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Intent: To clarify the access and distribution of ISIS data globally for the purpose of advancing animal management, animal health, conservation and conservation based research.

Definitions:
• Partner Associations: Regional and Global Zoological Associations which are Members of ISIS such as WAZA, AZA, EAZA, etc., and Associations of Zoological Professionals which are Members of ISIS such as AAZV, EAZWV, ZRA, etc.
• Board of Trustees: The governing body of ISIS
• Outside Researchers: Researchers, graduate and post-doctoral students requesting data from ISIS
• Member Organizations: Institutional Members of ISIS

1 Background:

The ISIS Content Use Policy is reviewed and approved by the ISIS Board of Trustees to assure that ISIS members’ needs for information and institutional confidentiality are met. ISIS is a membership service organization that offers pooled data services needed by its members, with appropriate privacy protections. The ISIS Content Use Policy may be changed by the ISIS Board of Trustees; ISIS members will be notified of any such changes, should they occur, via email.

ISIS is a private membership organization headquartered in the USA. As such, we have been informed that ISIS information is not subject to the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

2 Access to Data:

2.1 ISIS members own and are responsible for the accuracy and content of the data they enter.

2.2 ISIS will take every measure to ensure protection of the data from mis-use, for any purposes other than those specified in the mission of ISIS.

2.3 As ISIS members depend on information from each other for sound animal management, species conservation and for animal health analysis, ISIS shall use member- submitted content to meet members’ and partner associations’ needs for information from other institutions such as, but not limited to:

a. Animal histories, pedigrees, origins, age and sex;
b. Animal behavioral background (rearing, training, etc);
c. Animal care and husbandry information;
d. Placing and finding animals as needed;
e. Strategic collection planning information at global, regional, national, and local levels;
f. Species-level information for studbook keepers  

2.4 ISIS may use submitted content with institutional identities removed for pooled data purposes such as, but not limited to:

a. serum and blood chemistry norms,
b. demographic calculations,
c. epidemiology,
d. approved research data requests

2.5 ISIS may use submitted content to respond to a requests for information from a law enforcement agency of a national government, or from CITES authorities. These are rare requests.

NOTE: Most such requests have been to check ISIS-registered transponder numbers to see if an animal reported stolen [often by a member zoo] can be found elsewhere. Such requests are normally distributed to ISIS members with recent transactions involving the species, for those members to consider responding. Very rarely, permit authorities ask for validation of a specimen’s origin or history to support a permit application by an ISIS member.

3 Research and Publications:

Strategically, it is worth noting that the zoological community’s biggest research and publication challenge is the relative lack of peer-reviewed scientific publications based on the unique data held by institutions, some of which is pooled by ISIS. More good published science would increase the actual contribution of zoos and aquariums to wildlife conservation and science, and raise their status publicly.

ISIS pooled (and anonymous) data is often of research interest in those cases requiring the much larger sample sizes that only animal data from hundreds of institutions pooled together can generate (lifespan calculation and epidemiology, for example). In these cases no single institution normally has large enough sample sizes to support this kind of research.

3.1 ISIS encourages outside researchers interested in working with zoological data to first contact and involve their nearest ISIS member institution – and relevant studbook keeper(s) where applicable for studbook species.

3.2 ISIS uses the already-developed formal process for reviewing external research requests for data, and recovering costs or more from the ISIS Science Committee. This includes final approval by ISIS Board of Trustees before provision of any data.  

3.3 Research data requests will (in future) be posted on the ISIS Web site members’ area.

a. A signed research agreement that gives ISIS strong control over the (anonymous) data and protection of institutional privacy will be required and managed through ISIS
b. All data will only be provided in aggregated form with institution names made anonymous when data is provided externally (except for species holdings [e.g. London has 2.4 tigers] and studbook-like reports for one species)
c. All researchers must acknowledge ISIS members in any publications
d. ISIS members must be notified of research publications based on ISIS data each year. This information may be used in institutions’ own annual reports, or otherwise published by the institution.

Revised Feb 8, 2012, ISIS Board of Trustees