Process

• Survey of requirements: open call for input and requirements from all areas of biodiversity informatics, including:
  • Data objects requiring GUIDs (specimens; taxon concepts; publications; etc.)
  • Application scenarios (allocatíng GUIDs; discovering existing GUIDs; resolving GUIDs; etc.)
  • Issues relating to management of GUIDs within distributed databases (avoidance of duplicate GUIDs identifying different objects; handling of multiple GUIDs identifying the same object; persistence of data; etc.)
  • Potential GUID technologies, including advantages and disadvantages of LSIDs and DOIs
• First workshop (3 days, 1-3 February 2006, at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent), Durham, North Carolina, USA) to review requirements and evaluate candidate technologies, and to establish working groups
• Working groups to resolve outstanding issues (using mailing lists and/or Wikis to support public discussion) and provide recommendations
• Second workshop (3 days, mid-2006 - location to be defined) to assess recommendations from working groups and to define models and processes for initial implementation
• Publication of TDWG standards for GUIDs and initial implementation of any central services or software tools required to support them