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Endorsement of new data publishers
Introduction
Prospective data publishers must be endorsed by a GBIF node or the Participant Node
Managers Committee before they can be registered and allowed to publish data to the GBIF
network. Documentation on this subject consists of the following parts:
1. Background summary and context on what endorsement is and why it is necessary
2. Questionnaire to be completed by a prospective data publisher
3. Guidelines and criteria to help endorsers in evaluating potential new data publishers
4. Endorsement role players and diagrammatic workflow
Background summary and context
Before datasets can be indexed into the central access system (www.gbif.org), the institution
or organization sharing the data has to be approved as a data publisher by a GBIF
Participant, through a procedure called "endorsement". The endorsement procedure aims to
secure the following key outcomes:
(1) that published data are relevant to GBIF’s scope and objectives;
(2) stable, persistent data hosting
(3) strong national, regional and thematic engagement around data publishing and use
(4) open data sharing and reuse
(5) improved data quality through responsiveness of data publishers to feedback
To help the endorsing GBIF Participant make an informed decision, a prospective data
publisher is requested to complete an online questionnaire or a PDF form version return it to
GBIF Secretariat.
Questionnaire
online form as well as pdf form
Items marked as (***) are considered critical for facilitating decision making. Items marked
as (**) are important and should be provided where known, while those marked as (*) are
useful and should also be provided to help the GBIF community to know your institution
better.
Contact information for your institution (or organization)

Name of institution***

Institutional email*** and telephone number**

Administrative contact person’s name***, email*** and telephone number**

Technical contact person’s name***, email*** and telephone number**

Institutional web address**

Institutional physical address*
Scope in relation to the GBIF mission
GBIF deals with biodiversity data of the following types: species occurrence records
including spatial and temporal information based on observations, specimens and other
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evidence; sample-based data including measures of abundance based on defined sampling
protocols; species checklists including area-based and thematic lists as well as taxonomic
catalogues; and structured metadata describing biological datasets. Briefly describe the
scope of your institution/organization in relation to GBIF's mission (e.g. collection holdings,
research focus, biodiversity information management, etc.).***
Data hosting capacity
GBIF.org provides a data access service that presents an index of published primary data
and metadata. The responsibility of hosting the original data remains with the data publisher
or owner. In order to fulfil this requirement, please answer the following questions.

Do you have EITHER the capacity to run a live server, OR access to a server,
through which your original dataset will be served to GBIF.org?***

Are you planning to install and run a publishing software installation such as the
GBIF Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT)1 , BioCASe2, etc, on your server, or the
server to which you have access, to publish your data directly to GBIF.org? ***

If you have answered NO to either of the previous questions: are you aware of a
technical host institution that would be able to perform these functions on your
behalf?
o
If YES, please specify
o
If NO, would you like to receive suggestions for such a data hosting
facility?***
Example dataset
In order to assist us to understand the nature of your data, please provide a link to some
example data holdings, or send a sample spreadsheet by email, if either is available*
Responsiveness to feedback

Are you willing and able to take reasonable measures to respond to queries and
feedback from users of your dataset?*
Endorsing Participant node***

Publishers from GBIF Participant Countries
o
If your country is a GBIF Voting Participant (see list at
http://www.gbif.org/participation/list#voting) or Associate Country Participant
(see list at http://www.gbif.org/participation/list#associate) we will seek
endorsement from your national node unless you specifically request for
endorsement from one of the organisational nodes also referred to as Other
Associate Participant (see list at http://www.gbif.org/participation/list#other).
Please select one option on who will endorse you.



I wish to be endorsed by my national node
I wish to be endorsed by Other Associate Participant and select
>>>>>>
Publishers from countries that are not yet GBIF Participants and intergovernmental
organizations, international organizations and other organizations with an
international scope, and economies
1 http://www.gbif.org/ipt
2 http://www.biocase.org/
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o
If you are from or a country that is not currently a participating member of
GBIF or other described organization types and therefore do not have a
national node, please indicate one of the following endorsement options:

1. My institution has an existing connection with one of the
organisations currently participating in GBIF (see list at
http://www.gbif.org/participation/list#other) and I request endorsement
from the following organization: ……………….. You are encouraged
to inform the organisation you select to endorse you about your
decision.

