An overview of the SYNTHESYS 3 project, given at the SYNTHESYS3 Kick-off meeting by Vince Smith on 13th March, 2014.

1. Vince Smith, Project Co-ordinator

2. SYNTHESYS3 Partners
19 European partners (museums, botanic gardens, research centers, universities & SME’s)

3. SYNTHESYS3 Activities

4. SYNTHESYS3 Project
structure
• 11 Taxonomic Access Facilities (WP5)
• 1 Joint Research Activity (WP4):
– improve access to data stored digitally within NH Institutions
– by developing mechanisms that enable institutions to enrich digital
media with metadata
– to increase their usability to a broad range of potential Users
• 3 Networking Activities:
– NA1: Management (part of WP1)
– NA2: Collections management of emerging / new collections (WP2)
– NA3: Innovation, Impact and Sustainability (WP3)

5. • Coordinator: link with EU
• Lead of WP1: Management
- Administer financial contribution
- Keep records and financial accounts
- Submit reports + Deliverables to the
Commission
- Monitor compliance by Beneficiaries
• Lead of WP5: TAF management
• Lead of WP13: GB-TAF
• Involved in NAs, JRA + Access
NHM role

6. SYNTHESYS3 Project Websites
Management
-Project structure
-Deliverables
-Communication
Access
-Applications & review
-Public outputs

7. SYNTHESYS2 Access outputs
• 2,246 eligible Access applications received
• 10,714 User Days delivered
• 2,100 outputs from Users to date (of the 956 “accepted”, “in press” or
“published”, 712 in peer-reviewed journals)
SYNTHESYS3 Call 1: 713 eligible applications received
(>100 above the previous record)

8. SYNTHESYS2 Joint Research Activity outputs
• JRA outputs removed barriers to access to specimens for DNA sampling:
– JRA1: software to help curators and users determine likelihood of
specimens containing recoverable DNA.
– JRA2: creation of DNA libraries to reduce need to re-sample rare
museum specimens
– JRA3: investigated use of micro-sampling techniques to minimise
intervention in bone and other materials
– JRA4: developed new protocols for users to carry out efficient
mining of herbarium collections for DNA
– JRA5: tested alternative DNA extraction protocols on fresh
and museum preserved mollusc specimens

9. SYNTHESYS2 Networking Activity outputs
• NA2 outputs:
– Performance Indicators for collections management
– web-based self-assessment tool for NH collections
– groundings of competency framework for collections staff
– training modules
– online forum for collections managers
• NA3 outputs:
– automation of capturing specimen label data
– Crowdsourcing
– “reverse wrapper” mechanism to feedback annotations to owning
institution
– improved annotation systems
– tailored web portals providing access to specimen data
– software improvements

10. Digital collections central to NHM Science strategy
NHM collections comprise c.80m objects
Physical register: c.5m
Digital data: 2.8m

11. NHM Experiments in Crowdsourcing
• NHM Bird registers
• No advertising
• Technically very difficult
Not charismatic
Not an ideal starting project

12. NHM Experiments in Crowdsourcing
1 user with 32,629 transcriptions!
92 users with 100+ transcriptions
363 users with 1 transcription
• 13 Aug. 2013 - 9 Feb. 2014
• No. transcriptions 87,000
• Total records 21750
• Logged in transcribers 494 (90%
of transcriptions)
• Not logged in transcribers 504
(10%)

13. • NA2 introduction (10.30-11.30, TvR, MfN)
• JRA introduction (11.30-12.30), DH, RBGE)
LUNCH (12.30-13.30)
• New consortium members as Access Providers (KG)
• Risk Register (KG+VS)
• NA1 update (KG)
• Reporting and next stage payments (KG)
COFFEE (15.00-15.15)
• NA3 kick-off: (15.15-17.30, FK)
– NA3 introduction
– NA3 work plan drafting
– NA3 objectives / tasks feedback
Kick-Off Agenda