Vision
Our vision is an interoperable digital information system for natural science that advances research, conservation efforts, and public understanding of the natural world.
Mission
Our mission is to build and maintain an open-source, standards-based digital information system for the natural sciences where organizations and experts share in its development and success.
What makes the DINA system unique?
Integrated and Interoperable Data
The DINA system provides tools and resources that enable the integration of diverse and heterogeneous data types, such as specimen records, species occurrences, environmental data, multimedia content, and other relevant data, into a modular and interoperable information system. This integration allows for a holistic approach for data management, data-driven research and conservation efforts in natural science organizations.
Data Management Best Practices
The DINA system promotes best practices for data management, including quality assurance, standardization, sharing, and curation, which ensure the accuracy, reliability, and longevity of natural science data. This helps organizations and researchers effectively manage and curate their data, enhance its quality and its usability.
User-Centric Design
The DINA consortium prioritizes user-centric design principles in the development of interfaces, search capabilities, and data entry, making it intuitive, user-friendly, and accessible to a wide range of users.
Community Engagement and Capacity Building
The DINA consortium actively engages with the natural science community, including museums, herbaria, botanical gardens, and collection holding organizations, and other stakeholders, through workshops, conferences, training programs, and collaborative projects. This fosters community engagement, knowledge exchange, and capacity building that empowers users to effectively manage collections.
Open-Source and Community-Driven Approach
The DINA system is a collaborative, open-source digital information system with a community-driven approach. This encourages active participation and contribution from the natural science community, promotes innovation, and allows for customization and adaptability to evolving technologies and data standards.
Sustainability and Longevity
The DINA consortium is committed to strategies that make certain the platform is sustainable and long-lasting. These include securing funding, establishing new partnerships and bolstering existing partnerships, and periodically reviewing its governance model. These foundations ensure that the solid pillars of development, maintenance, and availability uphold a reliable and enduring resource for natural science data management.
Our mantra
Uniting data, accelerating discovery.