Essential Functions
As a result of the 2001 project by the Wildlife Trusts, the following set of “essential and enhanced functions” of an LRC were produced, and continue to act as a set of standards for LRCs across the British Isles. The essential functions now form the basis of “Standard Level Accreditation”, a way of formally assessing LRCs against a standardised set of criteria. The main aims of the LRC accreditation process are to build confidence in the LRC community as a group of bodies that hold biodiversity information and public resources, and to facilitate data exchange and use between LRCs and other members of the NBN.
The LRC accreditation project was produced by Natural England in 2010, in conjunction with the Association of Local Environmental Record Centres (ALERC). Through late 2010 and early 2011, two LRCs underwent a pilot accreditation project. These LRCs are Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Environmental Records Centre and Lincolnshire Environmental Records Centre who are now the first ALERC accredited LRCs.
For more information about ALERC and the accreditation process, please visit the ALERC website http://www.alerc.org.uk/accreditation.html
ELIGIBILITY
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1.Partnership
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The LRC should be partnership led, the partnership including at least local authorities, statutory agencies, conservation NGOs and voluntary recorders.
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2. Legal body
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The LRC should have the legal status to be able to enter contractual agreements and should be accountable and transparent for its business and financial performance
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3. Impartiality
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The LRC's constitution and documented policies should ensure impartiality and prevent dominance by any one organisation or partner.
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4. Non overlapping
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The geographical area covered by the LRC should be agreed by its partners and should not overlap with any other LRC
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5. User led
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The LRC should have mechanisms for determining the needs of its users and primarily exist to meet those needs
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SERVICES
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6. Services
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The LRC should be capable of offering at least basic biodiversity information services to local authorities, statutory agencies, conservation NGOs and voluntary recorders
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7. Data requests
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The LRC should at all times be capable of responding to minimum specification data requests within a reasonable time period, at least that set by the Access to Environmental Information Regulations
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8. Products
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The LRC should develop, maintain and promote a suite of basic information products for its core users
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9. Controlled Access
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The LRC should implement a confidentiality policy that keeps sensitive data secure within the terms of the NBN Data Access Principles
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10. Data capture service
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The LRC offers a service to partners of capturing their dataset to agreed standards, making it available to users including export to the original partner's system
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11. Data Management
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The LRC should be capable of maintaining and managing agreed datasets on behalf of partners and other organisations
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DATA
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12. Data scope
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The scope of an LRC's data holdings should include records of fauna, flora, habitats and sites of wildlife importance
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13. Data coverage - species
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The LRC should aim to hold or at least have access to all available data, including marine, for at least the protected, RDB and BAP species (national and local) that occur in its geographic area
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14. Data coverage - habitats
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The LRC should aim to hold or at least have access to all available data, including marine, relating to semi-natural and BAP priority habitats for its geographic area
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15. Data coverage - sites
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The LRCs should aim to hold site definitions and boundaries, including marine, for all classes of land of recognised nature conservation importance in its geographic area
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16. Metadata
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The LRC should know what data it holds, supply details to the NBN Gateway and/ or describe its data holdings on its own web site
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17. Archive
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The LRC should act as a secure archive for the data in its care in perpetuity, protecting it from alteration, damage, loss and unauthorised use
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SYSTEMS
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18. Format
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The LRC should seek to hold the majority of the data in its care in electronic format.
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19. Database
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The LRC's database should at least be capable of import to the NBN data model, the data capture interface conforming to minimum NBN standards
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20. GIS
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The LRC should use GIS to help it capture, manage, manipulate, analyse and display data with geographical or spatial elements..
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21. Datasets
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The LRC should be capable of integration of datasets and reporting on integrated datasets
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NBN COMMITMENT
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22. NBN Data Access Principles
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The LRC should conform to the NBN Data Access Principles when agreed
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23. Data custodianship
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The LRC is capable of taking on the responsibilities of data custodianship within the NBN for agreed datasets, including data exchange with National Schemes and Societies
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24. Promotion of standards
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The LRC should take a lead in encouraging high-quality recording and promoting NBN standards among volunteer recorders, recording schemes, organisations, professionals and contractors.
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25. Validation and verification
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The LRC should ensure quality control by having documented procedures in place for validation of its data against agreed standards and managing a verification system, working in partnership with others
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PERSONNEL
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26. Voluntary recorders
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The LRC should network with the majority of the voluntary recorders in its geographical area
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27. Staff resources
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The LRC should employ and arrange training of staff as necessary to undertake these minimum functions. The staffing complement will vary across the UK according to the demands placed on the LRC's services. The maintenance of these minimum functions will nowhere be possible with a full-time staff equivalent of less than two and in some areas may require five to ten staff.
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