9 December 2020                             

 

Just over a year ago, the Biodiversity Next conference brought together major international organisations, research scientists, and policy makers in an collective effort to identify socio-technical obstacles and future opportunities around data-intensive biodiversity and geodiversity research. More than 700 participants from 76 countries attended the conference, hosted in Leiden by Naturalis Biodiversity Center in collaboration with the Netherlands Biodiversity Information Facility.

DiSSCo contributed to Biodiversity Next as part of a coalition that included the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the National Resource for Digitized Information about Vouchered Natural History Collections (iDigBio), the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF), Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) and LifeWatch ERIC, the e-Science and Technology European Infrastructure for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research.

 

 

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 18 – 22 January 2021

The preparatory phase of DiSSCo consists of a number of projects focused on specific aspects of the RI. A multitude of European experts are participating in domain specific projects where their expertise will help guarantee that the DiSSCo RI will be ready to construct and implement.

In the weeklong meetings, key aspects pertaining to governance and business models, networking and strategic partnerships, access to FAIR data, standards and policies, training and capacity enhancement, and high volume digitisation will be discussed by experts who will apply their knowledge and expertise in geo- and biodiversity science to align and optimize DiSSCo’s development with researcher priorities and needs.

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Approximately 3 billion specimens are stored by the world’s natural science collections. These objects have lifespans of decades and often, several hundreds of years, and provide essential resources for documenting and understanding our natural world. They  are increasingly used by researchers from a variety of disciplines. Despite increasing digitisation and accelerated pace of data collection, access to specimen data remains inefficient and inadequate to address complex research questions. The data derived from and linked to these specimens need to be easily findable, accessible, adhere to open standards so they are interoperable, and be marked up with enough additional information to make them widely reusable. 

The RDA outputs adopted: 

One of the key elements of DiSSCo’s data infrastructure design is the ‘Digital Specimen’ — a FAIR Digital Object acting as a digital representation on the Internet for a specific physical specimen in a collection. The ideas for the Digital Object as an element in a data infrastructure was proposed in the output on virtual layer recommendations by the Data Fabric IG and in the basic vocabulary from the Data Foundation and Terminology WG. 

Through adopting FAIR Digital Objects for Digital Specimens the digital representations of physical specimens can be treated as atomic items that need individual identification to avoid ambiguity and to collect and anchor core information about the specimens in one place. A FAIR Digital Objects architecture also enables one to attribute work and track provenance in the curation and maintenance of the individual objects. We have chosen to adopt the output from the joint RDA/TWDG metadata attribution WG because recording actions of human and machine agents during data curation and processing phases is essential to FAIR implementation. The joint RDA/TDWG Attribution Metadata Working Group: Final Recommendations, which uses W3C’s PROV data model, makes it easy to implement this in the FAIR Digital Object context as it allows capturing attributions in a standard way to be part of the Digital Specimen data when different operations are performed in multiple contexts.

When digitising natural science collections, a clear link must be made between the physical specimen itself and the information digitally representing the specimen. This representation needs to be uniquely identifiable and findable and also have some descriptive metadata to assist the discovery and verification of the object. DiSSCo expects that adopting the Digital Object Architecture recommended by RDA, and treating Digital Specimens as the core element in the architecture will lead to transformations in working practices of collections-based science. One of these transformations is the implementation of improved attribution and provenance tracking in all parts of the data management cycle for specimens, enabled by the adoption of the metadata standards for attribution of physical and digital collections stewardship recommendation. 

Sharif Islam and Wouter Addink, RDA Europe ambassador for the natural sciences (Naturalis)

Read the full Adoption Story here >>

Source of the article: Research Data Alliance

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The Museum’s 300 scientists continue to represent one of the largest groups in the world studying and enabling research into every aspect of the natural world. Their science is contributing critical data to help the global fight to save the future of the planet from the major threats of climate change and biodiversity loss through to finding solutions such as the sustainable extraction of natural resources.

The Natural History Museum’s informatics group are leading members of a series of European Commission (EC) funded digital projects working to transform the operation of European natural science collections. These multi-million Euro international initiatives bring together the collections of 115 institutions across 15 countries, representing over one billion scientific specimens and more than 5,000 scientists.

