Essential Partnerships in the Data Management Life Cycle

Abstract:

An obvious product of the scientific research process is data. Today’s geoscience research efforts can rapidly produce an unprecedented volume of multidisciplinary data that can pose management challenges for the facility charged with curating that information. How do these facilities achieve efficient data management in a high volume, heterogeneous data world? Partnerships are critical, especially for small to mid-sized data management offices, such as those dedicated to academic research communities. The idea of partnerships can encompass a wide range of collaborative relationships aimed at helping these facilities meet the evolving needs of their communities. However, one basic and often overlooked partnership in the data management process is that of the information manager and the Principal Investigator (PI) or data originator. Such relationships are critical in discerning the best possible management strategy, and in obtaining the most robust metadata necessary for reuse of multidisciplinary datasets. Partnerships established early in the data life cycle enable efficient management and dissemination of data in high volumes and heterogeneous formats.

The Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) was created to fulfill the data management needs of PIs funded by the NSF Ocean Sciences Biological and Chemical Sections, and Division of Polar Programs. Since its inception, the Office has relied upon the close relationships it cultivates between its data managers and PIs in order to provide effective data management for a wide variety of ecological and biogeochemical oceanographic data. This presentation will highlight some of the successful partnerships BCO-DMO has made with individual and collaborative investigators, as well as those with other data managers representing specific research communities.