The EU Bee Partnership [1] is advancing on the development of a new online platform to collect, integrate and visualise pollinator-related data from different sources. The EU Bee Partnership Prototype Platform on Bee Health [2] is now integrating more datasets in collaboration with new partners. There is an ongoing partnership between the prototype development and the MUST-B project, with close collaboration with the Center of Functional Ecology at the University of Coimbra for data sharing and standardisation.
Collaborations with the MUST-B project began with the prototype development phase of the platform in June 2020. The MUST-B project was launched by EFSA in 2015 with the goal of advancing a holistic approach to measure the risk of multiple stressors on bees [3]. This collaboration has created a close link with several dimensions of the project.
MUST-B and Holistic Approaches for Risk Assessment
The EUBP platform is now closely working with Must-B partner, the Center of Functional Ecology from the University of Coimbra, to select and integrate further data collected within the framework of the project. This collaboration is helping expand the scope of the platform, and create trustworthy and useful algorithms to process data and transform it into valuable information.
At the moment, the Center of Functional Ecology is sharing historical data from a colony monitoring scheme in Northern Portugal using digital monitoring tools. Data is cleaned, shared, integrated, and then visualised in the EUBP platform, accessible to the public. This collaboration not only extends the scope of the platform but also improves the capacities to correctly assess and visualise data online thanks to the direct involvement of researchers from the University of Coimbra.
By working together, both the MUST-B project and the EUBP platform are continuously improving. On the one hand, the platform is gaining direct and relevant data relevant for bee health. On the other, the MUST-B project now has a direct platform to store, process and visualise its data. Besides, through this new partnership, all efforts within the MUST-B project gain visibility to relevant stakeholders for bee health. New collaborations strengthen both the platform and projects participating as data providers.
Both the EU Bee Partnership and the MUST-B project identify the common need for centralising and harmonising data, and this collaboration is leading towards achieving such objectives.
Additionally, new opportunities for collaboration remain open. If you have relevant data and wish to take part in this new platform, you can become a data provider. With comprehensive data-sharing agreements, your ownership of data and your privacy are highly valued and protected. Data providers might be independent researchers, authorities, national or European projects, smart hive manufacturers, or pollinator monitoring systems, farming or beekeeping associations, plant protection product industry, data scientist collectives, and citizens.
For more information, contact us at info@bee-life.eu
[1] EFSA. 2018. Terms of Reference for the EU Bee Partnership. http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/supporting/pub/ en-1423
[2] EU Bee Partnership Prototype Platform https://bee-ppp.eu