Data Management

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I&M Networks

IRMA - Integrated Resource Management Applications

The goal of the Inventory and Monitoring Program is to provide useful scientific information about the status and trends of park natural resources. A comprehensive data management system is essential to achieving this goal, particularly for long-term projects that will span decades.

I&M network and national data management systems are established with the following objectives:

• Quality: Procedures are established to identify and minimize errors at each stage of the data lifecycle.
• Security: Data are maintained in environments that protect against loss, either due to electronic failure or poor storage conditions.
  
• Longevity: While proper storage conditions, backups, and migration of data sets to current platforms and software standards are basic components of data longevity, comprehensive data documentation is equally important.
• Availability: A primary responsibility of the Inventory and Monitoring Program is to ensure that data are available for decision-making, research, and education.

Establishing and adhering to data standards is the foundation for I&M data sharing and data consistency, and makes data exchange, aggregation, and federated searching possible. Summary of I&M information management-related standards