South African Environmental Observation Network

NRF-SAEON’s uLwazi Node wins NSTF-South32 Data for Research Award

The NSTF-South32 Data for Research Award was awarded to the uLwazi Node Manager, Leo Chiloane, for the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) Open Data Platform (ODP) at a gala dinner held in Cape Town on Thursday 11 July 2024. 

The category is granted for advancing the availability, management, and re-use of research data. The uLwazi Node was bestowed the award for “the management of a metadata repository that facilitates the FAIR publication, discovery, dissemination, and preservation of earth observation and environmental data in SA, certified by the CoreTrustSeal in 2023.”

SAEON’s ODP is managed by the uLwazi Node within NRF-SAEON. The ODP is a data infrastructure that facilitates the publication, discovery, dissemination, and preservation of earth observation and environmental data in South Africa. Portions of the ODP metadata are visible in the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and DataCite. The system also supports national data mobilisation initiatives, including the South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas and the Marine Information Management System, which is co-developed with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.

uLwazi (meaning ‘knowledge’) is one of the seven nodes of the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON). The Node was established in 2018 to support data management and the development of information platforms and decision-support tools for government departments. It is comprised of four areas coordinated by specialist team leaders in IT infrastructure, Data Curation, Systems Development and Data Science.

Last year the SAEON ODP was certified as a Trustworthy Data Repository by the CoreTrustSeal Standards and Certification Board. This was the result of years of work by the uLwazi Node to ensure that the SAEON ODP was set up and run according to international standards and led to the SAEON ODP being the second repository to receive the certification on the African continent. The work put into achieving this certification laid a solid foundation for the SAEON ODP.

In his acceptance speech, Chiloane mentioned what an honour it was to have been a finalist alongside the University of Cape Town’s Digital Library Services and the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA). He emphasised the spirit of collaboration both within uLwazi Node, SAEON and with external stakeholders that has led to the success of the SAEON ODP, encouraging those interested to get in touch.