Good data are clearly essential for any assessment.  Rarely, however, are data initially collected or produced for the purpose of assessment - nor can many assessments wait until new, primary data are generated by purpose-designed studies or surveys.  Instead, in most cases, assessments have to make use of data that already exist, and to supplement or enhance these as necessary through the use of modelling or estimation techniques. 

Conducting a data review

Assessments are consequently servants of the available data, and have to be designed to make the best possible use of what exists.  A vital purpose of feasibility testing is thus to review and evaluate the available data.  This is not a question of simply applying some predefined criteria and deciding whether or not the data meet these requirements.  The intention must be to identify what data do exist, and determine what can be done with them, and what resources might be needed to make this possible. 

To ensure that the review is thorough, but does not lead us too far away from our initial purpose, it is therefore crucial to start by defining the key data we need and the criteria that they must satisfy (e.g. in terms of geographic coverage and resolution, timeframe, cost).  Data sources should be evaluated against this list, and any deficiencies noted.  In addition, however, possibilities offered by these data should also be identified, and if these imply other data needs (e.g. for the purpose of validation or to help make good their deficiencies), then these need to be added into the list and followed up.  In this way a detailed log of the review can be maintained, which can be fed into the process of devising and discussing the assessment protocol.   Examples, from case studies carried out during the development of this Toolbox, are given via the links below.

The links in the panel to the left provide access to useful sources, including inventories and metadatabases summarising relevant data in the EU.