Identification of data needs in the agri-food research. The case study of the Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP)

1. DARUP Workshop 2014
Data problems for agri-food researchers
EUDAT Data Access and Reuse
Policy Working Group
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014
Babis Thanopoulos, Nikos Manouselis
Agro-Know

2. An extraordinary company that captures, organizes
and adds value to the rich information available in
agricultural and biodiversity sciences, in order to
make it universally accessible, useful and meaningful.
http://www.agroknow.gr
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

3. We develop and put in real
practice solutions that transform
data into meaningful knowledge
and services
We help people discover
the value in the data
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

4. leading data interoperability work
• Agricultural Interoperability Interest Group
(IG) at Research Data Alliance (RDA)
• Database Subgroup, Knowledge & Learning
Systems Working Group, Global Food Safety
Partnership (GFSP)
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

5. What is the GFSP goal?
rapid scaling of food safety
practices around the world
http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture/brief/global-
food-safety-partnership
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

6. In what ways can open models
achieve this goal?
leverage investments
impact diverse stakeholders
foster diverse business models
See the Open Models Concept Paper
http://bit.ly/1p729Jm
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

7. What should technology do?
provide a federated infrastructure as the data
sharing backbone
develop a modular and scalable
architecture that may embrace and
facilitate the creation of “global” networks
for food safety capacity building
Initial thoughts:
http://sloanconsortium.org/jaln/v17n2/open-and-scalable-learning-infrastructure-food-safety
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

8. identifying requirements
for the GFSP information sharing
platform
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

9. the process
Identification of
representative stakeholder
institutes & personas within
Interviews on data
problems & sources
Mapping data problems to
GFSP platform
requirements / features
Validation of GFSP platform
features
• example of representative institute:
International Livestock Research
Institute (ILRI)
• example of representative persona:
ILRI epidemiologist
• collection of microbial dairy
quality data
• data sharing
• …
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014
http://greenlearningnetwork.com/gfsp/

10. example of agri-food researcher:
ILRI epidemiologist
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

11. persona
• Investigates the behavior of diseases in animal populations (e.g.
through interviews with farm workers)
• characterizes diseases in animals and humans for better
understanding the infectious agent
• gathers data on disease hosts
• interested in zoonoses (e.g. examines zoonotic diseases in pigs at
slaughter, checking the occupational risks at work)
• collects samples for laboratory analysis (together with a medical
officer)
• uses analytical techniques to discover the infectious agent from a
sample of population
• characterizes the infectious agent
https://aghealth.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/slaughterhouse-5/
Annie Cook, a graduate fellow at the International Livestock
Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya, is a veterinary epidemiologist
with the following responsibilities:
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

12. related information / data
• population demographics & statistical data
• research articles in journals publications
• newsletters
• conference presentations & papers in published
proceedings
• chapters in books
• corporate outputs
• secondary / processed data
• food risk assessment
• project reports, papers and documents
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

13. challenges in current workflow
• data collection and sharing
• limited primary data discovery and validation
• time-consuming & laborious data identification and
documentation
• limitation in accessing relevant publications
• difficulty to discover peers to collaborate and to
exchange knowledge & experience
• multiple databases for processed data storage and
curation
• dissemination own research outcomes
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

14. possible GFSP platform features
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

15. improve curation of data
• focus on making data documentation, storage,
management and sharing easier
a) migrate existing databases (Mahider, ILRI website, ILRI
datasets Portal, ILRI GIS Portal & Podomatic) in single
data repository
b) improve data organization & classification schemes
(e.g. by zoonoses)
c) improve data curation & filtering workflows (document
& store data once, feed multiple sites/access points)
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

16. central data repository
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

17. advanced data organization & classification
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

18. use single data repository for all ILRI sites
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

19. improve discovery & processing
• focus on zoonotic diseases reports
a) extend coverage of data types
b) extend coverage of data sources (include more sites
with zoonoses and infectious agents)
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

20. add more (relevant) data sources
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

21. connect with other research groups
• focus on exchanging knowledge / experience among
different research groups
a) find researchers with similar research activities
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

22. community of ILRI / external epidemiologists
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

23. next steps
• deploy & validate GFSP demonstrator (Global Food
Safety Knowledge Hub)
– develop core infrastructure components & services
– test & validate in selected KLSWG use cases (e.g.
additional personas)
• Pilot setting up local GFSP demonstrators (Local
Food Safety Knowledge Hubs) in capacity building
projects
– adapt & provide federated knowledge discovery
services to existing or new projects
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014

24. thank you
more info
www.agroknow.gr
info@agroknow.gr
cthanopoulos@agroknow.gr
nikosm@agroknow.gr
DARUP Workshop, Rome, 11-12 November, 2014