Launching The San Diego Natural History Museum's Data Hub

The primary purpose of the data hub was to centralize The Nat's GIS data management for both public and internal uses. The Nat desired the following functions from ArcGIS Hubs:

• A customizable layout with a simple user interface
• Public and private sharing of datasets
• Multi-departmental collaboration opportunities
• Clear use of tags for filtering and searching

With these functions in mind, it was vital for the Hub to be as streamlined as possible. Users must be able to quickly search, sort, and open available data through the platform. Additionally, the landing page must have a quick sort function using item tags, with The Nat determining that Department tags would be the most useful to staff.

The landing page features a smooth scrolling display with content searching features front and center. It also highlights an interactive map created alongside the Hub's launch, which will be discussed later in this StoryMap.

Scrolling down the landing page, users can select a Department tag to filter Hub content by items with that tag. As SDNHM researchers and staff share new data to the Hub, they can assign Department tags equating to all departments involved in the data within the item. An item connected to multiple departments will be displayed when selecting any of the relevant department tags for that item.

At the bottom of the landing page, there are hyperlinks to many of The Nat's other resources, such as publications, atlases, and special projects. As The Nat continues in their missions of fostering biodiversity research and public education, these resources will be updated and added to for users to stay informed on how The Nat is achieving their mission.

While the BRCC has numerous projects throughout the study area, they currently lack the capacity to conduct spatial queries to essential questions, such as:

• How many projects is the BRCC currently working on and where?
• Where has the BRCC focused their work the most?
• Are there understudied areas within the mission region that should be examined?

To address this concern, this partnership also collaborated on a geodatabase for BRCC projects with the end goal of showcasing this data to the public through an interactive map. The geodatabase must include projects in two layers: a polygon layer (internal use) and a polygon centroid layer (public use). The purpose of point centroids is to shield sensitive information, such as the precise polygon boundaries of these project sites, from the public while still allowing for data visualization.

The team first discussed the necessary fields and their data quality considerations. The primary quality measure for the geodatabase is a collection of domains which will reduce human error and inconsistencies in inputs, making for easier queries and analysis. Domains protect a geodatabase against input errors such as differing use of spaces, capitalization, spelling mistakes, and word choice.

To ensure the long-term integrity of the geodatabase, this partnership created a data dictionary defining all fields and their input values. This document provides clarity for new researchers and staff who may not know what a given field is meant to represent.

The geodatabase was constructed in ArcGIS Pro and then shared as a hosted feature layer in ArcGIS Online and to the Hub content. The feature layer and geodatabase can be overwritten for all future data updates.

The infrastructure of The Nat's Data Hub and the project's geodatabase allow for streamlined updates and digitization while maintaining system organization and data integrity.

As more projects are digitized to this geodatabase, The Nat will be able to showcase more of their vital work to the public, to fellow researchers, and to potential donors. The Hub provides the SDNHM with a solid infrastructure to build upon their geospatial capabilities and enhance biodiversity research workflows.

For the remainder of this partnership, we hope to:

• Encourage more of The Nat's researchers to add their data to the Hub
• Digitize more BRCC projects to enhance the Interactive BRCC Projects Map
• Provide The Nat's staff with ample resources and guides to make the most of the Hub
• Integrate Field Maps and/or Survey123 field data collection with the Hub

I would like to thank all team members from SSI and the SDNHM for their dedication and hard work throughout this project.

Spatial Sciences Institute: Dr. Darren Ruddell, Dr. Laura Loyola, Dr. Siqin (Sisi) Wang

San Diego Natural History Museum: Jessica Barba, Katie McComas