EcoINFORMA implementation vision: Primary data providers contribute data to a small number of central resource Hubs. These Hubs serve as the primary access points for high quality, interoperable data, standards, tools and applications within focused communities of practice comprised of data providers, users and other stakeholders. A core Web site, the Ecosystems.data.gov Community, provides information about the overarching EcoINFORMA initiative as well as direct links to the resource Hubs and the integrating geospatial capabilities of Geoplatform.gov, thereby serving as an outreach, marketing and coordination entry point to EcoINFORMA.   

Ecoinformatics-based Open Resources and Machine Accessibility (EcoINFORMA) is an initiative recommended by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in their 2011 report to the President on Sustaining Environmental Capital: Protecting Society and the Economy*. This initiative is aimed at sustainably expanding the availability and interoperability of Federal and non-Federal biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services information for use by researchers, the public, and government decision-makers.EcoINFORMA implementation is proceeding under the guidance of the Biodiversity and Ecosystems (BioEco) Informatics Working Group, a working group of the Subcommittee on Ecological Systems (SES) under the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability (CENRS).

The primary implementation components of EcoINFORMA are its resource hubs. These central resource hubs consist of focused and comprehensive communities of practice that encourage increased participation by data providers and users, and facilitate data interoperability through common standards, efficiencies of scale, and enhanced data curation. Resource hubs are envisioned to include data, software, hardware, and the team of professionals needed to develop and maintain these integrated resources. EcoINFORMA’s resource hubs will be supported by multi-agency teams of data acquisition, mobilization, integration, and curation professionals, as well as subject matter, community engagement, and coordination experts.

Visibility and coordinated access to EcoINFORMA will be provided via the Ecosystems Community here on Data.gov. This site serves as an entry point for access to EcoINFORMA’s resource hubs and other biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystems services data. This site is not envisioned to serve as a repository or archive of datasets and data products, but rather to supplement EcoINFORMA’s outreach, marketing, and coordination efforts by linking to existing resources.

*Executive Office of the President, President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Report to the President: Sustaining Environmental Capital: Protecting Society and the Economy, July 2011