International Data Management...
Following an exchange of research delegations from the Chinese Ecological Research Network (CERN) and the LTER Network in 1991 (see Network News, Winter 1991/1992), two recent developments have further advanced the collaboration. First, four LTER Data Managers traveled to Beijing in September 1992 to assist CERN scientists with research data management issues and, second, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded funds to LTER researchers for a 1993 research data management training program for CERN.
LTER Data Managers Return to China
In cooperation with the National Academy of Science Committee for Scholarly Communication with the Peoples Republic of China (CSCPRC/NAS), the World Bank and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), LTER Data Managers returned to Beijing in September to contribute to the development of design plans for a data management system and data management training for CERN. James Brunt (Sevilleta), Tom Kirchner (Central Plains), Bill Michener (North Inlet), and Susan Stafford (H.J. Andrews) will be working with CERN personnel at the invitation of Dr. Zhao Jianping and Dr. Sun Honglie of CAS. The effort, lead by Bill Michener, represents a continuation of the collaboration begun at the 1990 LTER All Scientists Meeting, at which Dr. Zhao Shidong represented CERN.
One of the highlights of the trip was a two-day data management workshop during which the LTER group met with scientists responsible for data management at CERN field stations and sub-centers (disciplinary centers responsible for key efforts), and a synthesis center for data and training. Topics discussed included data management system design and training, and the modeling-data management interface. Some of these scientists will participate in the 1993 training program, described below.
CERN Data Managers to Attend Training in Albuquerque, New Mexico
With combined funding from NSF’s International Programs and Environmental Biology divisions and CAS, a “proof-of-concept” prototype training course will be offered at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque in 1993. The proposal for the activity, submitted by Sevilleta LTER investigators James Gosz and James Brunt, was developed over the course of the collaboration through the combined efforts of Barbara Benson (North Temperate Lakes), Bill Michener, Susan Stafford (H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest) and Beryl Leach (CSCPRC Program Manager). Many other LTER Data Managers will also contribute to the development of the course.
The training will address basic concepts of managing long-term ecological research information across both networks. The primary audience will be CERN data managers and administrators responsible for design and development of a system of Research Data Management within CERN. LTER Data Managers will team-teach modules to illustrate the diversity of techniques and cover issues from broad principles of design and organization to specific implementation. The format will include lectures, demonstrations, discussions and hands-on computer experience.
This effort will establish groundwork for protocols and standards to facilitate the exchange of ecological research data internationally. Group discussions in the training course will focus on the needs for international collaboration and sharing of long-term datasets and will address the establishment of clear and attainable international data management objectives. The course will culminate in a curriculum development exercise for future training courses in China in which LTER and trained CERN data managers will work side by side in training other CERN data management personnel. Collaborative assistance of this kind will help to cement the bonds between CERN and LTER and should lead to broader international cooperation in ecological research.