Open WASH data by establishing Data Stewards and increasing FAIRness

We established the openwashdata community for the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector. We built infrastructure and communication channels, taught 100 WASH professionals the basics of data science, developed a workflow to publish WASH data following FAIR data principles, and mobilized those in the sector who were interested in joining our vision and mission. Our next step is establishing a data stewardship network, actively working with strategic partners in Malawi and South Africa by placing a fully-funded data steward within a research institute and a non-governmental organization. A newly developed 12-module "data stewardship for openwashdata'' training programme will develop data management strategies and help our partners to institutionalize ORD practices long-term within their organizations. We will also further invest in the openwashdata publishing arm of the community by increasing the FAIRness of our data, critically analyzing how to better address the details of all four components of FAIR: Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability. We will also set up a governance structure and sounding board to ensure the long-term sustainability of the community. Through our activities and active open communications channels, we expect to create a demand for data stewardship in the WASH sector, assess their role and define a profile for data stewards more generally.