International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility

The International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility (INCF) is an international non-profit organization focused on coordinating the development and use of computational infrastructure for neuroscience. Its work addresses a central challenge in modern brain research: neuroscience produces large and increasingly complex volumes of heterogeneous data, generated across species, experimental methods, biological scales, imaging modalities, and analytical systems. Without shared standards, metadata practices, reference frameworks, software interfaces, and repositories, these data are difficult to compare, reuse, reproduce, or combine. INCF works at the intersection of neuroscience and information science to help address that problem. The organization was created in response to international policy discussions sponsored by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Early recommendations for coordinating neuroinformatics appeared in an OECD Megascience Forum report on bioinformatics in 1998. Further work by the OECD Global Science Forum Neuroinformatics Working Group led to a proposal in 2002 for an International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Council and an associated international funding mechanism. OECD science ministers endorsed the project in January 2004. Working documents were subsequently developed by participating countries and the European Commission, forming the legal and institutional basis for INCF and the Programme in International Neuroinformatics. The conditions for establishing the organization were met in July 2005 after seven countries signed the relevant understanding document and committed financial support. A competition was then held to select the location of the secretariat. The Swedish proposal received the highest ranking in a review convened by the OECD, and the INCF Governing Board endorsed that recommendation in November 2005. The organization was formally inaugurated in February 2007, with its headquarters hosted by the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. INCF's mission has evolved around the coordination of global neuroinformatics activity and the creation of an environment in which neuroscience research outputs can be shared and reused. It develops, evaluates, and endorses standards and best practices based on the principles of Open Science, FAIR data, and research-object-based and citable research. FAIR refers to data and digital resources that are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. INCF also supports the publication of complete research outputs, including narrative findings, underlying data, and code, with the aim of improving rigor, transparency, and reproducibility. The INCF network includes universities, research institutions, public agencies, companies, professional communities, individual researchers, technology specialists, data scientists, policy participants, and scientific publishers. Its activities are organized through governing bodies and working groups that coordinate global initiatives, oversee standards development, support community consultation, and provide training. Training is directed at researchers, students, administrators, and other research stakeholders who need practical guidance on data stewardship, computational methods, standards adoption, and reproducible workflows. Examples of technical and community deliverables associated with INCF include the Waxholm Space reference system for the rodent brain, the Scalable Brain Atlas platform, the NineML model description language, the Multi-Simulation Coordinator for communication between large-scale neuron simulators and other applications, the Neuroimaging Informatics Data Model for metadata and provenance, KnowledgeSpace for linking neuroscience concepts with data, models, and literature, and TrainingSpace for aggregating neuroinformatics learning materials. These initiatives illustrate INCF's broad role: it is not primarily a commercial product company, but a coordinating and convening institution that helps communities establish common technical and organizational foundations for brain research. The organization remains hosted by the Karolinska Institutet and operates through its international network rather than through a conventional consumer-facing brand portfolio. Its strategic importance lies in enabling collaboration, data integration, infrastructure interoperability, and reproducible computational neuroscience. Current leadership identified in the supplied reference material includes Directors Mathew Abrams and Helena Ledmyr and Governing Board Chair Maryann Martone.

The institutional roots of INCF lie in international efforts to make neuroscience data more usable across disciplinary and national boundaries. An OECD Megascience Forum report on bioinformatics published in 1998 identified the need for stronger international coordination in neuroinformatics. The issue was subsequently examined by the OECD Global Science Forum Neuroinformatics Working Group, chaired by Stephen H. Koslow. In 2002, the group advanced a proposal for an international coordinating council and a related funding structure for neuroinformatics research. OECD science ministers endorsed the project in January 2004. Sixteen countries and the European Commission then worked on documents defining the proposed organization and the Programme in International Neuroinformatics. The participating jurisdictions identified in the reference material were Australia, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Victoria, Australia, together with the European Commission. The formal establishment process reached a key point in July 2005, when the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States signed the understanding document and pledged financial contributions. The next major question was where the INCF Secretariat would be hosted. Two proposals were submitted. At the request of the Governing Board, the OECD convened an expert panel on November 3, 2005, to assess and rank the bids. The Swedish proposal received the higher ranking, and the Governing Board endorsed it at a meeting at OECD headquarters on November 28. Following additional international discussions, INCF was officially inaugurated in February 2007. Its headquarters and Secretariat were established at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. The host arrangement connected the organization to a major medical and research institution while allowing it to maintain an international remit. INCF's subsequent work has centered on coordinating global neuroinformatics infrastructure and encouraging shared technical practices. Its activities have included the development and endorsement of standards, reference systems, metadata models, software interfaces, community knowledge resources, and training programs. The organization has also promoted the use of computational methods to integrate and analyze data across experimental scales, techniques, and species. A major theme of the organization's modern work is the combination of Open Science and FAIR principles. INCF encourages neuroscience resources to be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, while also emphasizing citation and provenance. Its training activities explain how standards and best practices can improve research rigor, reproducibility, and the publication of complete research outputs, including research narratives, data, and source code. The organization has described this broader direction through the concept of a FAIR, Open, Research-object-based, and Citable Ecosystem. The INCF network is organized through governing bodies and working groups. These structures bring together institutions, organizations, companies, researchers, data specialists, technology communities, policymakers, and publishers. Rather than operating as a single software platform, INCF functions as a coordinating network that supports agreement on common approaches and helps communities connect infrastructure and knowledge. Its associated deliverables include Waxholm Space, a coordinate-based reference space for the rodent brain; the Scalable Brain Atlas, a web-based system for displaying brain atlases, imaging data, and topological information; NineML, a language for describing computational models; and the Multi-Simulation Coordinator, which allows neuron simulators and other applications to communicate during execution. Other resources include the Neuroimaging Informatics Data Model, which supports metadata generation, storage, querying, and provenance; KnowledgeSpace, which connects neuroscience concepts with research data, models, and literature; and TrainingSpace, which brings together neuroinformatics learning materials from INCF, partner organizations, and the wider community. INCF continues to operate from Stockholm under the host institution of the Karolinska Institutet. The supplied reference identifies Mathew Abrams and Helena Ledmyr as current Directors and Maryann Martone as Chair of the Governing Board. Its enduring role is to help the international neuroscience community build interoperable, transparent, and reusable computational foundations for brain research.

