Following on from the evaluation project, CSIRO chose to pilot CollectiveAccess within the Australian National Insect Collection. Gaia Resources was brought into the project to provide additional software engineering resources for the pilot project, based on our ongoing experience and contributions to the CollectiveAccess software.
This project involved implementing CollectiveAccess within the infrastructure of CSIRO, and then importing the pilot collection into the software for it to be evaluated and tested in a range of ways. Our team led the deployment and importing of the CollectiveAccess software, developed new components in the software (such as integrating it with the National Species Lists) and helped to build the skill base within CSIRO. After the deployment, the usability of the software was tested by staff across the National Research Collections of Australia (NRCA), while the Information Management & Technology team tested the performance of the software.
The project was considered a success and CSIRO are undertaking further evaluation of CollectiveAccess for broader use across NRCA.
(ANIC Collection image courtesy Beth Mantle)