Scientific and technical data sharing: a trading perspective

It is arguably a precept that the open sharing of data maximises the scientific utility of the research that generated that data. Indeed, progress depends on individual scientists being able to build on the results produced by others. The means to facilitate sharing undoubtedly exist, but various studies have identified reluctance among researchers to share information with their peers, at least until the professional priorities of the original researchers have been accommodated. With a view to encouraging less inhibited collaboration, we appraise the processes of data exchange from the perspective of a trading environment and consider how data exchanges might promote (or perhaps hinder) collaboration in data-rich scientific research disciplines and how such an exchange might be set up. We suggest an exchange with trusted brokers (akin to the commodity markets) as a way to overcome the challenges of the current environment. We conclude by encouraging the scientific and technical community to debate the merits of a trading perspective on data sharing and exchange.