Biodiversity Data are usually generated for a specific purpose, but are often used for multiple purposes. Some of the routine feedback from the users ranges from lack of sufficient data (volume, depth, and density), lack of fitness-for-use (precision, accuracy and authenticity), to lack of mechanisms for data discovery and access to data, etc. The proposed ‘Content Needs Assessment’ exercise is an attempt to address these issues in an holistic manner.

The Content Needs Assessment Task Group will be chaired by Dr. Dan Faith, Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia. Members of the Task Group are

• Dr. Ben Collen, Institute of Zoology, United Kingdom
• Dr. Leslie Underhill, Animal Demography Unit, University of Cape Town, South Africa
• Dr. Jeremey Kerr, Canadian Facility for Ecoinformatics Research, University of Ottawa, Canada
• Dr. Patricia Koleff, National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), Mexico
• Dr. Arturo Arino, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
• Dr. Henrik Enghoff, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen University, Denmark
• Dr. John Guinotte, Marine Conservation Biology Institute, WA, USA

The Content Needs Assessment Task Group will provide recommendations to GBIF on the following issues on or before August 2009:

• What are the priority questions that GBIF-mobilised data should be able to address for different areas of science and policy in the near, medium and long-terms at global, regional, national or thematic levels?;
• Evaluate for the varied priority questions identified the content needs (volume, depth, and density) and data fitness (precision, accuracy, authenticity) for specific uses;
• Design a survey to determine the demography of use of biodiversity data, and to understand the content needs of varied uses (thematic, regional /national, problem specific, etc.); assess what the unique scientific and policy contributions of GBIF-mobilised data are that cannot readily be met through other mechanisms;
• Distribute, analyse, synthesise, and interpret the survey results;
• Identify gaps in accessible data mapped against data needs;
• Recommend strategies and priorities for GBIF data mobilisation (what should GBIF focus on in the short, medium and long terms?).

Dr Vishwas Chavan, Senior Programme Officer, DIGIT is the GBIF Secretariat point of contact for the Task Group (email: vchavan@gbif.org).