Workshop Resolution (PDF)

e-Biosphere 09 Workshop: 4-5 June 2009

A two-day Workshop was held in the Flett Theater of the Natural History Museum (London) following the three day e-Biosphere 09 International Conference (see www.e-biosphere09.org).

The workshop participants included 34 representatives of Biodiversity Informatics (BI) initiatives, including: organizations that are leaders in BI; major BI projects, programs, and development centres; and other important players.

Objectives of the Workshop:

  • Use the input provided by the e-Biosphere 09 International Conference as background to discuss important gaps and overlaps in information system coverage and interoperability among extant systems and services, and to develop a list of priority action items to address these shortcomings;
  • Discuss the experiences, obstacles, opportunities, and potential business models for a sustainable Biodiversity Informatics landscape; and
  • Use the input provided by the e-Biosphere 09 International Conference as background to discuss the new functionalities and interconnections needed by current and future users, and to develop a list of priority action items.

 

Results of the Workshop

Participants in the two day workshop reviewed the ideas expressed during the three day conference and formulated a Resolution (PDF) concerning next steps in developing a strategic road map for Biodiversity Informatics. The Resolution calls for the further development of a broad-based coalition to work collaboratively and collegially in a common effort to rapidly further the efforts of biodiversity informatics. The workshop participants readily acknowledged that they were a small segment of the biodiversity informatics community and that these initiatives are only the beginning of a much broader effort.

 

The Workshop Resolution

The Resolution (PDF) identifies several priority action items, including:

  • Creating a seamlessly connected virtual laboratory or platform for integrating, synthesizing, and analyzing biodiversity information;
  • Promoting linkages with user communities that would use the platform to better model and understand the entire biodiversity of the globe; and
  • Developing and disseminating a periodic outlook report on biodiversity informatics that would assess the status and future of the field.

The Resolution also identifies several initiatives for which workshop participants agreed to take leadership roles. These include:

  • Creating durable, global registries for the resources that are basic to biodiversity informatics (e.g., repositories, collections);
  • Completing the construction of a solid taxonomic infrastructure;
  • Creating ontologies for biodiversity data;
  • Developing an approach to the citation of published data and information services; and
  • Implementing active and effective outreach to the policy and research domains that rely on biodiversity informatics as a resource.

 

A Call for Consultation and Communication

The workshop Resolution points out that an effective system of community-wide consultation and communication will be essential. The e-Biosphere Online Conference Community (OCC) was originally intended to stimulate discussion and development of position papers prior to the conference itself. The OCC, which was closed for a while after the conference, has recently re-opened. As one of the recent posters to the site noted, “This site includes plenty of cumulative, collaborative knowledge building for biodiversity informatics … This site has also historical value, because it demonstrates what kinds of issues were and still are important when biodiversity informatics will be developed collaboratively.”

We propose to use the OCC, at least for the time being, for the following purposes:

  • Feedback on the e-Biosphere Conference and Communications. We invite you to return to the OCC and make your post-conference comments known. We would also appreciate comments on other communications mechanism that you would like to see for the e-Biosphere community. Please enter your comments and suggestions on the General Discussion forum under Feedback on Conference and Communications.
  • Call for Expressions of Interest. The e-Biosphere Steering Committee calls for expressions of interest from institutions, projects and individuals that are willing to participate in any of the action items proposed in the Workshop Resolution and/or that wish to propose and lead additional initiatives. Such expressions of interest should be placed in the General Discussion forum under Call for Expressions of Interest and Initiatives.