DRAFT 2009_0327

Sean Quigley, PNAMP Data Steward

NED Portal Overview – Features, Functionality, Content, and Needs

Background

In response to a call for tools to enhance the discovery, sharing, and use of fish, wildlife, and water data in the Pacific Northwest, the Northwest Environmental Data - Network (NED) initiated a pilot-level effort to develop a regional data portal known as the NED Portal. More specific assessments of the regional needs for data discovery and sharing were determined through consultation work performed by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), and the collaborative efforts of NED Steering Committee and participatory members. Consistency with the needs identified by groups and organizations such as the Independent Scientific Review Panel (ISRP) and Northwest Executive Information Summit (NWEIS) was maintained throughout the pilot planning process.

The pilot effort was intended to demonstrate the benefits of centralized storage, querying, and display of standardized metadata for data sources related to the environmental and aquatic sciences. The planning, design, and development phases of the Portal were influenced by the overlapping intent of national efforts such as the USGS Geospatial One-Stop (GOS), as well as the divergent nuances specific to the Pacific Northwest. In addition to continued development and adoption throughout the Pacific Northwest, it was anticipated that this solution may demonstrate the following benefits, and outcomes:

-  Cost effective

-  Discovery of distributed data

-  Enable sharing of data

-  Provide an inventory of regional projects

-  Allow identification of gaps and overlaps

-  Enable policy-makers, managers, and scientists to make decisions more easily and effectively

For more information regarding the background and general information about the NED Portal see: NED Portal Brochure from 2007 NWEIS Summit, NED Portal

Portal Features

As of March 2009, the NED Portal provides access to metadata records that are in a standard format and thematically organized according to the subject indexing scheme employed by ESRI’s Portal Toolkit. These subject areas are referred to as “Channels”, and allow high level searching of metadata records. Additionally, searching and reporting of results can be accomplished using traditional HTML forms (text, keywords, etc.), or from a geospatial perspective using ESRI’s web-based interactive mapping interface. The following features outline some of the functionality available through the Portal:

-  Searches can be performed based on geography, time frame, keywords, category, content type, or a known location from a standard list.

-  Data owners and originators can upload existing metadata, create records from scratch using the Portal’s templates, or allow it to be automatically assimilated by the Portal if it is available on the internet.

-  Tabular data, geospatial data, and other electronic resources such as publications, can be indexed and organized similar to a digital library.

-  Data and maps can be printed, saved, recovered, and emailed.

For more information about the features, standards, and other features of the NED Portal see: Portal Metadata Standard, Channels, Keywords, etc.

Portal Needs, Maintenance & Further Development

An assessment of the NED Portal pilot effort would involve an assessment of the features, functionality, and user-acceptance of the site in order to determine the technical and financial feasibility of continued development of the Portal, and considerations for the propagation of a network of Portal stewards.

As mentioned previously, much of the Portal’s content is organized categorically into areas of interest called “Channels”. As defined by the Portal, Channels may refer to topical subjects such as “habitat” or to a specific project or community such as “John Day Basin”. It is anticipated that in addition to staff required to administer the Portal web site and act in a stewardship role to assist with “massaging” metadata records into the system, there should staff members of particular communities who will act as Channel Stewards – individuals with specific or detailed knowledge of the data sharing needs of particular user communities – who will be responsible for developing a community of stakeholders around relevant data sets. For example, a Channel Steward may be responsible for compiling web-enabled sources of data for salmonid abundance and productivity, and assisting groups or individuals with the task of documenting these data sources using standard metadata formats, and either uploading these or working with the Portal Data Steward to set up a web service or other form of exchange.

A general guidance for the Portal Steward, Portal Administrator and Channel Steward roles and responsibilities is available at: Portal Channels and Data Steward Roles. Establishing clearly defined roles for these groups helps to alleviate potential problems which may arise from groups divesting the creation and maintenance of metadata that describe their programs, projects, and data. The recommendation provided in the previously mentioned document and the NED Portal Data Sharing Agreement conveys the need for engagement by those who created or currently house, distribute, or maintain a data set, information system, etc.

A non-exhaustive list of the potential activities and roles of Channel Stewards and community contributes include:

-  Publish information about their own Channel related data and information

resources

-  Nominate content to be featured within the Channel

-  Report expired content, non-operational URLS, and publishing problems.

Additionally, suggested methods for outreach to the Channel Community include:

-  Professional listservers

-  Direct contact with peers

-  Presentations at conferences and events

Promotion of the Channel Manager’s role as a NED Channel Steward within

an organization’s outreach materials and web-sites.

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