16 research outputs found
Nordic LifeWatch cooperation, final report: A joint initiative from Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden
The main goal of the present report is to outline the possibilities for an enhanced cooperation between the Nordic countries within eScience and biodiversity. LifeWatch is one of several ESFRI projects which aim to establish eInfrastructures and databases in the field of biodiversity and ecosystem research.
Similarities between Nordic countries are extensive in relation to a number of biodiversity related issues. Most species in Nordic countries are common, and frequently the same challenges concerning biodiversity and ecosystem services are addressed in the different countries.
The present report has been developed by establishing a Nordic LifeWatch network with delegates from each of the Nordic countries. The report has been written jointly by the delegates, and the work was organized by establishing working groups with the following themes: strategic issues, technical development, legal framework and communication.
Written during two workshops, Skype meetings and emailing, the following main issues are discussed in the present report:
* Scientific needs for improved access to biodiversity data and advanced eScience research infrastructure in the Nordic countries.
* Future challenges and priorities facing the international biodiversity research community.
* Scientific potential of openly accessible biodiversity and environmental data for individual
researchers and institutions.
* Spin-off effects of open access for the general public.
* Internationally standardized Nordic metadata inventory.
* Legal framework and challenges associated with environmental-, climate-, and biodiversity
data sharing, communication, training and scientific needs.
* Finally, some strategic steps towards realizing a Nordic LifeWatch construction and
operational phase are discussed.
Easy access to open data on biodiversity and the environment is crucial for many researchers and research institutions, as well as environmental administration. Easy access to data from different fields of science creates an environment for new scientific ideas to emerge. This potential of generating new, interdisciplinary approaches to pre-existing problems is one of the key features of open-access data platforms that unify diverse data sources. Interdisciplinary elements, access to data over larger gradients, compatible eSystems and eTools to handle large amounts of data are extremely important and, if further developed, represent significant steps towards analysis of biological effects of climate change, human impact and development of operational ecosystem service assessment techniques.
It is concluded that significant benefits regarding both scientific potential, technical developments and financial investments can be obtained by constructing a common Nordic LifeWatch eInfrastructure.
Several steps concerning organizing and funding of a future Nordic LifeWatch are discussed, and an action plan towards 2020 is suggested. To analyze the potential for future Nordic LifeWatch in detail, our main conclusion is to arrange a Nordic LifeWatch conference as soon as possible. This conference should involve Nordic research councils, scientists and relevant stakeholders. The national delegates from the participating countries in the Nordic LifeWatch project are prepared to present details from the report and developments so far as a basis for further development of Nordic LifeWatch.
The present work is financed by NordForsk and in-kind contributions from participating institutions
Summary report and strategy recommendations for EU citizen science gateway for biodiversity data
Citizen science is an approach of public participation in scientific research which has gained significant momentum in recent years. This is particularly evident in biology and environmental sciences where input from citizen scientists has greatly increased the number of publicly available observation data. However, there are still challenges in effective networking, data sharing and securing data quality. EU BON project has analyzed the citizen science landscape in Europe with regards to biodiversity research and proposes several policy recommendations. One of the recommendations is a Pan-European citizen science gateway for biodiversity data with dedicated tools for data collection and management. The prototypes of the gateway components are part of the EU BON biodiversity portal and described in current report
Summary report and strategy recommendations for EU citizen science gateway for biodiversity data
Citizen science is an approach of public participation in scientific research which has gained significant momentum in recent years. This is particularly evident in biology and environmental sciences where input from citizen scientists has greatly increased the number of publicly available observation data. However, there are still challenges in effective networking, data sharing and securing data quality. EU BON project has analyzed the citizen science landscape in Europe with regards to biodiversity research and proposes several policy recommendations. One of the recommendations is a Pan-European citizen science gateway for biodiversity data with dedicated tools for data collection and management. The prototypes of the gateway components are part of the EU BON biodiversity portal and described in current report
Capacity building for Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Progress report 2011: Indo- Norwegian pilot project on capacity building in biodiversity informatics for enhanced decision making, improved nature conservation and sustainable development
Hanssen, F., Mathur, V., Athreya, V., Bakkestuen, V., Chavan, V., Lindgaard, A., Mehlum, F.,
González-Talaván, A., Vang, R. & Valland, N. 2012. Capacity building for Intergovernmental
Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Progress report 2011:
Indo- Norwegian pilot project on capacity building in biodiversity informatics for enhanced
decision making, improved nature conservation and sustainable development. - NINA Report
801. 24 pp.
