Data Sharing Agreements

When gathering data in collaboration with partners, including scientists, local communities, resource managers and government agencies, our Alaka'i Members have learned to develop a Data Sharing Agreement to prioritize the protection and respect of community knowledge and cultural values. More on Data Sharing Agreements is made available in Activity 4.2 of the Mālama I Ke Kai: Community Action Guide, when finalized. Some basic guidelines include:

• Partner with researchers who seek to respect the intellectual property rights of community partners.
• In creating alliances with research partners, community groups need to have an agreed upon mission, values, goals, measurable outcomes and accountability, so that there is mutual trust, respect and commitment.
• Co-develop an agreement early in the research process with finite start and end dates. Formalize the agreement by signing it, revisit it at regular intervals and update as needed.
• Research collaborations should support and empower community groups with capacity building and knowledge for improving management.
• Request for research design and research results to be presented to the community group for feedback in a timely manner, and time for all collaborators to review and comment on the manuscript prior to submission to the publisher. 
• Know that if community members have contributed to at least two of the following six steps, then they should be considered for co-authorship: 1) Initiating the original idea, concept or design; 2) Obtaining funding; 3) Provision of resources, labor or time; 4) Collecting or processing data or contributing information; 5) Analyzing data; 6) Literature search, writing and publishing the paper. If the person contributed to one step, they should be included in acknowledgements and/or a detailed list of author contributions. If community groups/members are contributing the study, they could receive payment for their time. Discuss this in advance with your partners.

One of the goals of the Maui Nui Makai Network is to grow community makai (seaward) management to every moku (district) in Maui Nui. Here we offer some tools and values that have helped our community groups organize and move into action towards makai management, and invite you to read and share this information with your communities. Please contact the Network Coordinator with any questions.

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Photo credit: Alana Yurkanin/TNC (header); Maui Nui Makai Network (beach data sheet photo); Maui Nui Makai Network (underwater survey photo)