1 We can foster collaboration and improve the results of Biodiversity Informatics Antonio Mauro Saraiva Universidade de São Paulo Research Center on Biodiversity and Computing - BioComp Agricultural Automation Laboratory

It is not a question ! It is an affirmation !

3 Biodiversity Informatics has clearly evolved Standards development and adoption has increased New national and global systems Digitization and sharing has increased GBIF data portal indexed registers datasets 493 publishers Tim Hirsch, GBIF

4 But we are lagging behind the needs of Biodiversity Biodiversity and ecosystem services are still under huge threat Millennium ecosystem assessment CBD 2010 report IPCC 2013 report … We have an important role to help change it The increasing power of ICTs is in our hands

How close are our systems hitting their target? How fit for use are they? Are they effective ? in terms of biodiversity conservation & sustainable use?

6 We already know we need systems with Richer data content Better quality data Wider coverage (geography and time) Better (& ever changing...) user interfaces Mobile portability More robust modeling algorithms Different contents for different audiences... (That) support decision & policy making more effectively

7 We need To reach & engage a wider audience To mainstream biodiversity and increase awareness worldwide From the common citizen to policy makers From aggressive farmers to compulsive consumers It is not (only) about pandas but also about our survival

Huge task! Heavy load!

9 In order to achieve that, we need To be more effective Faster and better results Get more with less money Global engagement Our systems to be sustainable in the long run Keep alive / online Keep getting new data Keep evolving technologically

10 We need Less repetition, less competition More collaboration

11 New systems, old efforts How much effort (& time & money) could be saved if we could develop new systems building on top of the best of previous systems? Learning from previous experiences (good and bad) Sharing code or services Advancing technically mutually Leveraging funding mutually Speeding up biodiversity informatics worldwide Heterosis or hybrid vigor: Hybrids are sometimes stronger than either parent variety That is where more collaboration can make a difference

12 Challenges & Opportunities ( ) for collaboration Willingness Awareness Organization Funding

13 Willingness Do we want to share what we have done? To which extent? Data must be shared! What about software ????? Open software is nice (if it is your software) State funded software ~ state funded data ?

14 Willingness (2) – Collab is a two way road “Come be part of MY big project and share YOUR data” approach Get some credit (well hidden in the metadata…) Get feedback on your data problems, etc Reciprocity is welcome Provide services back: ex. aggregated data from others Share a tool to build a local node of the “big project” Hierarchical structure Collaboration as a partnership, more symmetrical

15 Good examples GBIF Receives data from all over Global data portal Provides tools: free software Data portal tool, IPT, HIT National /local level Provides training ALA – Atlas of Living Australia Open software Coaching groups in Brazil, Costa Rica and Spain Their funding (working capacity) is limited …

16 Awareness What is out there ? Where to look for existing projects, experiences, tools, software, methods? TDWG can help An up-to-date project repository? TDWG´s “Biodiversity Information Projects of the World” TDWG Interest Groups & Task Groups Focal points for specific topics But they need to be active !!! TDWG meetings role (one of)

17 Organization Collaboration in software development is a challenge Requires methods, tools, leadership: feasible GBIF, TDWG and others might take the lead in proposing some structure to it Services that might be developed and provided Training, guidelines (standards), etc. Collaborate globally and act locally Some of it has been done? Let´s do it better!

18 Funding (& Sustainability ) Funding agencies want brand new products Innovation, visibility Can be a problem Opportunities International collaboration and visibility is welcome Technical and budgetary arguments for software reuse Collaborators can get funding for specific components Why not have GBIF/ALA partners working on specific parts of their systems regularly? Co-funding, distributed funding

19 IABIN – PTN as an example Pollinators Thematic Network (PTN) InterAmerican Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) Tasks: IT infrastructure: data portal, digitization tool, experts roster Data Digitization: seed money Training Budget (~ US$180k) Distributed team: Pollinator Partnership, USP, Smithsonian/ITIS, NBII/USGS Distributed partners: LatAm countries institutions

20 IABIN-PTN: Collaboration was fundamental GBIF - data portal Code (under development at that time) Support (add other data/schema: interaction) NBII/USGS expert roster USP – sw dev. and additional funding in Brazil All team: commitment, enthusiasm, collaboration, despite the huge difficulties Team building with the colleagues from other LatAm countries Training and seed money for digitization

21 specimens interactions

22 Do you have a plan? Data quality Good example of expertise that can be shared also as code, services, training, etc Symposium on Data Quality Presentations on Monday and Tuesday Proposal of an Interest Group (TDWG) Place to organize, collaborate, share … Will we collaborate ?

Not every area has such potential to collaborate as Biodiversity Informatics A strong group of volunteers and enthusiasts Two organizations such as TDWG and GBIF Leading role & Recognition

Of course there has been collaboration ! But we need much more !!!

Is this an utopia? Most of what we do now would be considered an utopia 20 years ago…

26 Grazie ! Obrigado! Thank you ! Antonio Mauro Saraiva BioComp – Research Center on Biodiversity and Computing Universidade de São Paulo - USP