2025
Global Biodata Coalition
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Showcasing the impact of biodata resources
The Global Biodata Coalition (GBC) works to ensure the preservation of essential biodata resources that are free and openly available to all. These resources, while crucial for scientific research, often face challenges including fragmentation, duplication and long-term sustainability. To strengthen the case for sustained investment, the GBC set out to develop impact studies illustrating the value of biodata resources to society.
Research Consulting first supported the GBC in 2024, delivering comprehensive desk research to identify potential case studies, which were then shortlisted through collaborative workshops with the GBC team. This culminated in six thematic impact studies, each examining a range of biodata resources and documenting their positive impacts across rare disease and genetic diagnosis, children’s health, economic activity and industrial application, environment and biodiversity preservation, public health and therapeutics, and improving scientific practices.
Following the success of this first set, the GBC returned to Research Consulting in 2025 to expand the series. Using the same collaborative approach, we developed a further set of impact studies covering new themes — including forensics, conservation, food-chain monitoring, palaeobiology, crop improvement, biofuel production and artificial intelligence — broadening the evidence base for the value biodata resources deliver across science, the environment and the economy.
Research Consulting also supported GBC by moderating their Sustainability Lab workshop in 2025, which sought to bring together a diverse group of innovators to identify develop new ideas to enhance the sustainability of data resources in the life sciences.
Across both phases, the studies were finalised and designed by the GBC and are now available through their website and on the Zenodo repository, providing a growing and accessible resource for funders, policymakers and the wider community.
We commissioned Research Consulting to moderate GBC’s Sustainability Lab workshop, which sought to bring together a diverse group of innovators to identify develop new ideas to enhance the sustainability of data resources in the life sciences. This was a critically important event for GBC and the Research Consulting team added real value in helping to deliver a successful workshop – providing thoughtful input into the workshop program and format, running the workshop professionally and effectively, and providing invaluable input and technical assistance in developing the workshop report.– David Carr, GBC Programme Manager, Global Biodata Coalition
