In Summer 2023, OEDP ran a series of Environmental Data Labs, designed to be a workshopping space for environmental data questions, datasets, and challenges related to stewardship, governance, and policy. The summer series specifically focused on questions related to the Community Data Hubs model, with workshops highlighting two layers of data governance systems: the legal layer, and the technical layer. While each lab had its focus, these layers cannot be siloed, and the interactions between the layers was in discussion. These labs inform OEDP’s articulation of the CDH prototype’s design alongside our community partners.

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Environmental Data Labs: Legal layer

August 16, 2023

Problem statement: Different legal models can affect the architecture or governance of community-run data projects, like a Community Data Hub. This Lab will focus on examining these different models and pieces of legal infrastructure, as well as on assessing a Community Data Hub use case with those different models. We’re particularly interested in the limitations posed and opportunities offered by various models and tools, including data trusts, licenses, and sharing agreements. 

Main questions:

• When should legal mechanisms such as data sharing agreements and terms of use come into play? How can they be deployed effectively? 
• How can legal infrastructures support communities and their ability to use and manage environmental data? I.e., how can they help environmental data move past the open/closed binary to broader usability?
• What processes, approaches, or resources can communities utilize to adapt or develop legal infrastructure that works for them?

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You can read a synthesis from the Legal Lab here.

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Environmental Data Labs: Technical layer

September 13, 2023

Problem statement: The technical layer of any data governance model should reflect the community’s social and legal contexts and goals. In these interactions between people, data, and a technical tool, there are benefits and costs to any given tool, as different data governance approaches require different levels of capacity, resources, and maintenance. Social and organizational questions often surface in the technical layer as well, including questions regarding access rights, data portability, data sharing, and data retention. This Lab will focus on examining different technical models and themes in the context of a Community Data Hub, with a focus on data standards, permissions, and protections within various sharing schemas.

Main questions:

• What technical features could be included in a Community Data Hub? What successful examples of data governance tools exist that we could look to?
• What processes or approaches could be used to meaningfully involve communities and other data users in the design and testing of a Community Data Hub’s technical features?
• What does technical sustainability and maintenance of a Community Data Hub look like?

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