Data policy of the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility
1. Purpose of the data policy
The Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility compiles Finnish biodiversity data in digital form into a data warehouse. Data contained in the FinBIF data warehouse not classified as sensitive [1] or, on other grounds, partially or entirely secret [2], is open and public information. Access to read and use sensitive data classified as secret on grounds stated above is always restricted and requires a separate agreement with the owner of the data in question. Access rights to open data are based on user access licenses, which may vary between datasets. They are described in the data transfer agreement.
This data policy sets the principles for compiling, maintaining and using all digital datasets managed by the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility.
The Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility is a virtual centre administered by the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus. This data policy is not intended to contradict the museum’s data policy used to direct the implementation of its statutory duties. In the event of conflicts, the data policy of FinBIF will be observed.
The data policy also acts as binding guidelines for data management at FinBIF. It applies to all FinBIF data and those working with the data, persons employed by Luomus and persons in any contractual relationships with the museum. In addition, all persons with access to data management at FinBIF through user rights granted to them will be bound to observe this data policy.
Under the coordination of Luomus, the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility will be expanded from 2015 to 2017 as part of the Envibase [3] project managed by the Finnish Environment Institute. The data policy will be updated no later than at the beginning of 2018 as regards the administrative structures and responsibilities related to the future organisation of FinBIF, as they take shape during the project.
2. Definitions of data policy terms
This data policy employs the following terms with the following meanings:
Data refers to entities consisting of individual records stored in digital form. The number of records can vary from a handful to millions; they can include text, numbers, photographs, audio or comparable content, as well as related metadata.
Data system refers to a system based on one or more electronic databases in the service of activities meeting particular needs through data management. Data systems consist of information and rules for managing the information, related personnel and equipment resources, as well as data transfer equipment and operational instructions. Data systems may include information from other data systems.
FinBIF data system refers to the data system maintained by the ICT team at the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus. The system may be programmed either by the ICT team, another current or previous member of the museum staff, or it may be acquired from or provided to the museum by an external party.
Metadata refers to information describing datasets, such as description of the content, method and time of creation, as well as the collector of the dataset, etc.
Primary dataset (primary copy) refers to the original copy of the dataset that will be kept up to date. This version has metadata and an owner.
Secondary dataset (secondary copy) refers to a complete or partial copy of the primary dataset, which will not kept up to date.
Dataset formation describes the manner or method in which datasets are compiled into target systems and the related processes.
Dataset updating refers to amending the original data contained in the primary dataset, in other words replacing information with new or corrected information either partially or completely.
Dataset maintenance refers to keeping data up to date and available for use. For primary datasets, updates will be made immediately visible in the storage system. For secondary datasets, outdated data will be replaced with up-to-date data in new copies.
Dataset type refers to datasets that are typically the result of a single process, including individual and descriptive metadata. This concept can be used to specify principles: a certain dataset type includes data covered by the same principles.
Openness of data refers to content not classified as secret being open for anyone for any purpose, as long as access right principles, such as attributing sources in accordance with good scientific practice, are observed. Openness can be restricted by user licenses and confidentiality criteria (see paragraph 6.3).
3. Acts, regulations and policies guiding the data policy
The data policy of the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility is guided by the same acts and obligations as the Finnish Museum of Natural History.
In its data policy, FinBIF complies with policies, strategies and programmes related to the open access to digital data agreed upon both at national and international levels including the EU, specifically the policy to increase the openness of data by the Finnish government.
The public nature of the museum’s operations is governed by the Universities Act and the Act on the Openness of Government Activities, which has a direct impact on FinBIF’s data policy as well. The data policies of the museum and, therefore, FinBIF are in line with the data policy of the University of Helsinki, the parent organisation of the museum.
Other regulations that have an effect on FinBIF’s data policy are the following acts and regulations concerned with online services and government as well as related to the creation, use, distribution, utilisation and storage of digital data: the Nature Conservation Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Act on Information Management Governance in Public Administration, the Personal Data Act, the Act on Electronic Services and Communication in the Public Sector, the Act on Electronic Signatures, the Archives Act, the Act on Collecting and Preserving Cultural Material and copyright regulations.