About the role

You will work across their portfolio of EC funded projects, such as SYNTHESYS+ (https://www.synthesys.info/) and ICEDIG (https://icedig.eu/). You will plan, collate, and analyse information on a range of subjects supporting the digitisation, and access to, European natural sciences collections. This work will form a critical knowledge base from which to support efforts to create integrated digital policies and processes across participating institutions.  These tasks are described in a series of EC-funded projects and fall under the umbrella of the Distributed System of Scientific Collections (https://dissco.eu/), a pan-European programme of which the NHM takes a leading role.

Areas of investigation include collection digitisation, cost modelling, policy harmonisation, gathering and specifying service requirements, workflow development, logistics and coordination, as well as strategy development and project governance.

As a Business Analyst, you will collate data through surveys, documents, online research and in-person or remote meetings. You will work within the informatics team, collaborating closely with project coordinators and project managers to use your analytical and interpersonal skills to gain insights and make evidence-based recommendations, through project reports, data visualizations and presentations.

The post includes opportunities for travel as part of international programmes of activity, as well as partial remote working. The post also has the potential for extension, subject to the outcome of a pending grant application.

About you

You will have experience of analysing, summarising and visualising different types of data, and the ability to distil complex ideas into readable reports and presentations for different audiences. You will be comfortable designing and using different methods to collate structured information, including surveys, online research and face-to-face meetings, complimented by your experience of working within multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional teams.

While experience in the field of natural history collections is beneficial, the main focus is on the ability to analyse diverse information and requirements and disseminate the results in a clear and concise form. We encourage applications from candidates who fulfil most of the key competencies and are willing to support training (both internal and external) and personal development opportunities to fill any gaps in knowledge.

For a full person specification and more detailed list of the role responsibilities, please use the link towards the bottom of this page to download the full job description.

Fixed term Contract: 23 months
Closing date: 9am on Monday 5 October
Interviews expected by Thursday 15 October      

What we offer

• 27.5 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays (full time equivalent)
• Generous defined contribution Natural History Museum Pension Scheme (employer contribution up to 10%)
• Free admission to our exhibitions and many other paid exhibitions at museums, galleries and institutions across the country, such as the British Museum, V&A, National Gallery, Royal Academy and Tate
• Affordable membership to the Civil Service Sports Council which offers a range of benefits including a free digital Tastecard, discounted cinema tickets and corporate membership of English Heritage sites (including Dover Castle and Stonehenge). For more details, visit https://www.cssc.co.uk
• Membership to our Sports and Social Association (for a small fee), which includes access to our in-house gym and clubs such as football, softball, table tennis and tennis and classes in Middle Eastern dance, yoga and Tai Chi
• Staff discounts at a range of local businesses and services
• Up to 50% staff discount at our shops and cafes
• Season ticket, bicycle and rental loans
• Eye care vouchers
• Professional development opportunities – We are committed to the professional development of our staff and offer a range of courses to ensure they reach their potential.  We also sponsor professional qualifications and job-related professional membership fees.

How to apply

If that sounds like you please apply online on the Natural History Museum’s careers portal, and provide:

• A comprehensive curriculum vitae giving details of relevant achievements in recent posts as well as your education and professional qualifications.
• A covering letter that summarises your interest in this post, providing evidence of your ability to match the criteria outlined in the person specification 
• Please ensure your letter includes details of your latest salary and notice period.

Diversity and Inclusion

We welcome applications from everyone – diversity, inclusion and the feeling of belonging matters to us. By attracting people to work for us from a broad range of diverse backgrounds we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things.  We offer a stimulating and professional environment in which to work. This is a remarkable place we look for staff who can work according to our values – we champion diversity, encourage creativity, we are connected, and we value evidence.

Ready to take the challenge?

Read more info and download the full description here.

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CONVERGING DIGITAL SPECIMENS AND EXTENDED SPECIMENS TOWARDS A GLOBAL SPECIFICATION

During the BOF01: Converging Digital Specimens and Extended Specimens – Towards a global specification birds-of-a-feather session presented at the TDWG 2020 Virtual Conference on 22 Sept, Alex Hardisty (Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK) and Andrew Bentley (University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA) addressed the convergence of the digital and extended specimen (DS  and ES) concepts. Hardisty described DS as the transformative mechanism necessary to link natural science specimens with other artifacts and data about them.

