TDWG and e-Biosphere: conclusions and recommendations Cyndy Sims Parr and the e-Biosphere spies

e-Biosphere 09 Conference 3 days, 500 participants from 53 countries “Street Fair” with 49 exhibit/demo booths and 180 poster presentations from 51 countries 10 breakout discussions for stakeholder groups 2 days, 36 representatives of BI initiatives Produced a Resolution, start of BI roadmap e-Biosphere 09 Workshop

API/LAPI/GPI

Photo credit: Mario Pineda

Biodiversity Informatics Outlook 1.Introduction to BI and e-Biosphere 2.Background on and results of e-Biosphere 09 Conference 3.NBII’s landscape and survey analysis 4.Background and Resolution of the workshop 5.One-page descriptions of the components of the BI roadmap … by December??

Additional priorities and activities to be included in the roadmap Do we need an “e-Biosphere Coalition” ? How, who, when? Should we have a regular biodiversity informatics showcase event ? Can we afford it ? What is the role of TDWG in this ? Competitor or defined part? From Walter Berendsohn’s intro

e-Biosphere Priorities A seamlessly connected virtual laboratory or platform for integrating, synthesizing, and analyzing biodiversity information; User communities using the platform to better model and understand the entire biodiversity of the globe; and A periodic report on biodiversity informatics assessing status and future of the field.

Additional Priorities Data quality loops Take advantage of citizen science Pick up the pace Speed up TDWG ratification process Not everybody has to be an ontologist Promote quick uptake of standards to avoid retrofitting Reward open source, un-siloed development Promote flags for prioritization

Additional Priorities continued Internationalization Translate TDWG standards and documentation into many languages Improve funding models Loosely couple infrastructure and research proposals One big global money pot to fund one big plan?

Action items: TDWG ’09 Contributions User-driven ontologies Durable global registries Complete the taxonomic foundation Outreach to specified sister communities Citation/impact measurement system for BI data and services Communications mechanisms Other initiatives coming from the community ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ?

Additional Action Items Shared use case repository Citizen science integration initiative TDWG mini-bioblitz Bioblitz visualization tool for IYOB “State of integration” analysis New field in TDWG project database Google spreadsheet Visualize it

Do we need a new coalition? NO.

What about a regular conference to showcase the field? Clear that the size of the community is larger than we realized. Need something more inclusive -- no easy way to present work if not invited Parallel sessions for contributed talks Street fair/demos/unconferences Visit user conferences rather than expect them to come to ours