EDIT Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
The ISTC has decided that a co-ordinated international effort is needed to create an Internet Platform for Cybertaxonomy, i.e. a distributed computing platform that assists taxonomists to do revisionary taxonomy and taxonomic field work efficiently, expediently and via the web.
The objectives of the EDIT MoU are: • To contribute to the reduction of fragmentation and the transformation of taxonomy into an integrated science • To strengthen the scientific, technological and information capacities needed for Europe • To progress toward a trans-national entity by encouraging durable integration of taxonomic institutions • To promote the spreading of excellence to fulfill the needs of biodiversity and ecosystem research for taxonomy based information.
EDIT plans to initiate a series of MoUs, each identical except for the understandings or agreements stated in Paragraph 4. Four different templates are available up to now: 1) Content management system for websites with taxonomic data 2) Data transfer standard for collection unit data 3) Cooperation between the libraries of EDIT partner institutions. 4) MoU names and Classification Services EDIT partners will be invited to sign up to whichever MoU they can, facilitating an agreement between partners and EDIT.
A FORUM has been created for EDIT partners to draft appropriate understandings or agreements for Paragraph 4. By logging in via "user log in", ISTC members will be able to edit existing proposed agreements or suggest further ideas.
- FORUM for ISTC members here