Launching CSID Network: A New Community of Practice at the Nexus of Open Source Software, Climate & Infectious Disease
We are excited to announce the launch of a new community of practice, the ‘CSID Network’ dedicated to advancing open-source software development at the intersection of climate and health. This initiative builds on the insights and experiences shared in CS&S’ recent landscape report and collaborative efforts in Cape Town last year.
Climate change, an indisputable and stark reality of our time, impacts human health. The term “Climate Sensitive Infectious Disease” (CSID) is used to describe infectious diseases whose transmission and spread are directly influenced by changes and variations in climate and weather. In response to growing awareness about CSID as well as advances in technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning, there has been an expansion of digital tools, such as climate-informed early-warning systems, to better understand and predict the impact of near-term and long-term shifts in climate on disease transmission.
If implemented well, such tools have the potential to support governments, grassroots organizations, and individuals to proactively respond. However, to date, these tools and related practices have been unequally distributed, disconnected, and primarily developed and directed by those based outside of regions most affected by CSID.
The new CSID Network – with support from the Wellcome Trust – looks to both connect a global community of actors contributing towards impactful CSID software tools and establish localized CSID communities that can link existing on-the-ground issues and initiatives to the development and maintenance of CSID tools.
CSID Network Activities
CSID Network leverages a three-pronged approach to foster meaningful connections within and across place-based communities working on and affected by CSID:
- Fellowship Program
The Network will host a fellowship program to invest in place-based communities to ensure greater representation from parts of the world that have historically been under-represented in the field of CSID. The call for fellows is open until November 4, 2024. - Gatherings
The community will convene annually to share knowledge and resources and grow the cross-disciplinary relationships needed to run a sustainable and impactful network. The next international gathering will be in mid-2025. - Working Groups
A community-led, federated working group model will allow for cross-organizational collaboration on topics of interest to community members. Working groups may be output focused or reading/learning groups. Anticipated topics–to be selected through a community voting process–might include, for example, the development of a CSID software development practical guide; development of interoperable CSID models and/or tools; how to navigate the ethics and practicalities of CSID-relevant data sharing. Working groups will be launched by 2025.
Join the Network!
Members of our team had the privilege of co-designing this new network with a diverse group of stakeholders. The collaborative effort, detailed in our Cape Town report, showcased the excitement for this new transdisciplinary community and the richness of perspectives brought together. Based on those learnings, this new network will serve as a hub for practitioners, developers, scientists, and end users who are passionate about leveraging open-source software to understand and respond to CSID.
The overlapping and complex challenges of climate change require interdisciplinary and transnational spaces for open and collaborative science. We seek to grow a diverse and inclusive community of practice around CSID open-source software tools, who are trained on collaborative global movement building and resourced with social and financial capital. Membership is open to all individuals and organizations who wish to contribute towards this community.
Join us at one of our upcoming network launch events:
- Virtually on October 23, 2024 from 11 AM – 1 PM Eastern time. RSVP here.
- Harare, Zimbabwe on October 31, 2024 from 4 – 6 PM local time. RSVP here.
Sign up for our listserv here to stay updated on upcoming events, open calls, and collaborative projects!