2010 National Workshop

The second annual National Workshop was held March 18-19, 2010 in Wellington. Close to 40 participants attended, representing local government from Auckland to Southland, as well as DoC, CRI's, central government and independent consultants.

25 presentations, 13 work sessions and a debate were held over the two days. The content was designed to inform and update, and to create opportunities to plan and problem-solve current issues in biodata management.

Presentations and Work Sessions

The media from the National Workshop are available below, licensed under a Creative Commons Attrib ution-Noncommercial 3.0 New Zealand License, unless otherwise stated.

Day 1: Thursday 18 March

Introductions — Dan Randow, Dataversity: Audio (3.2 MB)
Map of NZ's Biodata Systems — Julian Carver, Seradigm: Video, Audio (4.5 MB), Slides (1.5 kb)
NHMS — Lynnette Hartley, DoC: Video Part I, Video Part II, Audio (5 MB), Slides (459 kb)
DoC's Inventory & Monitoring Project Metadata Database — Benno Kappers, DoC: Video, Audio (3.7 MB)
DoC's BioWeb — Shirley Vollweiler, DoC: Video Part I, Video Part II, Audio (5.2 MB), GIS Screenshot (766 kb), GIS Query Example (57 kb)
DoC's Bird Banding — Delia Small, DoC: Video, Audio (4.2 MB)
DoC's Biodiversity Data Inventory — Benno Kappers, DoC: Video Part I, Video Part II, Audio (2.1 MB)
DoC Discussion Session: Video Part I, Video Part II, Video Part III, Video Part IV, Audio (8.6 MB)
LUCAS, LCDB III — Steve Botica and Andrea Brandon, MfE: Video Part I, Video Part II, Audio (6.5 MB)
National Environmental Reporting — Josh Fyfe, MfE: Video, Audio (6.5 MB), Slides (1.5 MB)
NZ Organisms Register — Julian Carver, Seradigm: Video Part I, Video Part II, Audio (5.8 MB), Slides (254 kb)
Landcare Research Projects — Margaret Anderson, Landcare Research: Video Part I, Video Part II, Audio (5.6 MB), Slides (8.6 MB)
NVS and NVS Express — Hazel Broadbent, Landcare Research: Video, Audio (4.6 MB), Slides (4.2 MB)
NABIS and Marine Biodata — Kim Duckworth, Ministry of Fisheries: Video Part I, Video Part II, Video Part III, Audio (9.7 MB), Slides (7.5 MB)
Work Session, Review of FBIS — Andrew Watkins, NIWA: Video, Audio Unavailable, Notes (70 kb)
Work Session, Integration of Ecosystem and Species Ranking into Biodata Systems: Video, Audio Unavailable, Notes (57 kb)
Work Session, NVS — Hazel Broadbent, LCR: Audio Unavailable
Work Session, NZWDD — Julian Carver, Seradigm: Video, Audio (627 kb), Notes (61 kb)
Work Session, Field Data Capture — Pedro Jensen, GWRC: Video, Audio (688 kb), Notes (70 kb)
Work Session, Data Layer for Local Govt Protected Land — Josh Fyfe, MfE: Video, Audio (479 kb), Notes (41 kb)
End of Day Feedback: Video, Audio (803 kb)

Day 2: Friday 19 March

Environment Bay of Plenty's Biodiversity Application and ARC's Ecobase and Bioweb — Jim Fretwell, EBoP: Video Part I, Video Part II, Audio (2.1 MB)
Update on IRIS – Derek Postlewaight: Audio Unavailable
EBoP's Bioweb Walkthrough — Jim Fretwell, EBoP: Video Part I, Video Part II
MoRST & Science Backbone; MoRST/NZGO Environmental & Geospatial Data-Catalogue — Isabella Cawthorn, MoRST: Links to Come
NIWA's Geonetwork Metadata — Andrew Watkins, NIWA: Geonetwork Video Part I, Geonetwork Video Part II, Metadata Tour Video, Audio (10.4 MB), Slides (909 kb), Diagram (16 kb), Links: New Zealand Government Data Online, Koordinates, Open Data Catalogue, Native Plants & Fungi, Statisphere, DigitalNZ.
Federated Systems & Data-Sharing — Julian Carver, Seradigm: Audio (2.4 MB)
CADDIS-Fly — James Lambie, Horizons: Video, Audio (3.1 MB)
Report from LGEN — James Lambie, Horizons: Video, Audio (2.8 MB)
NPMS Progress — Julian Carver, Seradigm: Links: Animal Health Board
Envirolink — Julian Carver, Seradigm: Video, Audio (3.8 MB), Links: Envirolink, Terrestrial and Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (TFBIS) Programme
Report from the Biosecurity Institute — Pedro Jensen, GWRC: Video, Audio (1.6 MB)
Report from the Biodiversity Forum — Lindsay Vaughan, TDC: Video, Audio (2.5 MB)
Dataversity System Guide — Dan Randow, Dataversity: Video Part I, Video Part II, Audio (7.1 MB)
Work Session, National Infrastructure: What is needed? — Isabella Cawthorn, MoRST: Video, Audio (991 kb)
Work Session, Collaboration to Develop an SNA System (Ecosystems Module) — Dan Randow, Dataversity: Video, Audio (393 kb), Notes (41 kb)
Work Session, A Shared Approach to Data Quality Management — Andrew Watkins, NIWA; Jim Fretwell, EBoP: Video, Audio (745 kb), Notes (49 kb)
Work Session, Web-based Community Monitoring — Elise Smith, envISion: Video, Audio (655 kb), Notes (45 kb)
Work Session, Regional Coordination of Monitoring Data: Video, Audio (1.2 MB), Notes (45 kb)
Work Session, Integrating Biodata Systems into Council Administration Systems — Pedro Jensen, GWRC: Notes (45 kb)
National Workshop Feedback: Video Part I, Video Part II, Video Part III

