Open knowledge: new resources and learning opportunities

Blog / August 24, 2022

The GEO Data Working Group has released new resources and is planning learning opportunities to support the adoption of open knowledge principles in the development of Earth observation tools and services, including in the GEO Work Programme.

Data management principles guidelines

The GEO Programme Board has endorsed a new set of guidelines on how to apply the GEO Data Management Principles (GEO DMP). These principles cover the discovery, accessibility and usability of data, among other topics. They can be applied to the entire data management lifecycle, and are complimentary to the FAIR principles, which focus primarily on aspects of metadata, and the TRUST principles, which primarily focus on the curation and preservation of data and related resources, and CARE principles which focus on ethical issues related to data.

The new guidelines can be used to assess how well the GEO principles are being followed in practice. The guidelines provide an explanation of each principle, as well as advice on implementation, relevant standards, metrics for measuring adherence and resource implications.

Dialogue series

Starting on 5 September, the GEO Data Sharing and Data Management Principles subgroups will be running a webinar in a every Monday from 16:00 to 17:30 CEST to raise awareness about the GEO principles and their benefits. The webinars are aimed at all Earth observation stakeholders, including data producers, technology providers, scientists, researchers, business developers, decision makers and policy makers.

Members of the Earth observation community will discuss their experience implementing the principles, talk through how they tackled challenges and showcase the impact they realized. The current agenda is as follows. More information will be posted here as it becomes available:

5 September 2022: Data life cycle (Speakers include Miguel Fernandez from iDiv and Karl Benedikt from the University of New Mexico and Marie-Christine Jacquemot from the Institute de l'Information Scientifique et Technique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
12 September 2022: Data sharing principles (Speakers include Barbara Ryan, World Geospatial Industry Council, Kathy Weber, Google)
19 September 2022: Discoverability (DMP1) (Speakers include Chris Schubert, Technischen Universität Wien, Paolo Mazzetti National Research Council of Italy, Joao Andrade, DEIMOS, Portugal, Sergio Cinnirella, National Research Council of Italy)
26 September 2022: Accessibility (DMP 2)
3 October 2022: Usability (DPM3-6) (Speakers include Joan Masó, Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, Johannes Peterseil, Umweltbundesamt GmbH and Hendrik Boogaard, Wageningen University and Research)
10 October 2022: Preservation (DMP7-DMP8)
17 October 2022: Curation (DMP9-DMP10)
24 October 2022: Data Management Self-Assessment Tool

Participants can register in advance:

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Bente Lilja Bye, BLB, Norway and Marie-Francoise Voidrot, Open Geospatial Consortium are leading the organization of the dialogue series with support from the GEO secretariat. Feel free to contact them for any questions or suggestions.

The dialogue series will be recorded and made available in the GEO Knowledge Hub.

Data Management Principles Self-Assessment Tool

To help users work out whether their data management plans are consistent with the GEO Data Management Principles and the FAIR Principles, e-shape (EuroGEO Showcases: Applications Powered by Europe) has developed a Data Management Principles self-assessment tool

While the GEO principles are accepted as a reference by the GEO community, they are not always fully implemented and can be confused with the FAIR principles. To address this, a questionnaire allows users to determine whether their project is compliant with each of the GEO Principles, and a matrix shows how the GEO and FAIR principles overlap and are complementary.

Once the questionnaire is completed, users can export the analysis to Word file as a ready-to-go data management plan.

Click here to access to the Revised Data Management Principles Guidelines and to the DMPs Self-assessment Tool in the GEO Knowledge Hub.

Contacts: