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AVIAN KNOWLEDGE NETWORK

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to some frequenetly asked questions about the Avian Knowledge Network are below. 

What is the Avian Knowledge Network (AKN)?

The Avian Knowledge Network (AKN) is a partnership comprising over 100 federal and state agencies and non-governmental organizations who have shared informatics priorities and needs for biodiversity conservation and management. The AKN is a powerful and secure cloud computing system that government agencies, NGOs and others are using to enter, manage, analyze and share avian monitoring data.

What is an AKN portal?

A portal is a regional or thematic partnership within the AKN. It is a group of people and institutions with a common and specific set of conservation goals set around a geographic region or a theme (e.g., shorebirds, flyways, etc).

Who coordinates the AKN?

The AKN steering committee (SC), comprised of 10 to 13 members, sets the priorities for the partnership and is designed to reflect the data and science needs for agencies and other institutions. The SC works together to identify and achieve shared goals while fostering the collaboration of diverse institutions, agencies, states, and others interested in improving the conservation of birds and their habitats through the use of data and partnerships. Representation includes, but is not limited to: federal and state agencies, NGOs, Joint Ventures, Flyways, Portal leaders, and informatics, industry and academic scientists.

How can my organization get involved?

Contact a member of the AKN Steering Committee to find out more about how AKN can support your monitoring and conservation planning efforts.

Account and Project Information

Do I need to have an account to look at data/visualizations?

Many tools and visualizations are freely available and do not require login credentials. Check out the Explore Data and Make Decisions sections on the Tools page.

How do I create an AKN account?

New users can register for an account here. You’ll need a project code for the AKN project you wish to join.  If you don’t have an AKN project code, contact an AKN Steering Committee member to learn about existing projects you can join, or how to create an AKN project for you or your organization.

What data can I store in AKN?

AKN has the capacity to describe and provide management tools for scientifically collected long-term bird monitoring data (i.e., rigorous accounting of survey effort following a standardized methodology). Currently, only projects using point count, area search, line transect, or secretive marshbird protocol structures can be easily incorporated into AKN. New data structures are in development for the AKN (to accommodate data types such as banding data and nest monitoring data). See a helpful key here to learn more about what data AKN can support.

I already have an AKN account. How do I join an additional AKN project?

Contact a project leader for the AKN project you wish to join, and request access to the project using the project code. Use the form here to request access to the project from your AKN account.

How can I create a new project in the AKN?

New projects can be created in the AKN by contacting Dianne Miller at Point Blue Conservation Science (dmiller@pointblue.org).

How do I know my data are secure in the AKN?

Data in the AKN is stored in the Point Blue Science Cloud, which is a cloud-based system that is FedRAMP authorized.  This means that the AKN complies with a set of security standards for cloud-based computing established by the Federal Government.

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Data Sharing

How are data shared securely in AKN?

The Avian Knowledge Network (AKN) is comprised of people, data, and technology working together to improve bird conservation, management, and research across organizational boundaries and spatial scales. The sharing of data is the core function of the Avian Knowledge Network partnership. The AKN continues to develop and refine procedures and tools that facilitate data sharing, including tools for metadata documentation and data entry, upload, verification, summary, backup, discovery, and download. Contributing data to AKN improves data use and longevity by preserving datasets and their metadata and increasing access to and use of data. For more information, please review the AKN Data Sharing Guidelines.

Data owners in the AKN maintain control of their data and have the option to chose when and how event-level data is shared across the AKN. Visit the data sharing page to learn more about data sharing levels.

Do I lose intellectual property rights when I contribute my datasets to AKN?

No. In the AKN, the data remain entirely under your control. You decide who can access your data and for what purposes, and you can change your sharing levels at any time.

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Associated Costs

What is the cost of hosting my data and using the tools for my data in AKN?

There is no cost to use the open access Decision Support Tools (see Explore Data tab), add new data to an existing project, or use the tools available to Project Leaders and Analysts.

The AKN is a partnership dedicated to the data driven conservation of birds and is not profit driven. There is currently no cost to create a new project with an existing protocol structure, although this may change in the future. As the size of the database increases, growing costs to store, transmit and protect the data in the system may need to be passed on to users. Our goal is to minimize expenses as much as possible so that costs are not a barrier to system uptake for new users and we are continuing to explore business models that can best support a robust and accessible decision support system that drives successful bird conservation. 

Modifications to a current protocol structure or creation of a project with a new protocol structure can be made at an additional cost, determined by the level of work. AKN is partner-driven, and we encourage partners to work with a member of the AKN Steering Committee to build costs associated with overall maintenance of AKN and the development of new and innovative tools into new proposals.

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Data Management

How do I enter/manage/access data?

Step by step instructions for getting your AKN Project set up to enter data, manage and share data, and use the analytical tools are in the AKN User Guide. If you’re new to the AKN, start by watching the tutorial videos on our YouTube channel.

Can the AKN integrate or merge a set of databases with common fields into a single data structure that will allow for large-scale analysis and decision support?

Yes! The AKN structure and tools make it easy to find and download a “smoothed” version of merged data from multiple projects in the public data downloader

In addition, a new program enterprise system will soon make it easy for program leaders to access, download, and analyze raw project data from multiple projects within a program at once.

I have a question that isn’t answered here. Whom should I ask?

See the contact us page for information about how to get in touch with an AKN Steering Committee representative

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