2. We request the GBIF Secretariat to seek endorsement on our
behalf from the wider GBIF community through the GBIF Participant
Nodes Committee.
Terms and conditions
I have read and understood GBIF's Data Use Agreement
(http://www.gbif.org/disclaimer/datause) and Data Sharing Agreement
(http://www.gbif.org/disclaimer/datasharing)
I understand that I am seeking registration on behalf of my institution, and
confirm that the responsible authorities of my institution are aware of this registration.
I understand that my institutional information, including the contact details
provided, will be made publicly available in GBIF.org
Please return the filled questionnaire to: [not applicable in case of an online form]
GBIF Secretariat, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
email: helpdesk@gbif.org
fax: +45-35321480
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Endorsement guidelines and criteria for endorsers
Endorsement of new data publishers is a GBIF community standard that aims to secure the
following key outcomes:
1. data of relevance to GBIF’s scope and objectives
2. stable, persistent data hosting
3. strong national, regional and thematic engagement around data publishing and use
4. open data sharing and reuse
5. improved data quality through responsiveness of data publishers to feedback
A Node Manager should endorse a prospective publisher if s/he judges that the applicant
acts as the authorized representative of a bona fide institution/entity, fulfilling the following
criteria:
1. has, or will have, datasets of potential scientific interest consistent with GBIF's
mission
2. has the technical capacity or access to technical capacity to ensure that the datasets
are served in suitable formats and remain online (sustainable solution)
3. is able to respond to requests for further curation of published data
4. Accepts the GBIF Data Use Agreement3 and Data Sharing Agreement4
The Node Manager makes a judgement based on the information provided in the
questionnaire and where appropriate through direct communication with the prospective
publisher. The criteria may be met at the time of first registration, or aspired to and
established during interactions between prospective publisher, endorsing node and the
Secretariat.
Minimum requirements for endorsement
It is highly recommended that endorsers check that the prospective publisher has
satisfactorily addressed the questions on the following aspects:
Existence or authenticity of the institution/organization
This is to ensure that GBIF endorses only institutions or organizations known to exist.
Societies and networks qualify to be treated as organizations. Individuals are not currently
eligible for registration but they can publish through an institution/organization or network
and they will be properly credited and cited as the owners or authors of the respective
datasets. Knowing the address of the institution and the contact persons will facilitate
communication and networking, for example in dealing with queries and feedback on data
quality. It is highly recommended that two contact persons are indicated to provide an
alternative in the event that one contact cannot be reached.
Scope aligned with the GBIF mission
This is to ensure that nodes endorse only those institutions dealing with biological data with
relevance to the current scope of GBIF. The guidance provided to prospective publishers
defines such data as: species occurrence records including spatial and temporal
information based on observations, specimens and other evidence; sample-based data
including measures of abundance based on defined sampling protocols; species checklists
3 http://www.gbif.org/disclaimer/datause
4 http://www.gbif.org/disclaimer/datasharing
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including area-based and thematic lists as well as taxonomic catalogues; and structured
metadata describing biological datasets. Nodes are requested not to endorse
institutions that appear to hold data entirely outside the current scope of GBIF’s
mission. To help with this judgement, prospective publishers are requested to provide links
to example datasets and/or attach example spreadsheets that will be forwarded to nodes
where available. It should be noted that some publishers may deliver data beyond their own
individual institutional scope as they may host datasets from diverse institutions. If in doubt,
please consult GBIFS.
Stable data hosting services or a third party host identified
GBIF.org provides a data access service that presents an index of published primary data
and metadata. The responsibility of hosting the original data remains with the data publisher
or owner. Answers to this question will help the Node Manager and GBIFS to support the
new data publisher in finding a hosting solution if they do not yet have one. Many new
