NBII Regional Node Functions

Provide life cycle management, including acquisition, storage, and dissemination of biological information.
Provide the infrastructure to support access and dissemination of biological spatial and non-spatial data in multiple formats 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Provide support for the development and implementation of biological tools to aid researchers and data providers in the acquisition of, generation of required metadata for, and dissemination of biological information.
Ensure that data collection, processing, and retrieval activities are compatible with information management standards.
Interact seamlessly with other NBII Regional Nodes to ensure effective information acquisition, storage, and dissemination.
Assist in the coordination of regional biological data capturing and acquisition activities.
Perform biological clearinghouse functions related to the management and distribution of biological data and metadata.
Establish regional marketing strategies to promote the node's capabilities and functionality, including establishment of partnerships with regional biological information-producing sources.
Perform archiving functions for both spatial and non-spatial data until an alternative or more effective method exists. May include large online or real-time storage arrays to provide instant access to archived biological information and datasets.
Serve a variety of customers and clients, including government researchers and program managers, the private sector, educational institutions, and the public.
Employ commercial off-the-shelf software, when appropriate, as a means of acquiring, processing, and delivering biological information.
Facilitate easy publication of biological information by scientists and researchers, along with automatic indexing and cataloging in support of further analysis and dissemination of biological information.
Allow for the backup and mirroring of related Regional Node repositories to alleviate technology concerns caused by sporadic system failure or data access issues.
Continually develop new technologies, tools, and techniques as they relate to the life-cycle management of biological information.
Allow a variety of biological communities the ability to perform high-end computations on biological datasets.
Provide training and support to diverse audiences in the use of NBII tools, processes, and principles.
Maintain full documentation of Regional Node processes and procedures.
Conduct annual management reviews and self-assessments to monitor the overall effectiveness of the node's performance in meeting goals and objectives.

Last Updated: Friday, 08-Jun-2001 14:01:58 MDT