David Penman New Zealand

Transcription

1 David Penman New Zealand

2 To review the conduct of the Census on areas such as: Governance Leadership Management Collaboration Globalisation Data Management Synthesis Education and Outreach Future legacies

3 The Team Professor David Penman Biodiversity, Information management, global initiatives Dr Missy Morton qualitative research, social science Dr Andrew Pearce governance The Analysis Document review, meetings, plans, etc. Historical papers Interviews - >70 people Observations

4 Over 2700 scientists More than 80 countries 640 institutions 540 expeditions $650 million (>$75 m from the Alfred P Sloan Foundation) Over 3100 scientific papers Over 6000 new species 30 million data records Film, video, images, songs, paintings, etc. Many hundreds of other communications

5 A simple yet compelling message Visionary leadership Discovery is still important A global initiative was needed An early investor in the idea Collaboration would achieve more than competition Data sharing would drive a new culture Effective management Moving beyond science

6 Interviews International initiatives: Governance, management, relationships Leadership: SSC, Secretariat, etc. Projects: Leaders and participants External observers Issues Engagement Benefits What worked well or not so well Legacies and the future Interpret the stories from the people involved

7 Created a baseline of marine biodiversity Provided the infrastructure to share data Created a culture of collaboration in biology Developed by scientists for science Science impacts will grow Revitalised some areas (e.g. taxonomy) Innovation and technology convergences

8 Among the pioneers of global approaches to biodiversity: GBIF Species 2000 CBOL EOL etc Time bound (2010) A lead investor (Sloan) plus leverage funding Not bound by formal agreements Scientific leadership and powerful advocacy

9 Evolution rather than a formal structure but raised questions on: Roles and responsibilities Skills or representation Executive support Performance review Succession Vision to strategy Managing risks

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11 Models need to be enduring and fit for purpose Allow for redesign of governance structure Essential to revisit priorities and strategic drivers Rapid growth can create potential catch up problem Strength was bottom up but weaknesses with the lack of an overall strategy against which to align projects The approach is not really transferable. The structure was for its time and seemed to work for a very large and complex project.

12 Using Sloan funds as seed funding was powerful leverage Process evolved, while maintaining vitality and passion Need to be sure of the need for committees and representation and the correct accountability Be aware of the strength of some personalities. Be aware of investor intentions (not always well recognised by some project proposers).

13 Need, vision and passion Fred Grassle Networks, advocacy and money Jesse Ausubel Commitment of scientists Leveraged funding from institutions Advisory role of the SSC Leadership at project level Leadership for different stages Proof-of-concept Proof-of-performance Proof-of-implementation

14 Success was due to good people and a good vision. Effective leadership a key factor in success. Recognise need for changing leadership during the project by Build transparent succession processes into project planning. Passion, romance and belief can be powerful drivers Important to have passion in the leader. Role and commitment of Jesse most critical.

15 Ability to articulate big goals and build ownership of a strategy to achieve it. Know when and how to build bottom up support to generate projects but equally be able to make the calls to stop things. Build bridges, trust and connections at all levels as project design proceeds

16 Secretariat functions were well located Provided excellent services in coordination, reporting, etc. Limited oversight of finances No real Executive Director Complex relationships

17 Function Leadership Internationalisation Partnerships Science Synthesizing Coordination Activity Scientific Steering Committee Executive Committee National and Regional Committees Encyclopedia of Life National Geographic Projects Affiliated Projects Synthesis Group Secretariat Education & Outreach Mapping & Visualization

18 CoML Secretariat: small and perfectly formed Light-handed Sloan reporting and management requirements did not always sit well with institutional systems Despite expectation on consistency and standards, there was no real demand from the SSC to make this happen The approach is not really transferable. The structure was for its time and seemed to work for a very large and complex project Need to identify and manage risks.

19 Workloads on key Secretariat staff and on Project leaders were excessive at some points and this was a risk to delivery The Census was fortunate to have such dedicated and competent people in key positions of leadership and management Having a Secretariat outside of a participating institution provided benefits from independence and an ability to exercise political influence The Secretariat could have had a more explicit structure

20 Lasting impact of a new network of collaborating scientists Showed that doing big science in biology and ecology was possible Built trust and a willingness to share ideas and data Enlightened use of Sloan funds for earlystage meetings and proposal development Competition for ideas, not institutions Built transgenerational links

21 The key was to bring people together where they came into the project as strangers and left as friends. Building an interdisciplinary team is a powerful force to gain new insights. We believe in the science and believe in the team. We showed the value of working together which is rare in biology. We need institutional reforms to incentivise data sharing

22 If their current funding base is not threatened, you can sell the benefits from collaboration. Data sharing is a big issue with biodiversity scientists For the first time. I was able to meet ecologists and begin to combine personal taxonomic interests with other scientists. Being able to take a long-term view of science was most important and really was the pinnacle of my career as a taxonomist. Taxonomy now fits within a system.