This report describes the activities and achievements in 2011 of the Indo- Norwegian pilot project on capacity building in biodiversity informatics for enhanced decision making, improved conservation and sustainable development in India. The pilot project is initiated and funded by the Norwegian Ministry for Foreign affairs, the Norwegian Environmental Ministry and the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management. The pilot project is also highly welcomed and explicitly supported by the Government of India. Capacity building has been identified as an essential component of IPBES. The Norwegian Government acknowledges the need for capacity building and has developed and initiated several projects addressing capacity building needs in partner countries. The Norwegian Institute for Nature research (NINA) were during the spring 2011 invited by the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management to initiate and coordinate a pilot project on capacity building under IPBES. India was early identified as an ideal partner country for the realization of a capacity building pilot project both because of the rich biodiversity in the country and because of the recent development towards establishment of the Indian Biodiversity Information Facility (INBIF). Coordinated by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), INBIF is the national node for linkage with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). In the context of INBIF, WII has the mandate from the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to build capacity for effective biodiversity information management. The main objective of the pilot project is to build capacity to enable free sharing, access and dissemination of biodiversity and ecosystem data in India to be used in policy and knowledge-based decision-making. This also includes a mapping of relevant biodiversity data originating from India and held in the Norwegian natural museum`s collections. The project is led, coordinated and partially executed by NINA and the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (NBIC). NINA will provide its expertise in managing camera-trap projects and together with NBIC and the Norwegian GBIF- node provide the expertise acquired from building the Norwegian biodiversity infrastructure. The Indian counterpart WII will be responsible for the implementation and progress of the project nationally within India. The GBIF Secretariat in Copenhagen will provide guidance about international data standards, training and capacity building on Biodiversity Informatics
Capacity building for Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Progress report 2011: Indo- Norwegian pilot project on capacity building in biodiversity informatics for enhanced decision making, improved nature conservation and sustainable development
This report describes the activities and achievements in 2011 of the Indo- Norwegian pilot project on capacity building in biodiversity informatics for enhanced decision making, improved conservation and sustainable development in India. The pilot project is initiated and funded by the Norwegian Ministry for Foreign affairs, the Norwegian Environmental Ministry and the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management. The pilot project is also highly welcomed and explicitly supported by the Government of India. Capacity building has been identified as an essential component of IPBES. The Norwegian Government acknowledges the need for capacity building and has developed and initiated several projects addressing capacity building needs in partner countries. The Norwegian Institute for Nature research (NINA) were during the spring 2011 invited by the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management to initiate and coordinate a pilot project on ca-pacity