World Data Center for Geoinformatics and Sustainable Development, Non-governmental Organization, (hereinafter, the WDC-Ukraine) has been working in Ukraine since 2006 as a full-member of the World Data System (WDS) of the International Council for Science (ICSU). WDC-Ukraine specializes on providing interdisciplinary research of complex systems of different nature.
The WDC-Ukraine activities are focused on arrangements for access of Ukrainian scientific community to global information resources of the ICSU in Earth Sciences, Planetary and Space Physics and relevant related disciplines, as well as the collection and storage of global and regional data with significant value for research in the field of Sustainable Development and managerial decision-making.
WDC-Ukraine works on the “network of networks” model and negotiates with a lot of research and scientific organizations in Ukraine and abroad. According to this model, each research area is supervised by one or several scientific organizations of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. For example:
- Institute for Applied Systems Analysis NASU and MESU (system coordination of interdisciplinary data, sustainable development);
- S. I. Subbotin Institute of Geophysics NASU (data on seismology, gravimetry, heat flow, archeo- and paleomagnetism, and magnetic measurements);
- Scientific Center for Aerospace Research of the Earth, Institute of Geosciences NASU (aerospace pictures to be used in geology, ecology, agriculture, forestry, and water industry, to predict risks of natural and technogenic processes, global environmental changes, and catastrophic processes);
- Main Astronomical Observatory NASU (space geodesy and geodynamics; cosmic rays);
- Institute of Geography NASU (cartography);
- Central Geophysical Observatory (hydrology, hydrography, meteorology and climatology, environmental pollution);
- Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste and Radioecology (data on radiation, ecological, and medical consequences of the Chornobyl catastrophe, Shelter safety, health and radioecological consequences).
WDC-Ukraine provides all main phases of data management (collection, quality assurance, storage, processing, sharing, reporting and long-term stewardship) for scientific data of various nature and supports Ukrainian scientists for access to global informational resources of ICSU, develops and implements mathematical methods for complex systems and does its best for providing data and instruments for scientific, business and governmental purposes.
President: Michael Zgurovsky, member of Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Executive Director: Kostiantyn Yefremov