Manuela da Silva is the General Manager of the Fiocruz COVID-19 Biobank for human biological material and viruses in Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz/Brazilian Ministry of Health). Currently she is Vice President of the World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC), member of the Executive Committee of the Global Genome Biodiversity Network (GGBN) and of the Ethics, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee of the Earth BioGenome Project. She is also member of the DSI Scientific Network. From 2011 until 2015 she was a member of the Brazilian ABS National Competent Authority (CGen/Ministry of Environment). Since 2017 she has been the Coordinator of the Academic Sectorial Chamber of the ABS Competent National Authority. She has experience in culture collections and in legislation of access and benefit sharing (ABS). David Nicholson is Policy Advisor at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, a non-profit genomics research institute near Cambridge, UK. He has an interest in a number of genomics-related policy areas, including access and benefit sharing of Digital Sequence Information, and he contributes to the Sanger Institute's Research Culture initiative by leading a project on equity in international collaborations. David has a scientific background, having recently completed a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Leeds.

1. Overview of the CBD
Policy Options Matrix
How do the policy options for DSI measure up?
Manuela da Silva – Fiocruz, Brazil
David Nicholson – Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK
See
https://www.dsiscientificnetwork.org/dsi-policy-options-for-benefit-
sharing-by-dsi-scientific-network-2/
for complete analysis

2. The Performance Matrix
The Informal Advisory Group on Digital
Sequence Information on genetic resources
(DSI) have developed a framework for the
multi-criteria analysis of possible policy options
for benefit-sharing from the use of DSI
(CBD/WG2020/3/4/Add.1).
This matrix allows policy options to be
assessed against 19 sub-criteria within 4 main
criteria:
A. Effective in achieving policy goals
B. Efficient and feasible to implement
C. Enables good governance
D. Coherent and adaptable
Overview of presentation:
1) The approach that the DSI Scientific
Network took to analyse the policy options
2) Results of the Network’s analysis,
focusing on high-scoring policy options
3) Take-home messages

3. The DSI Scientific Network’s assessment
Due to the ambiguity in the policy options at this
time, we used a simple scoring system:
• Red – low performing (significant problems or not
relevant)
• Yellow – middle performing
• Green – high performing
The Network assessed an additional ‘Hybrid’ option
(CBD/WG2020/3/INF/8 paragraph 40), i.e. a
combination of bilateral and multilateral benefit-
sharing depending on whether:
• Single or multiple DSI are used
• Country of origin is known or not known

4. Considerations from a research perspective
1. Researchers upload, download and use DSI
largely from open, globally interconnected, public
databases. For example, there are no monetary
costs or registration requirements to access
nucleotide sequence DSI from INSDC.
2. Research, and thus benefit-generation, relies on
the comparison and analysis of large volumes of
DSI within the global dataset.
3. Research and scientific capacity building is often
conducted through international collaboration.
Such collaboration is greatly facilitated by the
sharing of data globally.
These considerations may explain
the reasoning behind some of our
analysis, particular Criteria A
(‘Effective in achieving policy goals’)

5. Results: high-scoring options
Option 3.2. Other payments and contributions. Benefits are
paid into a multilateral fund for benefit-sharing. Distinct from
Option 3.1 (payment for access to DSI). We have focused on a
sub-option involving cloud-based DSI models.
Option 4. Enhanced technical and scientific capacity and
cooperation. E.g. research collaborations, training, knowledge
platforms, technology transfer, technology co-development,
database infrastructure. We have assumed that there would not
be enforcement requirements for providers or users.
Option 6. 1% levy on retail sales of genetic resources.
Multilateral fund financed through a levy on retail sales of goods
that arise from utilisation of DSI/GR. We have assumed the
multilateral system would be the rule and any remaining bilateral
procedures would be exceptions.

6. Results: high-scoring options
Criteria A (Effective in Achieving Policy Goals):
• Benefit-sharing is decoupled from access to DSI. Therefore,
access to public databases remains open, and research &
innovation is not hindered (in fact, R&I may be supported,
especially by Option 4)
• Benefits will continue to be generated – thus these options
have potential to deliver monetary and non-monetary benefits
• Caveat – Option 3.2 does not focus on non-monetary
benefit sharing
• Caveat – Option 4 does not address monetary benefit
sharing
• All options have potential to contribute to conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity
• Caveat – Option 3.2 does not explicitly refer to this
• Caveat – Option 4 only indirectly contributes via
improved research capability
Option 3.2. Other payments and contributions.
Option 4. Enhanced technical and scientific capacity and
cooperation
Option 6. 1% levy on retail sales of genetic resources

7. Results: high-scoring options
Criteria B (Efficient and Feasible to Implement):
• For Options 3.2 and 6, external entities would need to be
involved (e.g. DSI service providers, businesses) which may
affect feasibility of implementation and increase administrative
complexity
• It is unclear how quickly Parties could implement these
Options in practice, especially if national legislation is required
• Option 3.2 and 4 do not directly address DSI use so cannot
easily distinguish commercial from non-commercial DSI use.
Option 3.2. Other payments and contributions.
Option 4. Enhanced technical and scientific capacity and
cooperation
Option 6. 1% levy on retail sales of genetic resources

8. Results: high-scoring options
Criteria C (Enables Good Governance):
• Options 4 and 6 are conceptually simple and easy to
understand. Option 3.2 might be considered more complex.
• Providers do not have direct control of enforcement in a
multilateral system.
• Decoupled multilateral systems put no restrictions on DSI
access, so compliance will likely be high, and risk of
jurisdiction shopping will be low.
• Benefits that have been collected in a multilateral fund could
be directed to indigenous peoples and local communities.
Option 3.2. Other payments and contributions.
Option 4. Enhanced technical and scientific capacity and
cooperation
Option 6. 1% levy on retail sales of genetic resources

9. Results: high-scoring options
Criteria D (Coherent and Adaptable):
• Multilateral approaches have potential to be part of a wider
coherent framework
• Multilateral approaches could capture a broad scope of DSI,
thus accounting for scientific and technological developments
e.g. machine learning algorithms
Option 3.2. Other payments and contributions.
Option 4. Enhanced technical and scientific capacity and
cooperation
Option 6. 1% levy on retail sales of genetic resources

10. Take-home messages
1. Options that decouple access to DSI from benefit-sharing (3.2, 4, 6) would not
compromise open access, and thus would support research into conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity and generate benefits, whilst enabling benefit-sharing.
2. Decoupled multilateral benefit-sharing options recognise the realities of the
scientific DSI ecosystem, where sequences are stored in global datasets and are
used, compared and analysed by researchers around the world. However, even for
multilateral options there are still significant challenges regarding implementation.
3. A combination of multilateral policy options might be the best approach, so that
the relative strengths and weaknesses of different options can complement each
other.
See
https://www.dsiscientificnetwork.org/dsi-policy-options-for-benefit-
sharing-by-dsi-scientific-network-2/
for complete analysis

11. Thank you very much for your attention!
https://www.dsiscientificnetwork.org/contact/
David Nicholson - dn7@sanger.ac.uk
Manuela da Silva – manuela.dasilva@fiocruz.br
See
https://www.dsiscientificnetwork.org/dsi-policy-options-for-benefit-
sharing-by-dsi-scientific-network-2/
for complete analysis