ABOUT
THE SAPRI DATA CENTRE
The SAPRI Data Centre is hosted at the uLwazi Node (the Data and Information Management Node) of the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON).
uLwazi (meaning ‘knowledge’) curates data and develops open data systems and applications, which are distributed on an Open Data Platform (ODP).
MISSION
To provide integrated and secure access to the RIs’ data following the principles of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable).
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
The SAPRI Data Centre will maintain current best practice in relation to its repository management functions and related systems, and best international practices will be adopted for data management.
Through our approach to data and information management, our goals are to:
- Provide integrated and secure access to the RIs’ data by applying the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) model and following the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles
- Facilitate easier access to data infrastructure for stakeholders
- Enhance public and researcher access to data
- Ensure data are reproducible
- Collaborate to ensure an interoperable and internationally networked data infrastructure
- Improve capacity to integrate multidisciplinary data to help derive innovative products and/or drive new scientific discovery
- Support stakeholders through continuous user needs assessments
- Create awareness and provide training for stakeholders on data management
The SAPRI Data Centre aims to ensure that data collected in the polar and South African offshore marine regions are made available and accessible to all to ensure their full reuse potential.
This aim is in accordance with the recent draft Open Science policy from the South African Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and, for the Antarctic, upholds Article III 1(c) of the Antarctic Treaty. We also work to ensure that the original data collectors are properly acknowledged when data are reused through the creation of dataset citations.
The SAPRI Data Centre represents South Africa internationally on polar data issues through the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Standing Committee on Antarctic Data Management (SCADM).
ACCREDITATIONS
SAPRI data is hosted in the SAEON Open Data Platform which was certified by the CoreTrustSeal as a trusted digital repository.
THE TEAM
Belinda Nhesvure
Data Curator
NRF-SAEON (uLwazi Node)
Persephone Leigh Singh
Senior Systems Administrator
NRF-SAEON (uLwazi Node)