As described in this Community topic, Independent Data Access Centers (IDACs) provide a great opportunity to extend the ability of Rubin data rights holders to make discoveries with Rubin data. IDACs can take many forms and serve a variety of constituents, making it important to establish coordination between proposers of IDACs as In-Kind contributions, Rubin project staff, the Science Collaborations, and the community of data rights holders.
This IDACs coordination group has been formed to respond to this emergent need, as described in an email to all in-kind proposal teams (from Knut Olsen on Sept 3 2020). Going forward, the Community.lsst.org category “Science - Independent Data Access Centers” will be the primary venue for all of this group’s conversations.
The short-term purpose of the IDACs coordination group is to help all teams proposing IDACs as In-Kind contributions to optimize their proposals and to make sure they have the information that they need, especially as new technical questions arise about IDAC contributions that are not covered by the Handbook and the IDAC Technical Note. Questions and/or topics for discussion — whether they be posed to Rubin staff, the Science Collaborations, or to other in-kind teams — should be raised as new topics here in the “Science - Independent Data Access Centers” category.
The longer-term purpose of the IDACs coordination group is to help international teams and others within the community of Rubin data rights holders towards the delivery, integration, and maintenance of their contributions, as well as to establish a coordinated network of IDACs.
Questions for Rubin staff (e.g., Data Management) that include sensitive or confidential aspects of in-kind proposals related to IDACs are welcome via emails or LSSTC Slack direct messages to Knut Olsen and/or Greg Madejski.
As a side note, the purpose of this “Science - Independent Data Access Centers” category extends well beyond supporting the IDACs coordination group. Everyone should please participate in this category by posting topics related to Rubin IDACs, and participating in threaded discussions.