The Pandemic Response Commons

Objective A data commons is a software platform for managing, curating, analyzing, and sharing data with a community. The Pandemic Response Commons is a data commons designed to provide a data platform for researchers studying an epidemic or pandemic. Methods The pandemic response commons was developed using the open source Gen3 data platform and is based upon consortium, data, and platform agreements developed by the not-for-profit Open Commons Consortium. A formal consortium of Chicagoland area organizations was formed to develop and operate the pandemic response commons. Results We developed a general pandemic response commons and an instance of it for the Chicagoland region called the Chicagoland COVID-19 Commons. A Gen3 data platform was set up and operated with policies, procedures and controls based upon NIST SP 800-53. A consensus data model for the commons was developed, and a variety of datasets were curated, harmonized and ingested, including statistical summary data about COVID cases, patient level clinical data, and SARS-CoV-2 viral variant data. Discussion and conclusion Given the various legal and data agreements required to operate a data commons, a pandemic response commons is designed to be in place and operating at a low level prior to the occurrence of an epidemic, with the activities increasing as required during an epidemic. A regional instance of a Pandemic Response Commons is designed to be part of a broader data ecosystem or data mesh consisting of multiple regional commons supporting pandemic response through sharing of regional data.