Graduate Student, Information Studies
Ph.D. Candidate and Adjunct Professor
Information School
Thesis Title: The Value of Public Sector Information as a Strategic Resource for Socioeconomic Development Research and Policy Activities in South Africa
About
Raed M. Sharif is a Ph.D. candidate in Information Science and Technology at the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, USA.
Raed's academic research focuses on access to and reuse of Public Sector Information (PSI), especially scientific and technical information, and its impact on scientific and socio-economic development. He is also interested in the measurement of the social and economic value of PSI. To that end, Raed has recently held two research fellowships at the Intellectual Capital Unit of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), and at the Information and Knowledge Management Department at the University of Johannesburg. He was also hosted for a month by the Human Science Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa. While in South Africa, Raed collaborated with South African researchers and collected data for his dissertation titled: The Value of Public Sector Information as a Strategic Resource for Socioeconomic Development Research and Policy Activities in South Africa.
Raed’s recent research papers and contributions appeared in the proceedings of national and international conferences and workshops such as Knowledge Management Africa (KMA) 2009 conference, Senegal, May 2009; the OECD-U.S. National Academy of Sciences workshop on “The Socioeconomic Effects of Public Sector Information on Digital Networks: Toward a Better Understanding of Different Access and Reuse Policies”, Paris, France, February 2008 (report published in 2009) , the Japan-U.S. Cooperative Science Program: International Workshop on Designing Global Information Commons for Innovation in Frontier Sciences, Tokyo, Japan, November, 2007, the 20th CODATA International Conference in Beijing, China, October 2006, the 9th GSDI International Conferences in Santiago, Chile, November 2006, the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) 8.2 in Ohio, USA, August 2005, and the American Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), Nebraska, USA, August 2005, and Acapulco, Mexico, August 2006.
Raed also presented his work during the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS-II) in Tunisia, November 2005, during his visits to South Africa (September 2005 and May 2007), to Spain (March 2007), to Germany (April 2007), to Brazil (May 2007), to Egypt (July 2007), and during his participation in the Oxford University two-week Doctoral Students Program organized by the Oxford Internet Institute in July 2006.
He also spoke at a number of international and regional workshops and meetings in Latin America and Africa focusing on "Strategies for open and permanent access to scientific information" (2005-2007).
In addition to his studies, Raed is very active internationally in promoting better and easier access to and use of scientific data and information for scientific and socio-economic development, especially in the developing world. He worked for two years and a half (2005-2007) as a Research Associate with the Office of International Scientific and Technical Information Programs (Now the Board on Research Data and Information) at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and with the U.S. National Committee on CODATA, where he was involved in designing, launching and evaluating different science and technology policy projects and activities. He is also a member of CODATA task group on Preservation of and Access to Scientific and Technical Data in Developing Countries, and a steering committee member at the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP) Program on Digital Knowledge Resources and Infrastructure in Developing Countries.
Raed is also active in promoting the participation and involvement of young scientists/professionals in the science and technology policy making processes. To that end, he is currently chairing the Young Scientists Forum at the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID) Community of Expertise on Enhancing Access to and Application of Scientific Data in Developing Countries (e-SDDC), where he is also a steering committee member, and co-chairing the newly established CODATA Young Scientists Working Group. In these activities, Raed’s work focuses on enhancing the role of young scientists/professionals in maximizing the value of science, especially scientific data, in the information age. Raed spoke about these issues at different international scientific events including the Abdus Salam Center for Theoretical Physics International Workshop on “Open Access Models for Science Dissemination”, Trieste, Italy, July, 2008; the ICSU conference on “Global Scientific Challenges: Perspectives from Young Scientists--An international conference celebrating 75 years of ICSU, Germany, April, 2007; and at the regional meeting of the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP) Program on Digital Knowledge Resources and Infrastructure in Developing Countries, Shanghai, China, May 2008.
Before starting his doctoral studies, Raed worked for six years as a Business Development Manager and ICT Training Manager at Birzeit University in Palestine. His work focused on initiating and managing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects at a number of Palestinian institutions. He also worked as a researcher and a consultant for the UNESCO, UNDP, EU, the British Council and USAID on ICT-related projects and practices and their impact on the Palestinian people and economy. Raed received his Bachelor degree in Economics and Political Science in 1999 and his MBA in 2002 both from Birzeit University, Palestine. Raed can be reached at raedsharif@gmail.com and on Skype at rsharif.
Contact Information
http://ischool.syr.edu/facstaff/member.aspx?id=596
Skype: rsharif
