SPNHC+TDWG 2018

This discussion session is one in a series of outreach activities organized by the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN) during 2018 to gather stakeholder input about possible next steps in harnessing biodiversity collections data for addressing global challenges.   In the U.S., we are conducting these activities in response to requests from NSF and others to provide a community-derived vision that could inform the development of a new funding program to succeed NSF’s current Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections (ADBC) program.  ADBC began in 2010 and will end in its current form in 2020.  However, we believe that a global perspective on the issue will be helpful for all national and international digitization initiatives.  
In this discussion session, we hope to review the outcomes of various national digitization initiatives, and to look for common themes in terms of digitization accomplishments and data use in research and education.  We will also explore where digitization efforts have fallen short of expectations, what the foci of future efforts should be, and how international collaboration, and more collaboration between collections professionals and biodiversity informatics specialists, might facilitate all future projects.

Following the symposium:Challenges For Implementing Collections Data Quality Feedback: synthesizing the community experience, a special interest group (SIG at SPNHC) meeting, open to everyone, aims to collate and evaluate these data quality feedback use cases. For tractable issues, we plan to assemble and note the expected ways in which these barriers can be overcome. Where possible, we can tap into existing community resources (SPNHC, TDWG, biology.stackexchange.com, iDigBio, etc.) to help our data providers implement future data updates and track changes. At the same time, we plan to analyze the intractable issues - documenting why they remain challenging - and what, if any potential solutions are available or likely to be available in the future. This information provides future projects like DiSSCo (Distributed System of Scientific Collections) and BCoN (Biodiversity Collections Network) and others worldwide the information required to plan more effectively for cyber/human infrastructure. Synthesizing this input helps visionaries better understand, anticipate and support DQ management and data mobilization efforts going forward by informing design of future proposals and global projects structured with these outcomes in mind. At the end of the SIG workshop, we intend to publish our findings, and merge them with the results of a global survey on the same topic.

SPNHC 2018 is the first time that professionals from across New Zealand’s diverse natural history collections in museums, crown research institutes, universities and other organisations have the opportunity to come together. Tackling the digitisation deluge, providing greater access for molecular research and capitalising from growing public engagement are just some of the issues facing our sector. Although some groups and fora have been established in New Zealand, they are limited either to a particular taxonomic group or type of collection. Yet we all face similar issues, from resources and professional development to collections care and information management.  Issues that are also faced by our Australian colleagues.
The collections of Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research along with the New Zealand National Herbarium Network and the National Systematics and Taxonomic Collections Working Group wish to invite all New Zealand and Australian conference delegates to attend this Special Interest Group Meeting to discuss forming a network through which collections professionals working in all areas of natural history in New Zealand can communicate and share information on best practices in care and management. Such a network might also provide a further platform to increase cooperation between institutions and facilitate national initiatives relating to collection management and care.  The meeting will provide an opportunity for all New Zealand natural history collection professionals to meet and, if there is support for the mooted network, to discuss the format and operational charter that the network should adopt, and how such a network would work with existing fora.  We would also like to invite Australian conference delegates to join us to consider a broader, Australasian network and how that might interface with a New Zealand network.