Development of new expertise in data science and the skills to overcome the well-recognised barriers that limit the collecting, sharing, analysis and use of high-quality data, are essential to addressing the current inequalities encountered by health research teams in low-resource settings. Enabling the development of tools, training and resources to build data science capability is critical.  

Working as a community, we will identify, by consensus and via an evidence-based approach using surveys, what are considered essential health data science skills. A data science curriculum can be built around those consensus themes. Resources, tools and training materials can be identified, developed or redeployed taking account of what already exists and what has proven effective.  

This exercise is in the early stages and a landscaping survey to identify what data science capacity development initiatives and resources already exist will be available for you to complete in the coming weeks, so watch this space! 

Here is the Protocol for Reaching Consensus on Essential Data Science skills.