DRAFT of CEGSA Policy on karst data supply
10th Aug 2007
Requests for data
Unless a request specifies what is wanted in writing and is signed and delivered to the CEGSA Committee, the Group has no obligation to respond to a request. However, the Group should make an effort to respond to all requests, including where necessary, help in defining the request.
Obligation to supply data
CEGSA is not required to supply data unless directed to do so by law. The Constitution states that CEGSA is to foster speleology and cooperate with others in doing this. The implication is that there is an obligation to supply data if it does not conflict with other Constitutional requirements such as preserving caves.
Responsibility for response to requests
The CEGSA Committee has delegated the responsibility to respond to all requests for data to the Records Officer. The Records Officer is, however, under no obligation to use this delegation and can refer any request back to the Committee and must do so when the request has wider implications.
Confidentiality
Access to all data is limited unless it is already in the public domain. On submission of data to Records, a person can specify the minimum level of confidentiality. The Records Officer can on their own discretion increase the level of confidentiality requested but cannot lower it without approval of the person submitting the data. The Committee can allow distribution (in response to a specific request) or change the category of any data (except for Confidential class when it needs approval from the person who submitted the data). Data can be classed as:
Public: available to anyone
CEGSA: available to CEGSA members on the understanding that it is not distributed outside of the Group.
Restricted: available only on approval of Committee. The Committee has delegated the power of approval to Records Officers to be used at their discretion. Most data falls into this class.
Confidential: available only on approval of the person who submitted the data. Data at this level automatically drops to Restricted level on the death or disappearance of the submitter. If requested, the data can be held in a sealed package to be viewed only on the death of the submitter, otherwise the Records Officer is allowed to view the data but must never disclose the contents.
Landowner: available to land owners and managers for karst features on the land that they manage. It is up to the landowner to decide whether or not and how to distribute the data (without breaching copyright). This level of confidentiality is additional to all others and can be selectively applied.
Sometimes a set of data can be selectively classed. For instance, a cave map may be released with selected internal features removed.
Distribution of data
The Records Officer is responsible for the distribution of data. Only copies should be sent, and if data are Restricted or Confidential it should be sent in such a manner that only the intended recipient is likely to obtain access to it.
Security of data
Original data can only be supplied when it is absolutely necessary to do so – such as for making copies for Records – and never for casual use, even if it is the only copy available. Original material should never be sent by mail unless a copy is made first.
Original data are to be housed as far as possible out of environmental harm (moisture, heat, cold, drafts, etc). Copies are to be made of all valuable data and housed at a separate location to the originals. The second location must not be used for suppling data unless approved by the Records Officer or Committee. Normally, Confidential data will not be copied.
Acknowledgement and the use of data in publications
CEGSA gives permission for data supplied by the Group to be used in publications. When a publication uses data supplied by CEGSA, an acknowledgement must be made to CEGSA as the source, and to the author of the item (writer, photographer, surveyor, artist, etc). Data passed on to others must include this proviso.
When publishing data, careful consideration must be given to the possible impact of the publication on cave and karst features. Locational information should be removed or degraded unless necessary for scientific reference; this includes descriptive locations and references to nearby localities. A remote location may be kept accurate, but attractive features (native artefacts, fossils, speleothems, etc) should not be referenced.
Graham Pilkington