OSD Consortium

OSD is the world’s first simultaneous megasequencing campaign.  Having taken place for the first time on the June 2012 solstice, four pilot events took place before the Main OSD Event in June 2014.  Plans are taking shape to continue to 2015 and ideally beyond.  OSD is completely dependent on the collaborative participation of marine researchers around the globe taking samples from sites of special scientific interest.  Many of the initial sites joined because they are dedicated to long-term marine research and as such, are taking part in the Genomic Observatories (GOs) Network.  As OSD events progressed additional sites have joined, often with the added benefit of bringing more diverse locations for sampling into the OSD fold.

Due to the success of this ‘crowd-sourced’ project, a large network of sites and researchers has now come together (more than 180 for June 2014).  At the 16th meeting of the Genomic Standards Consortium at the University of Oxford, the community agreed to formalize into the Ocean Sampling Day Consortium.  

Combined, the OSD Co-ordination Team and the Network of sites, contribute to the infrastructure and expertise that allows co-ordinated OSD events to take place.

As part of the Consortium, participants are formally part of the OSD Network of sites, get access to training activities under Micro B3, and samples are prioritized for all types of data generation (as funds and resources allow) and bioarchiving.

In return, participants agree to provide samples according to OSD protocols (see the OSD Handbook) and work under the umbrella of the OSD Data Policy which requires open sharing of data, appropriate legal framework for sampling and agreement to publish within the consortium.

Here we describe how to join and participate in the OSD Consortium.  

Joining the OSD Consortium

1.  The first step is to fill in an expression of interest.

2.  You will then be contacted and asked to join in a Skype telecon to assess your interest and decide on steps forward.

3. All sites must be registered in the OSD Sites Registry to formally be recognized as part of the OSD Consortium.  To do so requires a named co-ordinator for each site and contribution of basic descriptors of the site.

4.  Once formally registered, sites can take part in OSD sampling events according to the OSD Handbook.

5. Contributed samples must conform to ABS, MTA and Data Policy requirements.

6. All sites will be invited to take part in publication on the whole OSD data set and to join the OSD Analysis Working Group.

LINKS

Expression of interest:

http://oceansamplingday.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/call-for-participation-in-ocean.html

Registering a Site in the OSD SItes Registry:

http://mb3is.megx.net/osd-registry/list

OSD Handbook:

http://www.microb3.eu/sites/default/files/osd/OSD_Handbook_v2.0.pdf