This cooperation shall make Arctic data available to circum-Arctic users. ADD shall assess the quality and reliability of data set descriptions by means of a set of internationally agreed upon criteria. ADD shall provide worldwide access to Arctic environmental data via the Internet. ADD shall identify and work actively to form working relationships with institutions holding Arctic environmental data. ADD s network cooperation shall ensure feedback mechanisms to establish and maintain its relevance by addressing key environmental issues.
ADD is a membership organization where countries with major Arctic data holdings are represented.
Members also include international circum-Arctic organizations with data directories. Other organizations holding Arctic data may be linked to ADD through affiliate membership. ADD is based on a cooperation between national Arctic data directories and directories established by major circum-Arctic organizations. By linking these directories together electronically, users can search on a specific theme to gain information on how to obtain relevant data sets. Only a few countries have created such national directories.