• 2007

  INCF officially inaugurated in Stockholm

  [1]International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facilityen.wikipedia.org

  The organization was formally inaugurated in February with its headquarters at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm.

• 2005

  Founding understanding signed

  [1]International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facilityen.wikipedia.org

  Seven countries signed the understanding document and committed financial contributions, satisfying the conditions needed to establish INCF.

• 2005

  Sweden selected to host the Secretariat

  [1]International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facilityen.wikipedia.org

  An OECD-convened expert panel ranked the Swedish hosting proposal highest, and the INCF Governing Board endorsed the recommendation in November.

• 2004

  OECD science ministers endorse the project

  [1]International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facilityen.wikipedia.org

  The project to establish international neuroinformatics coordination received endorsement from OECD science ministers in January.

• 2002

  International coordinating structure proposed

  [1]International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facilityen.wikipedia.org

  The OECD Global Science Forum Neuroinformatics Working Group developed a proposal for an international coordinating council and an associated neuroinformatics funding system.

• 1998

  OECD identifies the need for coordinated neuroinformatics

  [1]International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facilityen.wikipedia.org

  An OECD Megascience Forum report on bioinformatics highlighted the importance of coordinating international activity in the emerging field of neuroinformatics.

An international, non-profit coordinating body for open, FAIR, interoperable, and reproducible neuroscience. INCF positions itself as shared infrastructure and standards community rather than as a commercial software vendor or conventional research publisher.

• Brain reference framework

  Waxholm Space

  Waxholm Space is a coordinate-based reference space for the rodent brain. It provides a common spatial framework intended to support the registration, comparison, and integration of anatomical and experimental neuroscience data across studies.

• Brain atlas infrastructure

  Scalable Brain Atlas

  The Scalable Brain Atlas is a web-based display and exploration system for brain atlases, imaging data, and topological information. It supports access to spatially organized neuroscience resources and helps researchers compare brain structures and related datasets.

• Computational model description language

  NineML

  NineML is a general description language for computational neuroscience models. It is intended to improve the exchange and reuse of model specifications by providing a structured way to describe elements of neuronal and network simulations.

• Simulation interoperability tool

  Multi-Simulation Coordinator

  The Multi-Simulation Coordinator, commonly associated with the acronym MUSIC, enables large-scale neuron simulators and other applications to communicate while they are running. Its purpose is to facilitate interoperability among computational components in distributed or complex simulation workflows.

• Metadata and provenance framework

  Neuroimaging Informatics Data Model

  The Neuroimaging Informatics Data Model provides a framework for generating, storing, and querying metadata, including information about data provenance. It is intended to make neuroimaging resources more structured, traceable, discoverable, and reusable.

• Neuroscience knowledge resource

  KnowledgeSpace

  KnowledgeSpace is a community-based encyclopedia and knowledge resource that links concepts in brain research with related datasets, computational models, and scientific literature. It supports navigation across otherwise fragmented neuroscience information.

• Training resource repository

  TrainingSpace

  TrainingSpace is an online repository that brings together neuroinformatics education and training materials developed by INCF, its partners, and the broader community. It supports researchers, students, administrators, and other users seeking guidance on computational and data-intensive neuroscience.

• 2007

  Launch an international standards and infrastructure networkStrategy

  Background

  The organization was created to address fragmentation in neuroscience data, tools, models, and research practices across countries and scientific disciplines.

  Action taken

  INCF was inaugurated as an international coordinating organization focused on standards, best practices, infrastructure, training, and collaboration in neuroinformatics.

  Aftermath

  The network developed and supported resources spanning brain reference systems, model description, simulation interoperability, metadata, knowledge organization, and training.

  Source

• 2005

  Select Sweden as the host location for the SecretariatStrategy

  Background

  After the founding countries committed to the organization, INCF needed to select a location for its Secretariat. Two hosting proposals were reviewed through an expert process convened by the OECD.

  Action taken

  The OECD expert panel ranked the Swedish proposal highest, and the INCF Governing Board endorsed the recommendation at its November meeting.

  Aftermath

  The Secretariat was established at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, which became INCF's headquarters and institutional base.

  Source

1. 1International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facilityen.wikipedia.org
2. 2International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility official websiteincf.org