building under IPBES. India was early identified as an ideal partner country for the reali-zation of a capacity building pilot project both because of the rich biodiversity in the country and because of the recent development towards establishment of the Indian Biodiversity Infor-mation Facility (INBIF). Coordinated by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), INBIF is the national node for linkage with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). In the context of INBIF, WII has the mandate from the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to build capacity for effective biodiversity information management. The main objective of the pilot project is to build capacity to enable free sharing, access and dissemination of biodiversity and ecosystem data in India to be used in policy and knowledge-based decision-making. This also includes a mapping of relevant biodiversity data originating from India and held in the Norwegian natural museum`s collections. The project is led, coordinated and partially executed by NINA and the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (NBIC). NINA will provide its expertise in managing camera-trap projects and together with NBIC and the Norwegian GBIF- node provide the expertise acquired from building the Norwegian biodiversity infrastructure. The Indian counterpart WII will be responsi-ble for the implementation and progress of the project nationally within India. The GBIF Secre-tariat in Copenhagen will provide guidance about international data standards, training and ca-pacity building on Biodiversity Informatics
LifeWatch Norge. Sluttrapport fra forprosjektet
LifeWatch er et europeisk initiativ med langsiktig fokus på utvikling av vitenskapelig baserte e-løsninger for biodiversitets- og økosystemforskning. LifeWatch er en del av det europeiske veikartet for infrastrukturutvikling (ESFRI- European Strategy for Research Infrastructure), og kom inn på det norske veikartet for e-infrastrukturutvikling i 2010. NINA ble i 2008 invitert av Forskningsrådet til å følge utviklingen av det europeiske LifeWatch prosjektet (finansiert gjennom EU sitt 7. Rammeprogram for forskning og infrastrukturutbygging) og til å initiere et norsk LifeWatch forprosjekt. Forprosjektet ble formelt oppstartet i januar 2011 med finansiell støtte fra Forskningsrådet. Konsortiet har vært koordinert av NINA i tett samarbeid med Havforskningsinstituttet (HI), Artsdatabanken, Naturhistorisk Museum ved Universitetet i Oslo (norsk node i Global Biodiversity Information Facility) og Norsk institutt for vannforskning (NIVA).
Forprosjektets hovedformål har vært å utrede muligheter og utfordringer knyttet til realisering av en norsk e-infrastruktur for fri deling av biodiversitets- og miljødata på tvers av institusjons- og landegrenser. Forprosjektet LifeWatch Norge er tett integrert med LifeWatch Europa gjennom NINA sin deltagelse i LifeWatch Preparatory Phase (2008-2010) og observatørstatus i styringsgruppen for LifeWatch Europa. Med finansiering fra NordForsk har LifeWatch konsortiene i Norge, Sverige, Danmark og Finland, i samarbeid med Islands Naturhistoriske Museum nylig startet opp et nordisk LifeWatch forprosjekt for å utrede muligheten for å realisere en nordisk e-forskningsinfrastruktur. På sikt vil et nordisk tyngdepunkt innen LifeWatch være strategisk viktig for de nordiske forskningsmiljøene. En nordisk overbygning vil kunne danne en felles grenseflate mellom nasjonale prosjekter og det europeiske nivå. Forprosjektet har kartlagt brukerbehov og metadata, samt foretatt en gjennomgang av de mest sentrale prinsipper, lover og retningslinjer knyttet til deling av offentlig finansierte miljø- og biodiversitetsdata. Videre er sentrale utfordringer, barrierer og rammevilkår for deling og tilgjengeliggjøring av offentlig finansierte forskningsdata drøftet.
