Developing the NBN – building partnerships
As NBN Trust Business Analyst and Defra contract programme manager, a significant amount of my time is taken up introducing potential new partners to the NBN. This work is primarily about identifying what they would get out of being part of the Network and in some instances asking them to consider becoming paying members of the Trust.
We usually come across potential partners following chance meetings at biodiversity-related and industry events throughout the UK. We will typically exchange business cards and agree a need to get in touch in the following weeks to see if being part of the NBN would be beneficial to their business.
Ideally, we have a meeting at their offices, where we introduce what the NBN is, what the role of the Trust is, how the NBN Gateway operates and consider in broad terms what we can do for them. From a practical perspective it is usually a case of identifying if there are datasets available on the Gateway that they currently don’t have access to, which could help their business.
Following the meeting, we will often carry out a search to identify what relevant records are available on the Gateway, what the access restrictions are and which data providers they need to contact about using those data. They might already have agreements in place with some data providers, but by doing this we aim to help maintain existing agreements and establish new relationships between data providers and users to increase the amount and quality of evidence-based decisions in the public and private sector.
In going through this process we try to make it as clear as possible that you don’t get the data from the NBN Trust. We are the post man (I have a slide with Postman Pat on it to get the message across!), we look after the computer infrastructure and relationships. We can identify what is available, ensure that users are aware of the Terms and Conditions of data use and help put providers and users in contact with each other, but we cannot provide data directly.
We sell the benefits of being a member of the NBN Trust as helping to influence what the Trust does and how it does it. There is no suggestion or implication made that being a Trust member improves or increases access to data – we can’t do that! We hope that by increasing the number and range of partners engaging, we can make the Network stronger and improve business opportunities for all.
Geoff Johnson – NBN Trust Business Analyst & Defra Contract Programme Manager