Hello and welcome to the IPBES data management tutorials.

Today I would like to talk about IPBES and data management in general within our introductory chapter on IPBES data management policy.

My name is Joy Kumagai and I am part of the IPBES technical support unit on knowledge and data hosted at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center.

I would like to start by highlighting the importance of data management.

With good data management in place an organization or a project will be more productive. 

Collaborators will heave an easier time finding, understanding and relaying information and knowledge.

Data management helps a project or an organization avoid unnecessary extra costs and resources such as unneeded duplications, or conducting a task over and over again. 

Good data management empowers you to respond quickly to the world around you, and react appropriately where and whenever needed.

It helps ensure that your data stays secure, and protects you from cyberattacks. You greatly reduce the risk of losing vital information, as it ensures back up and retrievable steps.

Proper data management ensures the team use the same, most recent version of data for their analyses, thus making accurate decision based on the most accurate information, 

It ensures the credibility of an organization or a project.

The mission of IPBES is to strengthen policy and decisions through science, for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development.

It would be impossible to succeed in such a broad mission without proper data management in place. 

Data management for IPBES is vital since...

-- It ensures the accuracy and transparency of knowledge transfer from science to policy and ultimately to society;

-- it provides possibilities for international teams of experts to support policy makers with information that is traceable to the original data thus ensuring credible recommendations;

-- Such transparency and credibility will strengthen the process of decision making over time.

That is why IPBES adapted a data management policy to support the platform with the implementation of data management in its second work programme. 

You will hear more about the details of the IPBES data management policy in Chapter 2 of these tutorials.
 
Let’s now briefly review data management within the context of the IPBES objectives.

The 2030 work programme includes six objectives, with one objective related to each of the four functions of IPBES, one to communications and engagement of Governments and stakeholders and one to the review of the effectiveness of IPBES. 

Objective 1: assessing knowledge; To assess the state of knowledge on biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people in support of sustainable development.

This is the objective that includes all the assessments reports and technical papers. 

This objective is quite data intensive. 

The assessment reports are based on several thousands of scientific papers, indigenous and local knowledge, variety of materials that are being synthesized by a large group of experts to assess the state of knowledge on a specific thematic or methodological topics. 

You can imagine the role of good data management to ensure the productivity and efficiency of the experts while maintaining transparency and traceability of the assessed knowledge to their underlying original data layers.

The current version of the IPBES data management policy is specifically focusing on this objective and here in these tutorials we will be mainly talking around data management within this objective.

The 2nd objective of the IPBES is to build capacities of individuals and institutions for a strengthened science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services. 

This objective goes beyond learning and engagements, and includes access to expertise and information in national and reginal capacities. 

A good example could be this series of tutorials on data management which aims to provide access to and share the first hand experiences, tools, data management reports, active research data management, and an overview of open source tools used frequently by the community to help implement data management following the data life cycle. 

The Objective 3 is strengthening the knowledge foundations, meaning to promote the generation of knowledge and management of data on biodiversity and ecosystem services. 

This is the objective leading the data management across the platform by developing policy, technical guidelines, templates for the reports and overall to support IPBES with data management. 

This objective goes beyond the platform by catalyzing the generation of new knowledge by making the gaps identified in objective 1 known to the research programme developers and institutions involved in prioritizing and funding data mobilization. 

This objective focuses on implementing the approach to recognizing and working with indigenous and local knowledge, taking into account the special needs of indigenous and local knowledge holders in terms of data managment through the implementation of the participatory mechanism.

Objective 4 is exactly where IPBES interacts with policy makers. 

This objective aims to identify and promote the development and use of policy instruments, policy support tools and methodologies in the field of biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services. 

We all know that reputation, credibility, and agility are key to successful interactions with decision makers. 

As I briefly highlighted the importance of data management in previous slides these could be all be achieved with proper data management in place. 

While a policy maker would like to know the scientific basis of any recommended policy instruments or support tools, scientists and knowledge holders would like to see the impact of their work on the policy and thus society. 

This wont be possible without data management in place tracing the underlying basis of a policy tools back to the earlier stages in the knowledge assessment.

Can you imagine communications and engagement with stakeholders and governments with closed doors? 

The objective 5 of IPBES work program specifically asks for strengthened involvement of the members and stakeholders and to increase the visibility of IPBES and the use of IPBES products. 

Data management opens the door and facilitates the communication and engagement with broad, diverse, and large groups of stakeholders.

I believe at this point you have a clear idea on how good data management could improve the effectiveness of IPBES.

But before I wrap up my presentation, I would like to invite you to familarize yourself with data management at IPBES

Please download and read the latest version of the IPBES data management policy.

Watch these tutorials that are tailored and prepared for you.

Contact your technical support unit with your questions on implementing data management in your work.

And please feel free to contact us at the technical support unit on knowledge and data with your feedback, questions, and comments.
T
hank you very much for your attention.

Finally, I would like to also thank the other contributors that helped me prepare this content. 

I hope you enjoyed this session on IPBES and data management.

Thank you and good bye.