Genesis of the project: The
recommendation to coordinate international efforts in the new field
of Neuroinformatics was first made in the report on Bioinformatics
elaborated under the aegis of the then OECD Megascience Forum in
1998. Following extensive discussions in the Neuroinformatics
Working Group of the Global Science Forum chaired by Dr Stephen
Koslow, the proposal to create an International Neuroinformatics
Coordinating Facility, as well as a funding Programme in
International Neuroinformatics (PIN), was then presented in 2002.
This project was endorsed by OECD science ministers at their meeting
in January 2004. Sixteen countries (Australia, Canada, China, the
Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy,
Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United
Kingdom and the United States), as well as the European Commission,
then elaborated the working documents that form the legal basis for
the INCF and the PIN (see below).
Why Neuroinformatics? A key element to
successfully understanding the nervous system is the integration of
neuroscience with information sciences. The field that studies the
nervous system, neuroscience, has responded to the fantastic
challenge of understanding how our brain works with the use of the
most sophisticated technologies, from studies on the genome to those
on brain imaging of behaviour in humans and other species, under
different functional states, and at all intervening analytical
levels. This effort has resulted in large quantities of data, which
are ever increasing at higher levels of complexity. The data
produced are heterogeneous, coming from different levels of study
and modalities of analysis. To rise to this challenge of
integration, and to ensure efficient and maximum use of these data,
it is now necessary to develop and create these shared resources:
(i) neuroscience data and knowledge databases; (ii) analytical and
modelling tools; and (iii) computational models. This challenge is
being met through the merging of neurosciences with information
science -- the field of Neuroinformatics.
The current process: The conditions laid
out for the creation of the INCF were met in July 2005, seven
countries (the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden,
Switzerland and the United States) having signed the Understanding
document and pledged their financial contribution. Other countries
are expected to join the INCF in the coming months, with membership
open to both OECD member and non-member countries. A bid to host the
INCF Secretariat has been launched (see related document below). All
interested countries (which must have joined the INCF before the
submission deadline) are invited to submit their bid to the Global
Science Forum Secretariat before October 15, 2005. The host country
for the headquarters of this new international body will be
announced in Paris on Monday, 28 November at the occasion of the
INCF Governing Board meeting during which will also be elected the
INCF chair and vice chair persons (Prof Sten Grillner serving as
interim chairman in the interim period).
OECD
News Release
Related documents:
Understanding:
This is the legal document signed by all participants in the INCF
that sets the framework for joining the INCF.
Business
plan: This is the document that describes the mission and
operating procedure of the INCF.
Request
for Proposal: This is the guidelines for submitting a bid to
host the INCF Secretariat.
PIN: This
is the framework document for the future Programme in International
Neuroinformatics. |