23 Insistence on a global approach was critical to getting wide support Oversight of funding from a wide range of sources is challenging Significant variability in capability and data availability NRICs variable in resourcing and capability Support for global networks

24 The importance of building bridges, trust and connections at all levels as project design proceeds: not just with scientists but with communities, governments, etc. Proposers must show that a single country cannot deliver what the collaborative project sets out to achieve and that there are clear advantages in sharing access to facilities and data.

25 Dealing within the Census environment without governmental constraints was often easier than through other inter-governmental initiatives. It is important to have a project on which to hang some national and regional work but there was no real strategy. NRICs were the least successful part of Census. They started too late and were under resourced. They needed to have responsibility to act at national levels for additional funding and unlocking data.

26 Took the excitement of discovery to the world Sloan funding was critical not taking funding off projects Professionalism was paramount Built the Census as a brand Exposed scientists to a wide range of communication tools Demonstrated the aesthetic values of science

27 The aesthetics of science should not be underestimated: do not get totally hooked into economic justifications art and science are compelling interfaces to transform discovery for different audiences Speed and decisiveness can be beneficial but must recognise the risks: be prepared to protect the brand and have clear responsibilities for handling media and other comments

28 New discoveries are seen as a politically safe environment especially when aligned with visual messages Outreach was challenged by the need to find a balance between the wow factor and the need to demonstrate some policy relevance

29 Discovery then baselines then what? Latter development of the need to bring all the information together Challenged many to put their research into a context Opened debate on links to policy relevance Produced many outstanding products

30 Building bridges with key international agencies is the key to making an impact on policy. In many cases it is too early for a measurable impact on policy and there were not the right people in the Census to link with policy agencies. There has been a fear of relevance in some quarters.

31 Has the Census helped to raise the ability of scientists to think about outcomes and societal benefits? Synthesis can demonstrate the value of data aggregation on many fronts: good examples abound where data from a range of sources gives a more compelling case.

32 Data sharing as a key requirement Provision of the means to do so OBIS Building a heritage of data sharing (parallel to physical oceanographers) Life beyond 2010 the challenge for support of infrastructure The need for early development of funding models and business cases

33 It was very insightful of FG and JA to make OBIS a key infrastructure at the commencement of the project. Ensure OBIS continues and is useful. Try to avoid the black hole; where support dries up. Perhaps a user support group is needed. In looking back probably there were too few nodes and as CoML funds are reduced nodes are further under threat.

34 OBIS is a very important piece of the glue that held CoML together and enabled data sharing. A key issue now is how to maintain OBIS as a data portal given the conclusion of CoML in its current form. Developing infrastructure alone may not be enough need to deliver to some of societies pressing needs.

35 Culture change: biologists and ecologists can work together on big science. Built new collaborations Technology: convergence of molecular biology, informatics, sensing tools Capability: new networks, emerging leaders, knowledge transfer Data management: created an infrastructure to freely share and link data

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37 A cornerstone investor to underpin development, set expectations and propose a preferred governance model An Executive Director with the trust of the cornerstone investor to make rapid early investments A strategic plan to give effect to a compelling vision and need Clarity on roles and responsibilities Risk assessment and management

38 Be prepared to change leadership styles during the course of a project Document roles and responsibilities, performance review and feedback Consider term delineations Have a specific leadership development program Leaders that can reflect the needs of the investors and provide vision and strategic directions

39 Establish a Secretariat that meets the needs and expectations of participants An Executive Director with the ability to interact with the investors and participants An Executive Committee with delegated power to operate between Board meetings Coordination with other international organisations Oversight of the whole program including finances

40 Be careful not to oversell relevance before sufficient information is available Agree on performance indicators to measure a wide range of impacts Provide best practice guidance and tools to collaborate across disciplines/nations Provide early stage funding to bring people together and write proposals Reward positive culture change

41 Develop expectations for global collaboration and indicators for success Develop a globalisation strategy early in program development Build connections with relevant international, regional and national organisations Ensure regional and national networks are represented in overall program leadership Ensure support at the Secretariat and local levels

42 Agree on IP and data sharing policies with key institutions and data providers Develop and agree on data standards and protocols for interoperability, consistent with best international practice Support an infrastructure for metadata and data sharing Ensure links are made to other data centers and data-intensive projects

43 Ensure the Secretariat is resourced for an E&O function Agree on expectations and key audiences Be prepared to support lateral ideas that might reach new audiences Have a strategy to utilise social media to widen communication Protect the brand of the project

44 Decide on expected outcomes and legacies early in the project Have specific goals for establishing future priorities Engage with people skilled in fund-raising and the development of future business cases Build and support emerging leaders

45 The Census changed our views on how things could be done. We shared our problems and we shared our solutions Ian Poiner, Chair of the SSC

46 The Alfred P Sloan Foundation for the vision and courage to support such a challenging project Jesse Ausubel for his commitment to this review The staff of the Secretariat for support To all those who willingly gave up their time to talk to me and share ideas