigators, institutions, program staff, and technology partners via 3 pillars: Policy, Program, and Process. The office leads the NCI implementation of data sharing and public access policies, supports programs that identify and promote high-value research outputs with broad potential for reuse, and designs and manages user-centered processes for cancer data access and submission to NIH controlled-access repositories. ODS also draws from deep expertise to consult and provide expert data sharing guidance across scientific domains and engage with the community on data sharing issues. To develop a mechanism for sustained community engagement, the ODS annual Data Sharing Symposium was launched in 2023 as ODS flagship event which serves as a venue to exchange ideas and confront emerging issues. Through these initiatives, ODS is helping to build a coordinated and FAIR data ecosystem to accelerate cancer research and improve patient care and outcomes.