publishers may not meet this requirement at the time of first registration. Node Managers
should examine possible solutions that would enable this criterion to be met. The node
institution itself may be able to offer a technical hosting solution, or may request such
facilities from other publishers within its network. GBIFS may be able to offer advice on
alternative hosting solutions.
Acceptance of the GBIF Data Use Agreement and Data Sharing Agreement
A new publisher applies for registration because it expects to publish datasets on GBIF.org.
In keeping with GBIF’s commitment to promote open access and a re-use culture, publishers
are expected to understand from the outset that they should not impose unnecessary
restrictions on their data. To be endorsed, publishers must accept the conditions specified in
the two agreements. Furthermore, GBIF will shortly require all publishers to assign datasets
to one of the three Creative Commons licences (CC0, CC-BY and CC-BY-NC) or their
equivalent provisions.
Responsiveness to feedback
A new publisher will be expected to show willingness to respond to questions and feedback
from users of their data. The publisher may delegate the task to individual owners of the
datasets. Annotations and community curation will in future offload part if this responsibility
from publishers, but the general policy remains to ensure best possible data quality at
source. A negative answer to this question should not result in denial of endorsement, but
Node Managers should in such circumstances strive to encourage publishers to find
alternative solutions since this responsibility is critical in furthering the quality and value of
published data.
Additional guidance notes
How far should datasets be evaluated during endorsement?
While the formal endorsement of an institution does not require the evaluation of data (other
than examining example datasets to ensure the institution is within the scope of a GBIF data
publisher), it is nevertheless very valuable to take the opportunity of the endorsement stage
to establish an ongoing working relationship between the endorsing node and the new
publisher. Dataset evaluation, including the application of quality control routines, is an
optional step practised by some nodes and forms part of wider community efforts to improve
the fitness-for-use of data accessed through the GBIF network. Endorsement of datasets will
be the subject of a separate process (see Fig. 1)
What if the endorser has doubts?
If the Node Manager has doubts on any points based on the information provided in the
questionnaire, he/she should contact the prospective publisher for clarification. Node
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Managers are also at liberty to carry out due diligence about the organization/institution by
making inquiries within the community, checking online sources or other means of
investigation. The Node Manager should strive to use all available information provided by
the prospective publisher, and from other sources when necessary, in making a fair
judgement in the spirit of acting as a good ‘gatekeeper’ for the GBIF community and
furthering its mission.
Does endorsing a data publisher have legal implications?
The endorsement process is a GBIF community procedure and not a legal process. In
general, the GBIF community recommends an inclusive rather than over-restrictive
approach, and where criteria are not met initially, nodes should seek potential solutions
before recommending that endorsement be denied.
What if an endorsement is denied, could the prospective publisher 'try' to be endorsed by
another endorsing node or appeal the decision?
In principle the GBIF Community should strive to be inclusive and work with prospective
publishers so that they can meet the minimum requirements for endorsement. In the unlikely
event that endorsement is denied and the prospective publisher is dissatisfied, they may
appeal through their national node and if the issues are not resolved, the appeal moves to
the Nodes Steering Group (NSG). If the NSG cannot resolve the issue, the final arbiter will
be the Executive Committee (EC). Matters pertaining to intergovernmental organizations,
international organizations and other organizations with an international scope, and
economies that are not subject to national nodes will be dealt with at the NSG and EC levels.
The GBIF Secretariat will have no role in the decision making during appeals but will serve
the administrative role of being the communication office for the appellant and the decision
makers at the national node, NSG and EC.
Is an endorsement valid forever or can it be revoked?
In principle endorsement is supposed to be a one-time process and therefore once a
publisher has been endorsed, they should not have to undergo endorsement again in future.
Endorsers should take the exercise seriously to avoid situations that could lead them to
