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Added some structure and disclaimer
(New text for main page explaining the concept for this wikibase instance)
 
(Added some structure and disclaimer)
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== Project Introduction ==
This is an experimental Wikibase instance where I am exploring a new method for handling the data that the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative's ([https://envirodatagov.org/ EDGI]) Environmental Enforcement Watch ([https://www.environmentalenforcementwatch.org/ EEW]) project works to make sense of. This mostly comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Enforcement and Compliance History Online ([https://echo.epa.gov/ ECHO]) system.
This is an experimental Wikibase instance where I am exploring a new method for handling the data that the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative's ([https://envirodatagov.org/ EDGI]) Environmental Enforcement Watch ([https://www.environmentalenforcementwatch.org/ EEW]) project works to make sense of. This mostly comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Enforcement and Compliance History Online ([https://echo.epa.gov/ ECHO]) system.


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Part of the reason I'm interested in this dynamic for the EEW project is that they are like a lot of groups that really don't have the capacity to engineer and operate a bunch of big data tech. What if, instead, there was some tech that a small non-profit like this could push things to, focusing more on the code to do the work (which they have to anyway) and less on the foundational infrastructure for where the data goes? If that data infrastructure is also fully in the public domain and part of a well-established global organization dedicated to building the global knowledge commons, then we have a pretty good chance of developing something truly lasting.
Part of the reason I'm interested in this dynamic for the EEW project is that they are like a lot of groups that really don't have the capacity to engineer and operate a bunch of big data tech. What if, instead, there was some tech that a small non-profit like this could push things to, focusing more on the code to do the work (which they have to anyway) and less on the foundational infrastructure for where the data goes? If that data infrastructure is also fully in the public domain and part of a well-established global organization dedicated to building the global knowledge commons, then we have a pretty good chance of developing something truly lasting.


Disclaimer: I'm a sometimes volunteer with the EDGI-EEW, but I spun this wikibase instance up on my own initiative and time. If it proves interesting to carry forward in some more official capacity with the organization/project, we'll recast it at that time.
== Software Code ==
 
Ultimately, I want to build everything in a Wikibase instance like this from code. Most items here are built with Python codes leveraging the WikibaseIntegrator project. The code project for this is in [https://github.com/skybristol/eew-edgi GitHub]. I mostly work in Python notebooks as they give me a chance to write notes as I figure things out, they are easy to share thinking from with other people, and they can be executed all over the place these days. Eventually, I'll work some of that code into more formal deployable packaging.
 
== Acknowlwedgements ==
 
I am also taking advantage of the Earth Science Information Partners ([https://www.esipfed.org/ ESIP]) in this work, most notably the Pangeo instance the ESIPLab operates for building and running code that's building the Wikibase. ESIP is where I first heard about and got interested in the EDGI-EEW project. I fiddled around with the PAWS platform the Wikidata folks operate with (another JupyterLab instance), but it's not as functional for my purposes.
 
== Disclaimer/Disclosure ==
 
I'm a sometimes volunteer with the EDGI-EEW, but I spun this wikibase instance up on my own initiative and time. If it proves interesting to carry forward in some more official capacity with the organization/project, we'll recast it at that time.
 
I also work for a U.S. Federal Government science agency. I only work part time in that capacity now, and I'm doing this experimental work on my own personal time. Some of the concepts I am pursuing and developing here have overlap with research and developing I am doing with my "day job," so I will occasionally take lessons learned in this context and apply them in the other. In any case, anything I do or contribute is dedicated to the public domain where I hope others can leverage it. I do carefully work to distinguish between the two hats I wear and work in compliance with my agency rules for both paid and volunteer work.