The data policy of the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility also takes into consideration the policies in Finnish legislation and strategy influenced by the EU’s PSI (Public Sector Information) and the INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe) directives. In accordance with the act (421/2009) and decree (725/2009) on spatial data infrastructure, the museum has duties as regards the shared use of location data related to species distribution and biogeographical regions. Datasets must be maintained and shared in accordance with stipulations set in the act and the implementing rules of the INSPIRE directive.
4. Data policy scope
The data policy covers all data managed by FinBIF. Datasets are received for management, storage and distribution on the basis of agreements.
The following types of datasets are included:
- Data on collection specimens; collection specimens include complete organisms, macro- or microscopic parts of organisms, tissue samples or DNA, and fossils.
- Data on collections that contain strains of living plants, fungi or microbes; strains may consist of one or more individual specimen or growth, or several specimens or growths produced by a single seed or spore lot, or a vegetative reproduction or propagation event. These may be in various states of their lifecycle (for example, spore, seed, seedling, full-grown).
- Observation data without collection specimens
- Material documenting collection specimens or observations, such as photographs, audio recordings, drawings, etc.
- Monitoring and mapping data: data compiled, combined and processed in order to produce maps or statistics, or to implement monitoring
- Nomenclatures and taxonomic hierarchies
- Results of scientific measurement and classification
- Various analysis results: sample dating results, isotope ratio and element composition assays, DNA sequences and genotype assays, etc., and related process knowledge
- Spatial and location data related to dataset types listed above, such as collection and observation locations or regions, location within collections, etc.
- Personal data related to dataset types listed above, such as name and organisation of the data producer, contact details, etc.
5. Data policy goal
The general goal of the data policy is to promote the usability and use of data managed by FinBIF in support of research, education, administration, nature conservation, business life and society.
In order to reach this goal, the data policy strives to
- create consistent practices for storing, publishing and distributing data
- ensure that primary copies, or updatable versions of data (also known as master copies), are available for all data in electronic form with metadata and owner details attached
- enable the distribution of biodiversity datasets for open use as quickly, efficiently and exhaustively as possible
- to increase cooperation between data collectors, creators and users.
The data policy steers the museum staff and that of its contracting partners in managing and handling data received and shared by FinBIF. It also contributes to different parties observing consistent principles when submitting and using data. By defining principles of data management and distribution, the policy indirectly improves the quality of data.
6. Principles of data creation, maintenance and use
Data creation
Secondary datasets are stored (copied) into the data warehouse of the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility from primary dataset sources. Copying is based on written agreements made between source material owners or managers and the museum. Existing data is transferred to FinBIF either automatically, through data transfer interfaces to be programmed in the future or by utilising other efficient methods. New data is accumulated into FinBIF either from the primary dataset storage systems of its contracting partners or the primary dataset storage systems that are currently in use as well as those that will be established as part of FinBIF’s services. Secondary copies will be stored in the FinBIF data warehouse either as scheduled or in real time, depending on the dataset in question.
Data is owned by the organisation identified as its creator. Transferring data to FinBIF for storage and distribution does not affect the ownership of the data. Data ownership refers to the right to make decisions on data use and transfer to the FinBIF data warehouse. This is arranged with a separate data transfer agreement.
Dataset maintenance and storage
Primary dataset storage systems are a part of the services provided by FinBIF, in addition to which new systems will be built. Datasets within these systems are maintained and updated by the museum and data owners in a manner agreed separately. Contracting partners of FinBIF are responsible for maintaining and updating data stored in the primary dataset storage systems owned or managed by them. Only non-updatable secondary copies of all primary datasets will be stored in the FinBIF data warehouse irrespective of their ownership, management or updating responsibilities. Data management and storage will be conducted in accordance with decisions and instructions that comply with the acts, regulations and policies listed in chapter 3 of the data policy.
Copies of biodiversity data transferred to the FinBIF data warehouse will be standardised with the FinBIF core database primarily before storage. Among other things, the core database includes the national nomenclature and taxonomic data.
A metadata listing distributed through public websites will be maintained for datasets. Information on new datasets will be added to the list no later than after the data is completed, at the time of data transfer or, in the case of datasets compiled continuously, without delay after data transfer to the FinBIF systems has begun.
Data usage
As a rule, digital data managed by the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility is public and free to use [4], or open data. As a rule, data is shared in compliance with the principles set by the Creative Commons licenses [5]. Selection and implementation of CC licenses [6] is conducted in accordance with agreements made with data owners. Data publication will be conducted in accordance with decisions and instructions that comply with the acts, regulations and policies listed in chapter 3.
