Biodiversity data come from many different sources and occur in a range of different forms and formats – museum specimens, observations by amateurs or professionals, from static or mobile recording devices, photographic or video-graphic images, audio recordings, vegetation transects, bioblitzs, laboratory measurements, DNA sequences, character traits, statistics, models and more. As more data becomes readily available, the number of uses to which the data may be put is also increasing rapidly. For the data to be useful however (i.e. fit for use for a particular purpose), it needs documented quality characteristics. Some potential uses may have legal ramifications, and as such, may need to be defensible in a court of law. But unless we have standard ways to test and document the data, we have no way of defending the data. It is for this reason that the TDWG-GBIF Data Quality Interest Group was floated in 2013 and formally adopted in 2014. Since that time, a lot of thought and work has gone into how standardization assists in the use of biodiversity data. We have submitted a Framework for pulication, developed a core set of tests and assertions based on the Darwin Core fields and begun the formalization of a core set of Use Cases. If we get these standards adopted universally by data custodians, data publishers and by users themselves, we will have made the use of biodiversity data more efficient. This is our next challenge, and we hope to use this meeting to gain your support to achieve that end.
