Contact
Mikaela Asplund, Coordinator
Data Management Support (DMS), Data Management Guidance and Development, SLU University Library.
mikaela.asplund@slu.se, +46 90 786 83 21
Environmental data management guide
Last changed: 02 July 2025
The environmental data management guide provides information on the basic requirements for managing data in environmental monitoring and assessment. It serves as support for systematic data management.
The environmental data guide is the short name for a guiding document, Basic requirements for data management in environmental monitoring and assessment, which was adopted by the Vice-Chancellor on 2025-06-16. Read the document in full here (in Swedish):
What is the environmental data guide?
The environmental data guide sets out the basic requirements for the various aspects of data management and is intended to be a tool for long-term quality work for projects and program within environmental monitoring and assessement (hereafter 'EMA projects'). With the guide as a starting point, EMA projects can, among other things, improve documentation, clarify responsibilities and roles, control and improve information security, reduce personal dependencies and increase data accessibility.
The environmental data guide contains requirements for good data management grouped according to a data management model consisting of processes for:
- data collection
- data delivery
- data storage and availability
- governance and support.
Purpose of the environmental data guide
As the demand for information about the state of the environment increases from local, national, and international stakeholders, so do the requirements for the data delivered by SLU’s environmental monitoring and assessment to be accessible, reusable, quality-assured, and quality-declared. The guide is intended to serve as a support tool to help ensure high quality and an appropriate organisation of data management within EMA projects.
The environmental data guide, follow-up meetings and continuous quality work
To support EMA projects in complying with SLU’s data management policy and the requirements set out in the environmental data guide, the DMGD team (Miljödatastöd) conducts systematic work known as the “quality work.”
The goal is to assess the current status of each operation in relation to the requirements of the environmental data guide. This is done through an initial mapping together with the operation, where the DMGD team and the EMA project review the data management processes (follow-up meetings).
Based on this assessment, the project and the DMGD team jointly decide which areas need further development and create a plan for this work.
Which EMA projects are assessed?
The DMGD team conducts follow-ups of approximately six projects each year, selected by the team. Projects that would like support with their data management, or wish to carry out a follow-up to identify areas for improvement, are also welcome to contact us at miljodatastod@slu.se.
Who is responsible for managing the environmental data guide?
The DMGD team manages the environmental data guide, which was developed on behalf of FOMAR, the Council for Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.
- About The Unit for Data Management Guidance and Development
- "Grundläggande krav för datahantering inom fortlöpande miljöanalys fastställdes" were established by the vice-chancellor on 16 June 2025. The vice-chancellor’s decision is available in Public 360: ua 2025-1890-1.
Previous versions of the environmental data guide
The environmental data guide has been in use since 2013 (originally under the name "Quality guide") in many EMA projects with long-term and extensive data management. Previous versions of the environmental data guide/quality guide are available on the DMGD SharePoint site. The DMGD team can also provide PDFs to those without access. Contact us at miljodatastod@slu.se.