RMQA-RDM Conducts Research Data Management Course

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Risk Management and Quality Assurance-Research Data Management (RMQA-RDM) training team conducted its Research Data Management (RDM) 101 course on 26-28 May at IRRI headquarters.

Three participants from IRRI attended the three-day training course, namely Rafael Panerio and Mostafa Ahmadizadeh, researchers at  the Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division, and Shiela Ann Franco, a molecular biologist at the Grain Quality and Nutrition Center. Bibek Sapkota, a scientist from Nepal Agricultural Research Council and Dhiraj Srivastava, head of Relief Operations at Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, also attended the course.

RDM 101 covered various areas of data management including research data planning; data collection, authentication and analysis; data storage, backup and security; and data archival and sharing. The training team also discussed and demonstrated file management tools and software including Beyond Compare, Cobian, WinDirStat, Mendeley, Google Drive, and the IRRI Dataverse, an online repository for data archiving and sharing.

The training team is headed by IRRI-RMQA Senior Manager Menchu Bernardo with Enrico Mercado, and Sheenah Tan. Rogelio Alvarez of Information Technology Services provided a lecture on data backup, security, and storage.

This is the second RDM 101 course for the year. The course is conducted quarterly.

RMQA Team Meets on Developing a More Robust Risk Management Strategy at IRRI

The Risk Management Quality Assurance (RMQA) team convened to discuss a comprehensive approach for preventing  the occurrence and reducing the impact of hazardous  events at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

Spearheaded by RMQA Senior Manager Menchu Bernardo, the 33-member team formed the steering committee for the 1st Safety Awareness Summit at IRRI HQ to be held in August. The summit aims to promote safety in the workplace through lectures on ergonomics, emergency and disaster preparedness, biosafety compliance, general waste management, and best field and laboratory safety practices.  The RMQA team also discussed the documentation standard operating procedure for all units where all documents will be uploaded in a common repository as part of IRRI’s Quality Management System (QMS).

Jose Luis of the Safety and Security Services presented a plan for assessing and reviewing existing safety practices used at IRRI’s laboratories, greenhouse, screenhouse, and offices in compliance with the Board-approved Occupational Health and Safety Policy.  Reah Gonzales of the Grain Quality and Nutrition Services Laboratory (GQNSL ) also shared their experience in developing QMS and SOP documentation as part of the successful renewal of the laboratories ISO 17025 accreditation.

The new members of RMQA were also introduced during the worskshop and meeting on 19 May at the IRRI Guest House. They include Francis Rubianes from Crop and Environmental Sciences Division, Cindy Llorente from GQNSL, Janet Lazarte from Human Resource Services, Fernando Artates from Financial Planning and Reporting,  and Jun Correa from Experiment Station (ES).

RMQA Concludes First RDM 101 Training Course for 2015

Thirteen participants completed the three-day training course: three from IRRI-India country office (CSISA); internal IRRI staff include five from Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology (PBGB), four from Crop and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD); one from Grain Quality and Nutrition Center (GQNC); and one from Genetic Resources Center (GRC). It was held on 17-19 March 2015 at the IT Learning Center in the IRRI Headquarters.

The course covered all areas of data management: data management planning; data documentation; data collection and pre-analysis of statistical software (using MS Access for data transformation as pre-analysis in statistical software); data validation and quality control; using bar codes in experiments; using  mobile devices in collecting data; data storage backup, and security; and data archival and sharing. Moreover, the training team also discussed and demonstrated file management tools/software that include: Beyond Compare, Cobian, Mendeley, and the IRRI Dataverse (an online repository for data archiving and sharing).

The training team, managed by IRRI-RMQA Senior Manager Menchu Bernardo, is composed of Enrico Mercado and Deacart Arreza. Mr. Rogelio Alvarez of Information Technology Services (ITS) provided a lecture on data backup, security and storage.