Participant List

Brenda Osbourne, ARC
Charlotte Murphy, Dataversity
Dan Randow, Dataversity
Benno Kappers, DoC
Delia Small, DoC
Lynette Hartley, DoC
Madan Gautam, DoC
Mala Nesaratnam, DoC
Shirley Vollweiler, DoC
Jim Fretwell, EBoP
Nancy Willems, EBoP
Elise Smith, envISion Environmental Information Services and Training Ltd
John Bowman, ES
Yanbin Deng, EW
Owen Spearpoint, GWRC
Pedro Jensen, GWRC
Tim Park, GWRC
Rod Dickson, Hawkes Bay
James Lambie, Horizons
Margaret Anderson, Landcare Research
Cassandra Crowley, Local Government Online
Andrea Brandon, MfE
Josh Fyfe, MfE
Steve Botica, MfE
Kim Duckworth, Min Fish
Isabella Cawthorn, MoRST
Andrew Watkins, NIWA
Kristina Townsend, Selwyn District Council
Julian Carver, Seradigm
Ian Brown, TDC
Kay Anderson, TDC
Lindsay Vaughan, TDC
Melissa Hutchison, Tenax Consulting Ltd
Siobhan Browning, TFBIS
Erin Zydervelt, TRC
Shay Dean, TRC
Myfanwy Emeny, Wellington City Council

Feedback from Participants

24 workshop participants provided the following feedback.

Relationships Built

24 participants agreed (16 strongly) with the statement “The relationships I built at this workshop will be useful.”

Many participants cited the simple act of putting “names to faces” was valuable. They felt that meeting colleagues in person meant collaboration by distance would be more likely to happen and more fruitful when it did. Participants reported that comparing and contrasting ideas, systems, practices and problems was useful in a very practical way. They said that they found these discussions were a form of peer review. Overall, participants reported that the workshop enabled them to enlarge and strengthen their professional network. This was particularly valuable for those who work in small teams. Participants also said that they now knew more precisely who to contact about solving problems or sourcing data.

Awareness Gained

24 participants agreed (17 strongly) with the statement “The awareness I gained at the workshop will be useful.”

Many participants reported that they were exposed to data sources of which they were not previously aware. They also reported increased general awareness of the biodata landscape in New Zealand including, “access to national-level data standards, data collection methods, datasets and databases.” Some participants found that they were now able to, “grasp technical concepts that are now [required as] part of my usual field of expertise.” They also said that this new awareness would enable them to communicate more effectively with their managers about biodata issues.

Opportunities Identified

22 participants agreed (11 strongly, 1 was neutral, 1 did not respond) with the statement “The opportunities I identified at the workshop will be useful.”

Participants frequently reported that they would now be incorporating new data tools, such as NVS, NABIS and NZOR into their biodata management work, saving time and money, as well as increasing quality of data (collection and storage): “Access to national-level data standards, data collection methods, datasets and databases will save a lot of time and allow better science and better management outcomes.” Several reported that the “workshop [will] help to re-energise and refocus what we are doing and how we are getting there. Gets out of being 'bogged down'.” Other participants saw opportunities in increased co-ordinated regional and national reporting standards, as well as “linking biosecurity and biodiversity reporting.” The general positive effect of making “new relationships with other peers to be part of new initiatives” was also reported.

What was Most Valuable

Overall, participants reported that networking was the most positive aspect of the workshop for them. They found it beneficial to “put faces to names” and “build relationships with peers”. As an extension of that, participants also found it equally useful to identify common issues and unified solutions to problems. They particularly noticed that the Dataversity community has become “more unified in our response to those issues.” “Knowledge of new developments “and “knowing potential for centralised national systems is in motion” were also reported as key benefits. Others mentioned that they were able to learn “more about what database products are out there and which ones I could possibly use myself.” General increased comprehension of biodata issues was also listed as a plus, and participants felt they would now be able to engage with the Dataversity forum with higher levels of understanding. Participants also reported that the workshop was useful in re-energising them about ongoing projects.

What Could be Improved

Many participants reported only positive feedback, however there were several suggestions about how future workshops could be more effective. Participants reported that they found the close proximity of groups during the parallel work sessions made it “hard to hear soft speakers and was at times distracting.” They suggested at least one of the three groups be moved to an adjacent space. Others wished that the work sessions were not in parallel to allow them to attend all the streams in which they had an interest. One participant suggested including more hands-on workshops and demonstrations to see actual tools (hardware and systems) in action. Another participant suggested that more static visual displays from participants be featured to allow newcomers to familiarize themselves with different organizations. Two participants suggested that it would be useful for more representatives from government agencies to attend, as well as more researchers, scientists and other end-users of the data. They would also have liked to see more district councils attend.

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