Utgangspunktet er at det i dag eksisterer store mengder relevante miljø- og biodiversitetsdata som av ulike årsaker er lite, eller overhodet ikke tilgjengelig for samfunnet. Konsortiet kommer på bakgrunn av dette med relevante anbefalinger og tiltak for realisering av en nasjonal e-infrastruktur for deling av offentlig finansierte miljø- og biodiversitetsdata. Dette omfatter utvikling av kontraktmaler, strategier og handlingsplaner for bedre dataforvaltning, kapasitetsbygging, utvikling av datamobiliseringsverktøy, samt evaluering av gjeldende rammevilkår og virkemiddelbruk rettet mot instituttsektoren. For å kunne realisere en operativ norsk LifeWatch e-infrastruktur må en tverrsektoriell forankring og organisering sikres. Vi anbefaler at nåværende LifeWatch-konsortium i samarbeid med Norges Forskningsråd arrangerer en interdepartemental LifeWatch konferanse innen Juni 2013 med relevante fagdepartement. Dette bør være første fase i utvidelsen av det nasjonale LifeWatch konsortiet, hvor hovedformålet bør være å klarlegge potensialet for merverdi og effektivisering for forskning og forvaltning. Forskningsrådet ønsker å styrke sin innsats for innovasjon i offentlig sektor og har derfor nylig startet arbeidet med strategiutvikling hvor grunntanken er å styrke kunnskapsflyten mellom forskning, næringsliv/industri og utdanningssektoren. Vi mener at en nasjonal LifeWatch e-forskningsinfrastruktur for miljø- og biodiversitetsdata generelt kan bidra til økt kvalitet, innovasjon og effektivitet innen forskningsmiljøene, samt økt anvendelse og politikkutforming innen næringsliv og offentlig forvaltning.LifeWatch is a pan- European initiative with a long-term focus on the development of scientifically
based e-solutions for biodiversity- and ecosystem research. LifeWatch is a part of the European
roadmap for infrastructure development (ESFRI- European Strategy for Research Infrastructure),
and came into the Norwegian roadmap for infrastructure development in 2010.
NINA was in 2008 invited by the Research Council of Norway to follow the development in the
European LifeWatch project (funded by the European FP7 program for research and einfrastructure
development), and to initiate a Norwegian pilot project. The Norwegian LifeWatch
pilot project was formally kicked-off in January 2011 with financial support from the Research
Council of Norway. The national consortium has been coordinated by NINA in close cooperation
with the Norwegian Institute on Marine Research (IMR), The Norwegian Biodiversity Information
Centre (NBIC), the Norwegian Institute for Freshwater Research (NIVA) and the Natural
History Museum at the University of Oslo (which holds the Norwegian node in the Global Biodiversity
Information Facility).
The aim of this pilot project has been to investigate the possibilities and challenges related to
the realization of a Norwegian e-infrastructure for free sharing of biodiversity and environmental
data across institutional and national borders, The Norwegian LifeWatch pilot project is
tightly integrated with LifeWatch Europe through the NINA participation in the European
LifeWatch Preparatory Phase (2008-2010), and through the NINA observatory seat in the
LifeWatch Board meetings. With financial support from NordForsk, the LifeWatch consortiums
of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland, together with the Icelandic Museum of Natural History
recently initiated a Nordic LifeWatch pilot project to investigate the possibilities of realizing
a Nordic research e-infrastructure. A strong Nordic cooperation within LifeWatch Europe could
have a long-term strategic importance for Nordic research institutions. Also, the Nordic
LifeWatch level could represent a common interface between the different national levels and
the European level.
The pilot project has mapped user needs and metadata, and considered the most relevant
principles, laws and guidelines for sharing of public funded environmental and biodiversity data.
Further on, main challenges, barriers, terms and conditions for sharing of public funded research
data are considered.
Today large amounts of relevant biodiversity data are only partly accessible for the public society.
The Consortium addresses relevant recommendations and actions for the realization of a
national infrastructure for sharing of public funded environmental and biodiversity data. This
includes the development of contract templates, strategies and action plans for improved data
management, capacity building, development of data mobilization tools, and an evaluation of
current terms and conditions towards the research institute sector in Norway.
An operative Norwegian LifeWatch infrastructure demands mandatory support from all relevant
Ministries. We recommend that the current Norwegian LifeWatch Consortium in cooperation
with the Research council of Norway organize a national inter-Ministerial LifeWatch conference
within June 2013. This should be the first step towards extending the national LifeWatch Consortium.
The main goal of this conference should be to investigate potential added values and
how the research and management sector could benefit from these added values in terms of
increased efficiency.
The Research Council of Norway wants to increase its effort in public innovation and has therefore
started to develop strategies on how to improve the flow of knowledge between research,
industry and the educational sector. A national LifeWatch e-infrastructure for environmental and biodiversity data in general will contribute to increased quality, innovation and efficiency
within these three sectors.
