Galapagos Knowledge Management Initiative Background Research Notes Dan Sherman Version 3, 5/24/11 Table of Contents About This Document ................................................................................................... 3 Knowledge Management and Decision Support Systems (DSS) ............................... 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 4 Definitions ................................................................................................................. 5 DSS Examples ........................................................................................................... 6 Knowledge Management Links ................................................................................ 7 New Zealand Land Use Planning Programs .............................................................. 10 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 10 Creating Futures and Sustainable Pathways 2 ..................................................... 11 Deliberation Tools (Creating Futures) ................................................................... 13 Mediated Modeling (Sustainable Pathways 2) ....................................................... 13 Ecuadorian Information Management ....................................................................... 15 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 15 Ecuadorian Geospatial Systems ............................................................................ 15 Galapagos Data Portals .......................................................................................... 18 Species-related Databases and Efforts ..................................................................... 19 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 19 Taxonomy/Phylogeny ............................................................................................. 19 Invasive Species ..................................................................................................... 23 Endangered Species ............................................................................................... 24 Biodiversity Information Aggregation Services .................................................... 24 Collections/Specimen Aggregation Services ........................................................ 29 Occurrence/Observations ...................................................................................... 30 Citizen Science ............................................................................................................ 33 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 33 Examples ................................................................................................................. 33 Ecological, Socioeconomic, and Climate Information ............................................. 35 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 35 Ecological, Land Use, and Socioeconomic Information....................................... 35 Governance (Ecosystem Management, Governance, Endangered Species) ...... 40 Ecosystem Modeling............................................................................................... 41 Climate ..................................................................................................................... 42 Civic Resource Management ..................................................................................... 43 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 43 Resources ................................................................................................................ 43 Technical Information and Resources ....................................................................... 45 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 45 Framework ............................................................................................................... 45 1 Visualization ............................................................................................................ 46 Standards for data exchange ................................................................................. 46 Database .................................................................................................................. 47 Geospatial ................................................................................................................ 47 Cloud computing ..................................................................................................... 48 2 About This Document This document is an organized version of rough notes taken while researching examples and online resources for the Galapagos Knowledge Management Project. It is intended to be used as a framework for further investigations and is by no means a comprehensive summary of any of the topics covered. The amount of information presented for a particular topic does not necessarily reflect the importance of that topic, but instead may reflect the amount and accessibility of information available online, and/or the amount of time I spent researching that topic. Note: Occasionally hyperlinks clicked in this document (especially links to pdf files) will not work properly. In these cases, copying the link and pasting directly into a browser should solve the problem. 3 Knowledge Management and Decision Support Systems (DSS) Introduction Knowledge Management (KM) refers to strategies and practices that aim to capture and distribute the knowledge inherent in an organization or process. The difference between Knowledge Management and Information Management is nicely summarized in a book by Dr. Randy J. Frid (link below): "Information Management delivers information; Knowledge Management helps manage what people do with the information." So, while information management refers to the capture and management of information, it usually doesn't involve capture of what that information means or its utility. Knowledge management builds on information management and additionally includes the capture of explicit and/or tacit knowledge. Knowledge can be added by processing the information through computer models and (more commonly) through people. Care must be taken when considering the terms "knowledge management" and "information management," as even experts in those fields can define them somewhat differently. For an excellent discussion of knowledge management versus information management, see this brief article by Alan Gillies, a professor of Information Management at the University of Central Lancashire. This is a must-read: http://www.brighthub.com/computing/enterprise-security/articles/66860.aspx There are a number of terms used for computerized systems that implement knowledge management strategies, including Management Information System (MIS), Decision Support System (DSS), Executive Information System (EIS), and Expert System. While all of these can be somewhat similar, Decision Support Systems (DSS) specifically support decision-making activities and are commonly used at the corporate and government levels. Many examples of DSSs include the use of computerized models to aid in the decision- making process. Some involve very specific decisions made by modeling uniform and predictive data, for example water release at dams based on water levels and weather forecasts. However, there are DSSs that are more complex and broad in scope and that incorporate human knowledge and expertise. Those used at the government level tend to be much more complex and can be narrow or broad in scope (e.g. financial system modeling based on currency values or land use planning based on socioeconomic, resource, and ecological data). Implementation details for Knowledge Management projects and Decision Support Systems are difficult to find online. This may be in part because there is no incentive for those implementing the systems to spend the time and money to make their details publicly available. There may also be significant proprietary components to some of these systems. KM is a fairly broad field with quite a sizable academic component. There are many ways of approaching the development of KM strategies (sometimes referred to as "models") and DSSs. There are many organizations (government and corporate) that have implemented these programs, but online details are scarce. Costs are high, and though no specific numbers are 4 available, I believe implementation of most significant DSSs requires a multi-year commitment and multiple millions, if not tens of millions, of dollars. Information Management Systems and Knowledge Management Systems that do not include a computer modeling component, on the other hand, may require much less funding and, if built with forethought, could be integrated into a DSS in the future. There are consultants who specialize in this field and it may be useful to seek out their expertise (especially regarding DSSs) . Definitions Knowledge Management http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management "Knowledge