Objectives

i) To engage the custodians of the GSD databases in discussions and actions in how best to develop and sustain their participation in and ownership of the Species 2000 Catalogue of Life programme.

ii) To initiate active steps among the GSDs to move towards improved compliance with the current Species 2000 Data Standard and the current Sp2000 GSD Best Practice document, so as to raise the quality of the Catalogue of Life by making the product better filled and more uniform.

iii) To explore and pilot possible small extensions to the bio-data knowledge set provided by the GSDs, so as to enhance the Catalogue of Life services for users, including responses to service requests prioritised by WP 2 and the Services Team.

iv) To explore and pilot possible extensions of internal services within the programme, such as name-alerts from nomenclator databases, feedback comments from users, taxa harvested from regional hubs, cross-checks with other lists, and dealing with unassigned name batches supplied from a variety of sources, so as to increase the quality, currency and responsiveness of the Catalogue of Life services, and to report on these to the Software Design Team and the Services Team.

v) To roll out service-based delivery to the new e-2 Architecture being developed in WP 7 and WP 6.

Description of work (possibly broken down into tasks) and role of partners:

Task 3.1

A survey to assess, peer review and certificate each provider GSD, its wrapper & delivery, and its formal membership of the programme, including data capture for the improved metadatabase.  

Task 3.2

Undertake prior consultation with appropriate partners (e.g. GSD custodians, nomenclator custodians, editorial services staff) and prepare a Network Discussion Document, including proposals for:

i) Changes to the Data Standard for existing fields (if any),

ii) Changes to the Best Practice Document (if any),

iii) Possible extensions to the bio-data fields, including data supply requests (if any) from the Services Team, and

iv) possible internal service supply issues (e.g. name-alerts, comments from users, taxa from regional hubs, cross-checks with other lists, and unassigned name batches).  

Task 3.3

Network consultation and workshop with GSD custodians, Nomenclator custodians and Editorial Services Staff (WP 5), to explore each of the items highlighted in the Network Discussion Document; to explain and establish priorities for the pilot project for each database; to respond to requests from the Services Team, and to provide additional training days.  

Task 3.4

Two 2-month Pilot Projects undertaken per GSD database:

- for partially compliant GSDs to take a step up the compliance ladder (eg add fields or best practice)

- or for new GSDs (since EuroCat project), to install and test wrapper and delivery process. - or to install and test fill the new bio-data fields from WP 8.

- or to pilot participation in one of the new internal services of the programme (name-alerts, etc)

- or a fourth class, not available until later (to test install new e-2 system wrapper)  

Task 3.5

Network consultation and workshop reporting on progress with the four previous classes of Pilot Project and additional training days for the new e-2 system wrapper, with opportunity for the last set of GSDs to:

- undertake the fourth class of Pilot Project

- to test install the new e-2 system wrapper.

Deliverables (brief description) and month of delivery:

D3.1 mth 11

Report on agreed target set of improvements to the data supply by the Global Species Databases   (GSDs), (includes Revised Data Standard & Best Practice Documents). [55 PeM] (R/PU)  

D3.2 mth 24

Report on pilot projects for data provider improvements (1st batch). [56 PeM] (R/RE)

D3.3 mth 36

Report on pilot projects (2nd batch) including some that roll out the new architecture for data providers.  [56 PeM] (R/RE)

Milestones (brief description) and month of delivery:

M3.1 mth 11

GSD Survey complete, brief listing available.  

M3.2 mth 11

Network Discussion Document, including data supply requests from Services Team.

M3.3 mth 12

Response available on data supply requests to Services Team.  

M3.4 mth 34

GSD Survey updated, brief listing available, and data in metadatabase