At this stage it is hard to be specific on how a future national LifeWatch e-infrastructure should
be organized. The specific needs for such an e-infrastructure should be scoped to satisfy the
needs identified in this pre-project. Further on it is very important that this e-infrastructure will
be sufficiently aligned with existing parallel initiatives at national, Nordic and international levels.
The main components of a national LifeWatch e-infrastructure are established as a Distribution
portal and an Analysis portal. The Distribution portal will be designed for users that want to
search biodiversity data and link these with environmental data for further analysis in other
tools. The Analysis portal will be designed for users that want WEB functionality for search,
filtration, calculation, presentation, screen display and downloading. All involved data will be
distributed online from the stakeholder’s primary databases using standardized WEB protocols
and services.
Concerning organization of a large scale LifeWatch project, the central support functions of
LifeWatch Europe can guide and support a future national project. In addition, the Nordic
LifeWatch cooperation and sharing of common experiences will be useful. It will be essential
that the public management institutions actively participate in order to ensure the link between
research and management when it comes to environmental data and long time series.
The Norwegian LifeWatch Consortium recommends applying for funding from the Research
Council of Norway for a large scale LifeWatch project as soon as possible. The next Infrastructure
call will probably be in October 2014. Also the upcoming European program for Research
and Innovation, HORIZON 2020 (to be started in 2014), could be an actual source of funding if
the Norwegian consortium applies together with one or several other European partners such
as for instance the Nordic countries.© Norsk institutt for naturforskning. Publikasjonen kan siteres fritt med kildeangivelse
Capacity building for Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Final report. Indo- Norwegian pilot project on capacity building in biodiversity informatics for enhanced decision making, improved nature conservation and sustainable development.
Hanssen, F. (editor), Mathur, V.B. (editor), Athreya, V., Barve, V., Bhardwaj, R., Boumans, L., Cadman, M., Chavan, V., Ghosh, M., Lindgaard, A., Lofthus, Ø., Mehlum, Pandav, B., Punjabi, G. A., F., González Talaván, A., Talukdar, G., Valland, N. and Vang, R. Capacity building for Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Final report. Indo- Norwegian pilot project on capacity building in biodiversity informatics for enhanced decision making, improved nature conservation and sustainable development. - NINA Report 1079. 116 pp. Dette pilotprosjektet har vært koordinert av Norsk Institutt for Naturforskning (NINA) i nært
samarbeid med Wildlife Insitutute of India (WII), Artsdatabanken, Naturhistorisk Museum ved
Universitetet i Oslo, Wildlife Conservation Society- India Program (WCS) og Centre for Wildlife
Studies (CWF) i India. Prosjektet er finansiert av den Norske Regjering med støtte fra den og
India.
Prosjektet har samarbeidet med Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) og har
implementert flere av deres kapasitetsbyggende verktøy, standarder og tjenester. I tillegg er WII
og Naturhistorisk Museum nasjonale GBIF- noder. Prosjektet er nært knyttet til indiske og
internasjonale strategier for utvikling av biodiversitetsinfrastruktur.
Prosjektet har fokusert på nasjonale brukerbehov, viltkamerametodikk, dataforvaltning, åpen
datadeling og barrierer for åpen datadeling. Seks casestudier har vist hvordan biodiversitetsinformatikk,
bruk av viltkamera, datamobilisering og strategier for deling av data kan bidra til
forbedrede beslutningsprosesser. Dette har ført til en bedre forståelse for bruk av viltkamera,
occupancy-modellering, DNA-analyser, artsutbredelse, rovvilt/samfunn konflikter, effekter av
menneskelig aktivitet på ville dyr, habitatrestaurering, behov knyttet til forvaltning av tigre, samt
etterforskning av ulovlig jakt på tiger.
Prosjektet har gjennomført en mindre datarepatrieringsøvelse ved de norske naturhistoriske museene.