change their mind about their decision in future. However in the unlikely event that a
registered data publisher is deemed to be unsuitable to continue as a GBIF publisher, the
endorsement could be revoked through a formal process as follows, if all efforts to rectify the
situation are unsuccessful. The revocation case with sufficient justification would be brought
to the national node where applicable then to the NSG and finally to the EC for final
approval. A data publisher whose endorsement is revoked can reapply after X period to
become a data publisher again, in which case they would have to go through the
endorsement process as a new data publisher and also demonstrate that the reasons for
their revocation have been cured.
Service charters
Nodes are encouraged to develop service charters based on their capacities to ensure that
the endorsement is carried out in a timely and predictable manner. This will help to manage
expections of prospective publishers and avoid stalling of processes. Such service charters
should spell out what the node does; contact details – email, telephone, skype, chat, etc;
standard of service that publishers can expect, e.g., response times, timeliness in decision
making; feedback and handling of complaints. Since these service charters will differ from
one node to another, it is important for endorsers to consider a reasonable turnaround time
for decision making. In this way GBIF Secretariat in consultation with the endorsing node
can keep reasonable timelines in which to report back to prospective publishers.
Community level endorsement process through the Nodes Steering Group (NSG)
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For cases in which a prospective data publisher is in a country not yet participating in GBIF,
and has no connections with an existing Participant node, the Secretariat will write to the
holders of the following under listed positions in the NSG, to request for an endorsing node
to be identified:
1. NSG chair
2. NSG first vice chair
3. NSG second vice chair
4. Regional Representative(where relevant)
5. Regional Deputy Representative (where relevant)
The respective Regional Representative will identify an endorsing node if the prospective
publisher falls clearly within their respective region, and inform the other NSG members and
copy GBIFS. The GBIFS will communicate with the identified endorser on behalf of the NSG,
when at least 3 NSG members have responded and agreed, by furnishing the endorser with
the completed questionnaire from the prospective publisher as well as the guidelines and
criteria for endorsement.
The NSG post holders through their chair may endorse a prospective publisher without
reverting to identify a node to carry out the procedure in the following cases:
i.
If a publisher is from a country that does not fall in any specific GBIF region.
ii.
Where the NSG makes a judgement that identifying a specific node to carry out the
endorsement might lead to negative sensitivities.
iii.
If an endorsing node identified by the NSG becomes unresponsive to GBIFS and
NSG communications, or fails to complete the endorsement procedure in reasonable
time and the NSG considers it not feasible to identify a new endorsing node.
All endorsements that will be done through the NSG will be regarded as endorsements by
the Nodes Committee and only the collective name, ‘Participant Node Managers
Committee’ will appear on GBIF website as the endorser and not the specific name of the
endorsing node if involved.
Endorsement role players and diagrammatic workflow (Fig. 1)
This diagram summarizes the endorsement procedure. (1) A prospective publisher
approaches the GBIF Secretariat (GBIFS) directly or through a Participant node, and is
asked to complete a questionnaire. (2) The completed questionnaire is submitted, online or
by email, to GBIFS which then (3a) passes it on to the preferred endorsing node where
indicated. (3b) In cases where the prospective publisher is from a country that is not yet a
GBIF Participant and has no connection to an existing Participant node endorsement will
follow the community-level endorsement process defined by the Nodes Steering Group
(NSG). (4) The endorsing node or NSG evaluates the new publisher’s application following
GBIF community guidelines and criteria]. Interactions with the prospective publisher,
endorsing node or NSG and GBIFS may follow, for example to clarify issues based on the
completed questionnaire and to seek technical solutions for data hosting. (5a) The decision
of the endorsing node or the (5b) NSG defined process is communicated to GBIFS which in
turn (6) informs the prospective publisher. Where endorsement is approved, the institution is
registered as a GBIF data publisher and GBIFS may proceed to index datasets when
submitted.
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Fig. 1: Endorsement workflow