Data managed by FinBIF may include data classified as sensitive on the basis of either general legislation [7] or decisions made by the Finnish environmental and natural resources administration [8]. Availability of and access to sensitive material is usually restricted.
In connection with the establishment of the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility, a national and binding decision in principle [9] containing general policies for availability and access restrictions, as well as an attached list of sensitive species in Finland, has been drafted.
Openness can be restricted in several ways, the most common of which is making location data less specific. Access to data dependent on time or related to a location other than the observation location, such as overwintering or nesting sites, can be restricted with good reason.
In addition, FinBIF may have datasets whose openness and availability may be restricted at the request of data owners or managers as agreed. The rights related to sharing this type of data are also defined in accordance with the user access licenses stated above on a case-by-case basis.
Data will be stored in the FinBIF data warehouse in the form they were received in from the data owners. The restrictions stated above will only come into effect when data is transferred from the data warehouse to the public service of the Laji.fi website and made available for use. In accordance with the goals promoting the open use of FinBIF data, authorities and parties classified as authorities have unlimited access to the data for official duties.
Data disclosed voluntarily through FinBIF for use by authorities is protected under section 24, subsection 1, item 16, and section 26, subsection 1, item 2 of the Act on the Openness of Government Activities. In practice, data disclosed for official use by authorities cannot be further disclosed without the consent of the data owner. This is ensured by mutual agreements between FinBIF and the authorities when agreeing on how authorities will have access to all FinBIF data.
Data openness must not violate data protection. Restrictions to the openness of data and their justification are described in the metadata. Open data is made available to the academic community, public administration, organisations, businesses and private citizens for free use through the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility portal (Laji.fi), managed by the Finnish Museum of National History. Other public distribution channels for open data may be established.
The open and public nature of FinBIF data is promoted by sharing data and metadata from the data warehouse for publication in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility portal and other similar services.
7. Sharing responsibilities
Drafting, updating and administering the data policy
Decisions on the organisational structure of FinBIF will be made as part of the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility project. Drafting, updating and managing the data policy will be conducted in accordance with the future organisational structure as well as decisions concerning related responsibilities. While the project is ongoing, the data policy will be ratified by the director of the museum.
This data policy will be updated no later than at the beginning of 2018 when the project has ended. The museum ICT team is responsible for maintaining the data policy. The policy will be managed as part of the FinBIF enterprise architecture [10]. The ICT team will review update needs annually. During update reviews, the team may direct enquiries regarding policy update needs to, among others, the steering group of the Envibase project. In addition, the team will evaluate the compatibility of the policy with corresponding partner policies.
Implementing the data policy
Responsibilities for implementing the data policy during the project phase (2015–2017) of the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility are shared as follows:
- The project manager supervises the implementation of the data policy as regards datasets managed by FinBIF.
- The museum ICT team is responsible for implementing the data policy in FinBIF data systems for all dataset types.
- For their part, all members of the museum staff and other persons in any contractual relationship with the museum are responsible for implementing the data policy when acting on behalf of FinBIF and producing, distributing or using datasets covered by the policy.
REFERENCES
[1] Sensitive data refers to data that the public is restricted from. Access to this data is limited to certain individuals, groups or organisations only. Sensitive classification is based on the assumption that publishing the data in question may harm that which it concerns.
[2] In addition to sensitivity, datasets may be restricted on other grounds that are usually related to the ownership and management of the data, such as exclusivity based on research or business development.
[3] http://www.ymparisto.fi/en-US/Envibase
[4] JHS public administration recommendation 189
[5] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
[6] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/?lang=en
[7] Act on the Openness of Government Activities (1999/621); Nature Conservation Act (1996/1096), Chapter 6, Protection of species
[8] The Finnish environmental administration consists of the and the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland. Responsibility for natural resources administration is shared by the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
[9] As a result of an inclusive process, a national list (in Finnish only) was completed and distributed to all participating parties on 29 July 2016. A preparatory meeting was arranged on 29 September 2015 to reach a decision in principle, with the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Finnish Environment Institute and the Finnish Museum of National History in attendance.
[10] Enterprise architecture refers to the modelling, describing and planning of operations, data requirements, data systems and technological solutions in accordance with a consistent model. In the planning of its enterprise architecture, FinBIF observes the JHS public administration recommendation 179 when applicable.