Rationale

Establishing and using a consistent data management framework will enable more effective analyses and implementation by the sponsoring organizations, partners and key stakeholders. Implementing data management best practices will improve efficiency and allow the organization to become more agile in developing new iterations and updates to our ecoregional assessments.

Recommended Products

• A database formatted to meet organizational standards. The Ecoregional Assessment Data Standard 1.0 is the standard for the Nature Conservancy.
• Geospatial data representing the ecoregional conservation portfolio (ideally, spatial data and tabular database described above are incorporated within a geodatabase).
• Archived source data [spatial and tabular] on occurrences of biodiversity targets, landscape suitability, and threats to biodiversity that were used in the assessment.
• Metadata describing tabular and spatial data (products and source data) that includes sources and contacts, data confidence, projections, scale accuracy, etc.
• Data sharing agreements with data providers and partners that document appropriate data access, restrictions on use, and disclaimers.
• The above products managed in accordance with best practices. The Nature Conservancy has Data Management Best Practices as implemented by the network of Conservation Data Nodes.