The National Science Foundation has collaborated with five agencies to launch a $20 million program that aims to develop a prototype open knowledge network to help address existing challenges in health care, space, climate change and other areas.
The Proto-OKN initiative will fund projects to innovate a cloud-based infrastructure that will serve as an engine for interconnected data repositories used for various purposes, such as developing evidence-based policies and artificial intelligence capabilities, NSF said Friday.
Research projects will be divided into three categories: use cases, interconnecting fabric and education and public engagement.
The first category will focus on the development of knowledge graphs to provide data-driven solutions to societal challenges and the second category will create new technologies to link the knowledge graphs.
The program will choose one awardee to develop educational materials and tools for Proto-OKN users.
NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Justice, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Geological Survey are NSF’s partners in the endeavor.
“The open knowledge network will transform the nation’s ability to unlock insights from data and transform these data into useful, actionable information and knowledge crucial to address challenges for a more efficient and equitable future,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of NSF.
