At the same time, information as an economic activity has spawned countless new companies and businesses worldwide. Comments on the document are welcome. ICSU, now called the International Council for Science, was created in 1931 to promote international scientific activities in all areas of natural science and their applications for the benefit of humanity. More than 135 nations adhere to ICSU or its scientific unions. Since its creation, a major objective of ICSU has been to assure that scientists in all nations can obtain access to data and other types of technical information that are essential to their work.
Scientists are both users and producers of databases.
The synthesis of data from different sources to provide new insights and advance our understanding of nature is an essential part of the scientific process. The history of science is rich with examples of data collections that played a crucial part in a scientific revolution which in turn had a major impact on society. It may truly be said that data are the lifeblood of science. The Group proposes the following set of principles for organizations and individuals to evaluate legislative proposals that affect the use of scientific databases. Science is an investment in the public interest.