Kapasitetsbyggingskomponenten i dette arbeidet overfor internasjonale museumssamlinger
ligger primært i beskrivelsen av hvordan repatrierte data kan mobiliseres gjennom GBIF.
WII har utviklet en nasjonal database og en webportal for mobilisering av viltkameradata. Dette
utviklingsarbeidet er et viktig skritt i retning av å utvikle et nasjonalt åpent system for forvaltning
av viltkamerabilder og tilhørende metadata. Prosjektet har også utviklet en Best Practice Guide
(BPG) for publisering av biodiversitetsdata avledet fra viltkamerabilder. Denne guiden vil bli vedlikeholdt
av GBIF i fremtiden.
Dette prosjektet har vist høy relevans i forhold til de kapasitetsbyggingsbehov som er identifisert
av IPBES. Som prosjektet viser er det store internasjonale synergier innen kapasitetsbygging
knyttet til biodiversitetsinformatikk, bruk av viltkamera, datamobilisering, datarepatriering, dataforvaltning
og forbedrede strategier for datadeling. I avslutningsfasen av dette pilotprosjektet har
prosjektpartnerne bestemt seg for å se etter nye samarbeidsmuligheter under IPBES.Hanssen, F. (editor), Mathur, V.B. (editor), Athreya, V., Barve, V., Bhardwaj, R., Boumans, L., Cadman, M., Chavan, V., Ghosh, M., Lindgaard, A., Lofthus, Ø., Mehlum, Pandav, B., Punjabi, G. A., F., González Talaván, A., Talukdar, G., Valland, N. and Vang, R.
This pilot project has been coordinated by The Norwegian Institute of Nature Research (NINA)
in close collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the Norwegian Biodiversity Information
Centre (NBIC), The Nature History Museum at the University of Oslo (NHM), the Wildlife
Conservation Society- India Program (WCS) and the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWF) in India.
The Norwegian Government has funded the project with support from the Indian Government.
The project has collaborated with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and has
implemented several of the capacity building tools, standards and services offered by GBIF. In
addition, WII and NHM host the national GBIF- nodes of India and Norway. Furthermore, the
project is closely linked to the Indian and international strategies on biodiversity infrastructure
development.
The project has focused on national user needs, camera trapping techniques, data management,
open access and barriers towards open access. Six case studies demonstrate how biodiversity
informatics, camera trapping, data mobilization and access policies can contribute to improved
decision making. This has led to a better understanding of camera trapping techniques, occupancy
modelling, DNA-analysis, species distribution, human-wildlife conflicts, human disturbance
effects on wild mammals, habitat recovery, tiger population management needs and investigation
of tiger poaching. The project has conducted a minor data repatriation exercise at Norwegian
natural history museums. The capacity-building component of this towards international
legacy collections is in the description of how to mobilize data through GBIF.
WII has developed a national database and a web-portal for mobilizing camera trap data. These
developments are important steps towards a national, open biodiversity data management system
for camera trap images and their axillary metadata. The project has developed a Best Practice
Guide (BPG) for publishing of biodiversity data derived from camera trapping. This BPG will
be maintained by GBIF in the future.
This capacity-building pilot project has clearly proved relevance in addressing the capacity building
needs identified by IPBES. As the project results show, there are many international synergies
in capacity-building of biodiversity informatics, camera trapping, data mobilization, data repatriation,
data management and data sharing policy improvement. Finalizing the pilot project,
the project partners have decided to look for new possibilities for collaboration under the IPBES.© Norsk institutt for naturforskning. Publikasjonen kan siteres fritt med kildeangivelse
LifeWatch Norge. Sluttrapport fra forprosjektet
LifeWatch er et europeisk initiativ med langsiktig fokus på utvikling av vitenskapelig baserte e-løsninger for biodiversitets- og økosystemforskning. LifeWatch er en del av det europeiske veikartet for infrastrukturutvikling (ESFRI- European Strategy for Research Infrastructure), og kom inn på det norske veikartet for e-infrastrukturutvikling i 2010. NINA ble i 2008 invitert av Forskningsrådet til å følge utviklingen av det europeiske LifeWatch prosjektet (finansiert gjennom EU sitt 7. Rammeprogram for forskning og infrastrukturutbygging) og til å initiere et norsk LifeWatch forprosjekt. Forprosjektet ble formelt oppstartet i januar 2011 med finansiell støtte fra Forskningsrådet. Konsortiet har vært koordinert av NINA i tett samarbeid med Havforskningsinstituttet (HI), Artsdatabanken, Naturhistorisk Museum ved Universitetet i Oslo (norsk node i Global Biodiversity Information Facility) og Norsk institutt for vannforskning (NIVA).
