Data sharing in public health emergencies: A study of current policies, practices and infrastructure supporting the sharing of data to prevent and respond to epidemic and pandemic threats.

Discussions around sharing public health research data have been running for close to a decade, and yet when the Ebola epidemic hit West Africa in 2014, data sharing remained the exception, not the norm. In response, the GloPID-R consortium of research funders commissioned a study to take stock of current data sharing practices involving research on pathogens with pandemic potential. The study catalogued different data sharing practices, and investigated the governance and curation standards of the most frequently used platforms and mechanisms. In addition, it sought to identify specific areas of support or investment which could lead to more effective sharing of data to prevent or limit future epidemics.