EAGER: Collaborative Research: Conceptualizing sustained environmental information management in the landscape of current and emerging eco-informatics infrastructure

环境研究产生的数据非常有价值，不仅因为研究的成本，而且因为它们是不可替代的，是理解变化所需要的。所有研究实体面临的一个主要挑战是管理这些数字资产和相关信息，以保持其价值。这一挑战本质上是复杂的，不仅涉及数据的收集和存储，还涉及创建有关数据（元数据）的相关（和充分）信息，以便可以广泛地重用它们。在过去几年中，已经开发了几种环境数据存储库和数据管理方法。现在是时候从数据作者、数据重用者和数据管理者的角色中寻求研究人员的意见，以广泛地探索当前的操作环境、潜在的协作机会、规模效率和未来社区的需求，以有效地解决这一挑战。最初的讲习班将使这些利益攸关方能够与其同事分享他们的专业知识、经验和未来的需求。这一初步工作的产出随后将提供给第二届会议，这将产生战略建议，详细说明创建协作和有效的数据管理基础设施所需的活动，这些基础设施能够支持未来的环境科学研究工作。大多数当前的环境数据存储库满足特定的需要或目标，即存档和传播来自项目、研究站点网络、机构、特定资金来源或随论文出版物的数据。该项目设想了一个可持续的科学数据基础设施（SDI），并以向研究人员、政策制定者和公众提供高质量数据为目标，将数据存储库和当前的管理实践作为这一愿景的组成部分。在这个范围内，在环境研究数据管理的背景下，将重新评估单个存储库的原始目标和目的，确定规模效率，对一些集中式服务进行成本效益分析，并对新的可持续合作进行概念化。具体来说，来自一系列环境研究领域的数据管理员、数据聚合者、工具开发人员、计算机科学家和环境科学家（数据提供者和用户）将聚集在一起，利用这一广泛的集体经验进行知情对话。初步的信息收集阶段将描述每个存储库的特征，以便为随后的两个社区讲习班的讨论提供信息。第一次研讨会将确定新的合作和管理策略，这些策略也将迎合目前服务不足的单个研究人员，并将环境数据从“可用”转移到“可用”，以加速科学探究。第二次研讨会将进一步研究这些战略，并制定一个或多个可供选择的、社区审查的研究信息管理路线图，目标是更有效和可持续地利用国家科学基金会的投资。总之，这些讲习班将制定一项战略执行计划，概述一个或多个可持续环境数据管理基础设施的备选方案，这些基础设施能够加速科学调查，为所有提供资料的调查人员（数据生产者）提供服务，并以具有成本效益的方式为教育和外联活动提供基础。数据管理需求已经得到了很好的理解。组织、人事和管理结构则不是。因此，该计划将重点关注这些挑战，同时也考虑到劳动力发展。该项目的网站将建立在http://sedicollaborative.org。

The data generated by environmental research are highly valuable, not only because of the cost of research but also because they are irreplaceable and needed for understanding change. A major challenge for all research entities is the management of this digital asset and associated information for maintaining its value. This challenge is complex in nature, covering not only the collection and storage of data, but also the creation of relevant (and sufficient) information about the data (metadata), such that they can be re-used broadly. Several environmental data repositories and data management approaches have been developed over the past few years. It is now time to seek input from researchers in the role of data authors and data re-users and data managers, to expansively explore the current operating environment, potential collaboration opportunities, efficiencies of scale, and future community needs for this challenge to be addressed effectively. An initial workshop will allow these stakeholders to share their expertise, experience and future requirements with their colleagues. The output from this initial exercise will then feed into a second session, which will result in strategic recommendations detailing the activities needed to create a collaborative and efficient data management infrastructure capable of supporting future environmental science research endeavors. Most current environmental data repositories fulfill specific needs or objectives, i.e., archiving and disseminating data from a project, network of research sites, institution, a specific funding source, or to accompany paper publications. Envisioning a sustained Scientific Data Infrastructure (SDI), and with the goal of providing high quality data to researchers, policy makers and the general public, this project concentrates on data repositories and current curation practices as an integral part of this vision. Within this scope and in the context of environmental research data management, original goals and objectives of single repositories will be re-evaluated, efficiencies of scale identified, a cost-benefit analyses for some centralized services attempted, and new, sustainable collaborations conceptualized. Specifically, data curators from a range of environmental research fields, data aggregators, tool developers, computer scientists and environmental scientists (both data providers and users) will be brought together for an informed dialog which draws on this broad collective experience. A preliminary information-gathering phase will describe the characteristics of each repository to inform the discussion at two subsequent community workshops. The first workshop will identify new collaboration and curation strategies that also cater to the currently underserved single investigators and move environmental data from "available" to "usable", in order to accelerate scientific inquiry. The second workshop will examine these strategies further, and develop one or more alternative, community-vetted roadmaps for research information management with the goal of more efficiently and sustainably utilizing NSF investments. In summary, these workshops will produce a strategic implementation plan outlining one or more options for a sustained environmental data management infrastructure capable of accelerating scientific inquiry, serve all contributing investigators (data producers) and provide the basis for education and outreach activities in a cost effective approach. Data management needs are fairly well understood. Organizational, personnel and management structures are not. Hence, the plan will focus on these challenges while also considering workforce development. A website for this project will be established at http://sedicollaborative.org.