Forprosjektets hovedformål har vært å utrede muligheter og utfordringer knyttet til realisering av en norsk e-infrastruktur for fri deling av biodiversitets- og miljødata på tvers av institusjons- og landegrenser. Forprosjektet LifeWatch Norge er tett integrert med LifeWatch Europa gjennom NINA sin deltagelse i LifeWatch Preparatory Phase (2008-2010) og observatørstatus i styringsgruppen for LifeWatch Europa. Med finansiering fra NordForsk har LifeWatch konsortiene i Norge, Sverige, Danmark og Finland, i samarbeid med Islands Naturhistoriske Museum nylig startet opp et nordisk LifeWatch forprosjekt for å utrede muligheten for å realisere en nordisk e-forskningsinfrastruktur. På sikt vil et nordisk tyngdepunkt innen LifeWatch være strategisk viktig for de nordiske forskningsmiljøene. En nordisk overbygning vil kunne danne en felles grenseflate mellom nasjonale prosjekter og det europeiske nivå. Forprosjektet har kartlagt brukerbehov og metadata, samt foretatt en gjennomgang av de mest sentrale prinsipper, lover og retningslinjer knyttet til deling av offentlig finansierte miljø- og biodiversitetsdata. Videre er sentrale utfordringer, barrierer og rammevilkår for deling og tilgjengeliggjøring av offentlig finansierte forskningsdata drøftet.
Utgangspunktet er at det i dag eksisterer store mengder relevante miljø- og biodiversitetsdata som av ulike årsaker er lite, eller overhodet ikke tilgjengelig for samfunnet. Konsortiet kommer på bakgrunn av dette med relevante anbefalinger og tiltak for realisering av en nasjonal e-infrastruktur for deling av offentlig finansierte miljø- og biodiversitetsdata. Dette omfatter utvikling av kontraktmaler, strategier og handlingsplaner for bedre dataforvaltning, kapasitetsbygging, utvikling av datamobiliseringsverktøy, samt evaluering av gjeldende rammevilkår og virkemiddelbruk rettet mot instituttsektoren. For å kunne realisere en operativ norsk LifeWatch e-infrastruktur må en tverrsektoriell forankring og organisering sikres. Vi anbefaler at nåværende LifeWatch-konsortium i samarbeid med Norges Forskningsråd arrangerer en interdepartemental LifeWatch konferanse innen Juni 2013 med relevante fagdepartement. Dette bør være første fase i utvidelsen av det nasjonale LifeWatch konsortiet, hvor hovedformålet bør være å klarlegge potensialet for merverdi og effektivisering for forskning og forvaltning. Forskningsrådet ønsker å styrke sin innsats for innovasjon i offentlig sektor og har derfor nylig startet arbeidet med strategiutvikling hvor grunntanken er å styrke kunnskapsflyten mellom forskning, næringsliv/industri og utdanningssektoren. Vi mener at en nasjonal LifeWatch e-forskningsinfrastruktur for miljø- og biodiversitetsdata generelt kan bidra til økt kvalitet, innovasjon og effektivitet innen forskningsmiljøene, samt økt anvendelse og politikkutforming innen næringsliv og offentlig forvaltning