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Maintaining quality

Uploading your passport data (covered in Preparing passport data) is only the beginning. Keeping your Genesys records useful over time takes three ongoing practices: continuous curation, staying current with the Genesys ecosystem, and communicating major changes in your data.

Ongoing curation practices​

The principle of iterative improvement discussed under Data curation and validation applies beyond onboarding; it is the foundation of long-term data quality.

You can maintain data quality with these practical activities:

  • Fill in empty fields. Older records are often sparse. When searching paper records for a request, regeneration or publication, add any new information you come up with to Genesys. Adding even one field per accession once in a while makes a big difference over time.
  • Update taxonomic names. Botanical nomenclature evolves as species are reclassified and genera are split or merged. The Genesys Validator Tool can help you identify taxonomy that needs review by cross-checking it against the GRIN database.
  • Refine coordinates. Older records often have imprecise coordinates. Update your records when it is appropriate to publish more precise data or when better georeferencing tools become available. Use the COORDUNCERT descriptor to record the level of precision.
  • Track the PDCI trend. The Data curation and validation section explains PDCI in detail. Record your average PDCI now and check it again in six or twelve months. An upward trend shows your curation work is paying off.
  • Respond to user feedback. Use errors pointed out by users or curators, such as wrong country codes or taxonomic misspellings, as opportunities to improve your data. External users often notice patterns that internal reviews miss.

Staying up to date with the Genesys ecosystem​

Several tools and reference systems used by Genesys evolve independently. Staying aware of these changes helps you avoid surprises and make the most of improvements.

The Genesys news page​

The primary channel for announcements, including new features, planned outages, software releases and administrative updates is: https://www.genesys-pgr.org/content/news

Check it periodically. If you have a designated data manager, adding this page to a shared bookmarks folder or a weekly review routine is a simple habit with great returns.

The Genesys Uploader Tool​

If you use the Genesys Uploader Tool to publish your data (covered in Module 5.2), keep an eye on version updates. These releases ensure compatibility with new Excel formats, revisions to the MCPD standard and changes to the Genesys API.

You can find the Uploader Tool's release information on Genesys.

GRIN-Global Community Edition​

If you use GGCE for internal collection management, application updates may affect how you prepare data for Genesys. GGCE has its own release blog and update schedule at https://ggce.genesys-pgr.org/blog/.

The Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors standard​

MCPD changes occasionally. We will keep our annotated version up to date! Changes are usually backwards-compatible, though some may require a new mandatory field or vocabulary update.

The FAO WIEWS institute directory​

The institute code (INSTCODE) comes from FAO WIEWS. It identifies your institute across Genesys, the ITPGRFA's GLIS and other databases. If your INSTCODE changes due to a merger, restructuring or renaming, update Genesys promptly to keep your accessions aligned. The directory is available at https://www.fao.org/wiews/data/organizations/en/.

Communicating significant changes​

You do not need to announce small, incremental updates. However, some changes are significant enough that we, your peer networks and users should know about them in advance.

Consider communicating the following changes proactively:

  • A large upload: for example, adding several thousand accessions at once or a major revision of taxonomic data
  • A significant de-accessioning or transfer: moving a portion of your collection to another institute
  • A change in institutional structure: a merger, renaming, or split of your institute
  • A change in the Genesys contact point: the person the Genesys team mainly interacts with at your institute
  • A change in your INSTCODE for the reasons discussed above

The general principle is: when in doubt, tell the helpdesk. It is faster to send a brief email to helpdesk@genesys-pgr.org to ask if coordination is needed than to make a change silently and troubleshoot negative effects later.

For peer communication, such as informing regional networks like EURISCO or notifying institutes that hold safety duplicates, the best channel depends on the network. Your Genesys contact can advise you on whom to contact.