Why is data governance important?
What we are doing
Project deliverables
- Deliver an in-depth curriculum on ethical data governance targeted to researchers and policymakers through a 4-workshop series that includes the current state of data governance regulation and best practice examples from around the world.
- Co-develop a Toolkit for Ethical Data Management in Agricultural Research, including multilingual data governance primers for farmers and templates for data governance frameworks.
- Deliver interactive workshops at farmer conferences to discuss data justice and data governance and resources to help farmers navigate data privacy issues.
Workshop Series, May - June 2023

- Global agricultural data governance: Lessons from international initiatives – May 10, 9:00-10:30am PDT (12:00-1:30pm EDT)
- Agricultural data governance in Canada – May 24, 9:00-10:30am PDT (12:00-1:30pm EDT)
- Community-led data governance and farmer-controlled data – June 7, 9:00-10:30am PDT (12:00-1:30pm EDT)
- Indigenous data sovereignty: Beyond OCAP – June 14, 9:00-10:30am PDT (12:00-1:30pm EDT)
There is no cost to participate; pre-registration is required.
Webinar Recordings & Resources
Workshop #1
Global agricultural data governance: Lessons from international initiatives
This session brings together global expertise in data governance to share lessons learned in agricultural data governance from India, France and Columbia with an emphasis on ethical and mutually beneficial data sharing arrangements with farmers.
Presenters:
- Isabelle Piot-Lepetoit, Research Director, Sustainability & Digitization, INRAE (Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement), France
- Luc Lapointe, CEO and Founder, TheBC.lab, Columbia
- Vineet Singh, Vice President of Products, Digital Green, India
Session Moderator:
- Gregory Rekken, Team Lead, Mitigation & Soil Health, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Food Canada
Workshop #2
Agricultural data governance in Canada
This session takes a focused look at the policy and governance landscape for agricultural data in Canada and BC with two experts in the field. Both presenters bring experience working with farmers and agricultural data. They discuss the challenges and opportunities of agricultural data governance in Canada, that current state of governance and legislation, and possible ethical and mutually beneficial models.
Presenters:
- Elise Legendre, Chief Data Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Kelly Bronson, Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa
Session Moderator:
Workshop #3
Community-led data governance and farmer-controlled data
This webinar highlights farmer-centered options for agricultural data governance and practical advice for setting up ethical data governance frameworks. Presenters discuss the rights and concerns of farmers and farm workers regarding agricultural data collection and data use by third parties as well as how producers are envisioning and enacting agricultural data governance.
Presenters:
- Greg Austic, Co-Founder, Our-Sci.net & Digital Coffee Shop
- Dorn Cox, Founder, FarmOS and Farm Hack Community
Session Moderator:
- Dr. Hannah Wittman, UBC Professor in IRES and Land and Food Systems,
Workshop #4
Indigenous data sovereignty: Beyond OCAP
Indigenous communities have been leading the charge in ensuring information and data collected from their communities stays in their control. The First Nations principles of ownership, control, access, and possession – more commonly known as OCAP – assert that First Nations have control over data collection processes, and that they own and control how this information can be used. But that is just the start. This session discusses Indigenous research and data sovereignty frameworks beyond OCAP and highlights the responsibilities of settlers collecting agricultural data on Indigenous territories.
Presenters:
- Dr. Tabitha Robin Martens, Associate Professor, Land & Food Systems, UBC
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Dr. Robyn Rowe, Post-Doctoral fellow, Queen's University, executive member of the International Indigenous Data Sovereignty Interest Group with the Research Data Alliance and the Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA)
Session Moderator:
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Dr. Dana James, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Land & Food Systems, UBC
Resources & More
Check out the workshop series MURAL Board here highlighting resources shared across the sessions, key takeaway points from each presenter, additional Q & A, participant feedback and more!

Advisory Committee
Isabelle Piot-Lepetit, Research Director, Sustainability & Digitization, INRAE (Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement), France
Zoe Mangin, Communication officer and project coordinator, INRAE, France
Gregory Rekken, Team Lead, Mitigation and Soil Health, BC Ministry of Agriculture
Sean Smukler, Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm, UBC – Vancouver
John Janmaat, Professor, Economics, UBC- Okanagan
Jonathon McIntyre, Chief Technology Officer at i-Open Technologies Group of Companies
Kelly Bronson, Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa
Kevin Cussen, Product Lead, LiteFarm project, UBC
Dana James, Post-doctoral research, UBC
Project Team
Principal Investigator: Dr. Hannah Wittman, Professor, University of British Columbia (UBC) – Vancouver
Graduate Researcher: Sarah-Louise Ruder, UBC – Vancouver
Collaborator: Shauna MacKinnon, BC Agricultural Climate Adaptation Research Network
Research Assistant: Delanie Austin
Funding Acknowledgement
This project is funded by a Connections Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. These grants support events and outreach activities geared toward short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives.
