CESP2021-007 “Extending knowledge on biodiversity data quality and publication in the Spanish-speaking community”

Model for Biodiversity Data Mobilization and Data
Quality Training
Brief document, in English, portraying the model used for carrying on this project, capturing thegeneral structure, strategies, resources needed, timelines, expected results and recommendations.
2021-2022 scenario
The COVID19 pandemic has resulted in the closure of activities where people congregate, as well
as a large number of travel restrictions either within or between countries.
This scenario continued, to a greater or lesser extent, until mid-2022. To overcome the need fortraining in both data quality and data publication, the CESP2021-007 project was designed.

General structureThis project contains a series of 2 virtual workshops (2 days, with a total of 5 hours of synchronousconnection) and 3 virtual webinars (duration of 2 hours of synchronous connection) with theirrespective replicas. In addition, both the workshops and the webinars were posted on a YouTube
channel for later consultation and potential reuse.

General logistics●●●●

All training sessions were virtual, conducted in Spanish, through open platforms (Zoom,YouTube), live streamed and recorded, to allow for later consultation.
All training sessions (webinars and workshops) were open to all the Spanish-speaking
community. However, workshops required pre-registration to allow distribution of training
materials beforehand.
Training instances were broadly promoted through the project’s page in the GBIF website
and through social media (with flyers).
The calendar for the whole training series was available from the beginning of the project toencourage participation, so that people could schedule all the activities to follow the wholeproject or choose the ones that were most convenient for them.

Workshops
Two workshops were held (and their replicas)●●Biodiversity data cleaning with Open Refine
Publication of Biodiversity data with the IPT

For both events, the same organization was followed. The times and actions carried out are
detailed below:●

One month before: design of the flyer for dissemination + Google form for registration +addition of the event to GBIF.org + dissemination campaign through social networks/
institutional emails, with registration and closing dates.

https://www.gbif.org/project/CESP2021-007/extending-knowledge-on-biodiversity-data-quality-and-publication-in-the-spanishspeaking-community

CESP2021-007 “Extending knowledge on biodiversity data quality and publication in the Spanish-speaking community”
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Twenty days before: reinforcement of the dissemination campaign, together with theopening of registration. At the same time, a selection process of the participants is started,in accordance with the quotas agreed upon by each node/initiative.
Ten days before: registration closes + final selection of participants, list of participants iscreated (who must complete the confirmation form) + waiting list in case free places aregenerated.
Five days before (Only Open Refine workshop): once participation is confirmed, information
about the program and instructions to install it are sent.
Three days before: pertinent material is sent, link to join the Zoom call + room in the case of
the Open Refine workshop, synchronous space for potential queries due to program
installation issues.
Second day of the workshop: a closing survey of the workshop is sent and for those whomet the attendance requirement for both meetings, an attendance certificate is generated.
One week after completion: certificates of attendance are sent and information on the next
project activity (next workshop and webinars) is attached.

The meetings were posted on a YouTube channel at the end of each day, allowing participants toreview and revise the content. In addition, it creates a space for those who could not attend (either
because they were not selected, because they were left on the waiting list or due to any other
unforeseen event).

Webinars
3 webinars were held (and their replicas)●●●

Data Quality Principles
Application of Data Quality workflows
Biodiversity Data Standards: Introduction to Darwin CoreTo facilitate the influx of a greater number of participants without compromising the quality of theexhibition, they were held in a Zoom room that was broadcasted live to the YouTube channel,
where the queries were collected.
Unlike the workshops, certificates of attendance were not given, since their duration was restricted,
and the purpose was to disseminate a topic and be used as preparatory material for theworkshops.
Both during the webinar and later in the description of each YouTube video, an opinion survey wasprovided to be completed by those who watched the videos.
For the three meetings, the same organization was followed. The times and actions carried out are
detailed below:●●●●

Fifteen days before: design of the flyer for dissemination + addition of the event to GBIF.org+ dissemination campaign through networks / institutional emails.
A week before: reiterate the dissemination campaign.
The day before: posts on Twitter, reminding the webinar, speakers, and topics to bediscussed.
Day of the webinar: an opinion poll is distributed, and it is shared in the description of theYouTube video.

https://www.gbif.org/project/CESP2021-007/extending-knowledge-on-biodiversity-data-quality-and-publication-in-the-spanishspeaking-community

CESP2021-007 “Extending knowledge on biodiversity data quality and publication in the Spanish-speaking community”
Resources used.
All the resources used were free of charge, except for the Zoom license (since space for attendees
and functions that the free version does not have were required) and the internet connection
service.
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●Internet connection
Basic Zoom license, for 100 people
YouTube channel
Google Forms
Space in Google Drive
Google calendar for activity tracking
Trello panel for coordination of activities / meetings of the group of organizers
Email accountOpen Refine program and data set for didactic use for practice.
Access to IPT-Test and educational use case for practice

Expected results.
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Synchronous and asynchronous attendance of 100 people was expected for the webinars.
Full attendance of 60 people for the workshops.
The opinions of the participants about the contents and development of the activities.
A list of people interested in the subject for the dissemination of similar activities.
Dissemination of important topics for the Latin American community in their own language,either in the form of webinars or workshops.
Access to free tools to improve the quality of data that publishers share in GBIF
Despite the isolation and mandatory remote work, do not stop and continue training with thepublishers of our respective nodes.

Recommendations
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Evaluate the activities and the time they require. A webinar consumes less time in yourorganization, but a workshop consumes much more time than that used in the synchronous
meeting.
Have prepared the graphics that the project will use, as well as hashtags and texts. Planin advance the communication channels that will be used for dissemination.
Try to have the presentations in a folder hosted in a cloud, shared among the speakers,
so that if someone has a problem with their connection, another speaker can replace them.
If supplies are needed for the workshops, share them in the cloud, so that they areeasily accessible and do not saturate the participants' mailboxes when sending them.
Try, in the forms, to ask for the emails to be repeated, since many times there are typing
errors and then it is almost impossible to communicate with that person.
If the project is aimed at an audience from different time zones, clarify this in the flyers,either by placing the flags or the names of the countries and the corresponding time.
For workshops, request to complete the survey as the last requirement to obtain thecertificate of attendance. Also clarify that the certificate will be issued with the name andsurname data as they appear in the survey.

https://www.gbif.org/project/CESP2021-007/extending-knowledge-on-biodiversity-data-quality-and-publication-in-the-spanishspeaking-community

CESP2021-007 “Extending knowledge on biodiversity data quality and publication in the Spanish-speaking community”
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Generate a Google calendar (or similar) with all the activities relevant to the organizationand dissemination of webinars and workshops and share it with all team members.
It is desirable that the survey forms send a copy of the response to the person whocompletes it. In the same way, in some cases, such as confirmation forms, it is desirable
that they can only be answered once. It is important to share a contact email at thebeginning and at the end of the form, in case any inconvenience arises and communication
with the coordinator is needed.
If any survey or form has a closing date, remind (and reiterate) it to the participants.
Once the term has expired, close the form, since the participant who answered on timemust be valued. In any case, leave a contact email for any eventuality.
Regarding the number of participants in the workshops, try to maintain a ratio of 10 to 15
participants – 1 trainer, otherwise it will be very difficult to have time to solve all the queries
and give the appropriate feedback to the activities.

https://www.gbif.org/project/CESP2021-007/extending-knowledge-on-biodiversity-data-quality-and-publication-in-the-spanishspeaking-community