Process and panel

Dr Wendy Nelson convened a Royal Society of New Zealand panel on national taxonomic collections, tasked to: 

• Identify the significance of New Zealand’s national taxonomic collections, and collections held internationally that are of significance to New Zealand in terms of:
  • identification, description and classification of organisms
  • wider research in New Zealand
  • training of researchers
• Review the strategic guidance being provided over New Zealand’s national taxonomic collection’s directions, standards and investment, to:
  • identify whether they are enabling the appropriate value to be gained from them, now and in the future
  • identify whether there are strategic approaches to defining primary and secondary collections and the need, or otherwise, for duplication
• Review the taxonomic training being undertaken in New Zealand, in terms of meeting New Zealand’s needs
• Provide recommendations on the funding and capacity of New Zealand’s specialist taxonomic research and training

As part of the study, hold workshops with collection funding agencies, policy makers, educators and end users to help explore some of these issues.

Panel members

Members of the National Taxonomic Collections in New Zealand panel: 

• Dr Wendy Nelson MNZM FRSNZ (Chair), Principal Scientist, Marine Biology, NIWA and Professor, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland
• Dr Ilse Breitwieser, Portfolio Leader/Capability Leader for the Systematics Team, Landcare Research
• Professor Ewan Fordyce FRSNZ, Department of Geology, University of Otago
• Dr Janet Bradford-Grieve ONZM FRSNZ, Emeritus Researcher, Marine Biology, NIWA
• Dr David Penman, Executive Secretary, New Zealand Organisms' Register
• Dr Nick Roskruge, Senior Lecturer/Kaiarahi Maori, Institute of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University
  
• Dr Tom Trnski, Head of Natural Sciences, Auckland War Memorial Museum
• Dr Susan Waugh, Senior Curator Sciences, Te Papa
• Dr Colin Webb FRSNZ, environmental scientist

Evidence gathering

As part of the evidence gathering process the Panel sought expert views on the following question:

• In 2035, what would an effective process for supporting, developing and managing our taxonomic collections, databases, information systems and associated research look like?

Information about whether responders were a user of taxonomy/collections (be it through identification services, research, or training provision), a collection manager, or a policy maker/funder was also sought. Biological systematic researchers were asked to indicate whether they were an established researcher or an early career researcher.