Together, DS and ES embody the idea of a curated and authoritative package (or container) of links to data about the physical specimen that is a more efficient and reliable/trusted source of data for scientific work, with potential to save time spent by a scientist finding and collating data about specimens they are interested in. They also ensure the vision of visiting a virtual specimen records and finding all of the ecological, climate, literature, field note, and genomic, and myriad other data that increase its value and enhances its use for science. Hardisty and Bentley’s presentations generated robust discussion and potential of this concept.

Following the discussion, Wouter Addink, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, NL, distributed a letter of intent for global collaboration to achieve the DS/ES vision.

iDig Bio also signed the letter of intent and joined the call and collaborates actively to this global discussion.

Both organizations and individuals are eligible to sign the letter. iDigBio has signed and is committed to global collaboration.  

The post DiSSCo and BCoN launch together a collaboration call for Global and Open Process for Interoperable Enriched Specimen Information Models appeared first on DiSSCo.

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Missed the broadcast?

Natural science collections hold data and expertise that can shed light on the origins of SARS-Cov-2.

After three months of intensive collaboration, the CETAF-DiSSCo Covid-19 Task Force presented preliminary results of the work of more than 60 international dedicated scientists and bioinformatics professionals on 17 jul 2020. The Task Force has convened weekly since April 3rd to identify how our community can better contribute to preventing pandemic outbreaks, focusing on four critical areas: 1) animal virus carriers, 2) construction of a pandemics knowledge base, 3) preservation of viral evidence, and 4) metadata registration practices. 

Following a keynote by Dr. Pam Soltis (curator of Molecular Systematics & Evolutionary Genetics at the University of Florida Museum of Natural History and Director for Research Activities for iDigBio), the four activity leaders presented the results of their work.

Watch the broadcast to learn more about what the natural science community is doing to combat this global threat.  And listen to community experts describe the importance of the effort and their involvement (Covid-19 TaF Experiences).

Did you miss the event? No worries, you can watch it again here below:

The post The CETAF-DiSSCo COVID-19 Taskforce Reports appeared first on DiSSCo.

TDWG 2020 will be a virtual conference divided into working sessions (Sep 21-25) followed by a second week dedicated to dissemination and sharing (Oct 19-23).

Standards that describe and support the exchange of biodiversity information are a critical scientific infrastructure. They enable data to be integrated in support of research, as well as decision-making and planning for conservation. Ultimately, standards extend the usability of data across taxa, scientific disciplines, and administrative boundaries.

The annual Biodiversity Information Standards (organized by TDWG) will serve two purposes:

• to provide a forum for developing, refining, and extending standards in response to new challenges and opportunities; and
• to provide a showcase for biodiversity informatics – much of which relies on the standards created by TDWG and other organizations.

This year, TDWG 2020 Conference will be virtual — a collection of online working sessions, webinar-style symposia, presentations, panel discussions, and recorded presentations.

Working sessions will be scheduled during the week of September 21-25, and dissemination sessions will be scheduled the week of October 19-23.

Call for Contributions

Working Sessions for Interest/Task Groups, Workshops, and Hackathons

Working sessions will be structured as meetings in which all participants can be enabled to speak. Requests to convene working sessions (including interest and task groups) during the week of September 21-25 should be submitted through a short survey. All I/TG proposals should be endorsed, if not submitted, by the I/TG convener. The survey will close August 1, and a draft schedule of working sessions will be posted on August 17.  

Symposia, Panel Discussions, Lightning Talks, etc.

Proposals to organize one or more sessions during the week of October 19-23 are being collected via a second short survey.  This survey will remain open until June 19. Organizers should note the locations and time zones of all known significant contributors.  They should also indicate whether the session already has a full complement of contributors, or whether other relevant talks may be considered for inclusion.  

Individual Contributions (Presentations, E-Posters)

Abstracts are required for all presentations and e-posters, including those that are part of a symposium, and should be submitted through the Pensoft ARPHA system for BISS. The call for individual contributions will be posted June 22nd and will close August 1.  Detailed instructions for making submissions through ARPHA will be distributed and posted online before the call opens.  

Free Registration

Registration will be required to participate in the online events, but registration will be free. The services required to run an online conference, however, are not free. So we encourage all participants to become TDWG members, either by affiliation with an institutional member or by paying individual membership dues for the 2020 calendar year (\$75). Request an invoice to pay membership online, and help TDWG defray the cost of running the conference.  

More information here.

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