The Data Patch

The Data Patch is a United States-based data management services company. It provides consulting and hands-on support to scientists, research projects, land trusts, and funding organizations that need to organize, standardize, publish, and preserve data in line with modern scientific expectations. The firm's stated mission is grounded in the belief that good data management makes the world a better place and that every scientist should be empowered to excel at it. Its services are explicitly aligned with frameworks such as the FAIR principles, the CARE principles, and open science. The company is a small, founder-led practice. According to its website, The Data Patch is Abby Benson and Steve Formel, who together bring a combined 25 years of data management experience. Their backgrounds span ecology, microbial ecology, and federal data programs. Abby Benson began as an ecologist studying thirteen-lined ground squirrels on prairie dog colonies in Colorado before moving into data work at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). She served as node manager for OBIS-USA from 2018 to 2023 and for GBIF-US from 2019 to 2023, and has been active in communities such as ESIP, TDWG, GBIF, and OBIS. Steve Formel is a microbial ecologist by training whose past research examined the relationship between a salt marsh grass, its microbiome, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; in 2021 he shifted toward improving data management and standards implementation for large, complex data and projects, including archiving data as a data officer for NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). The Data Patch organizes its offerings around garden-themed service lines. "Raised Beds" covers data modeling, planning, and structuring — for example, data management plans that go beyond boilerplate, data models tailored to a project, and collection templates aligned to community standards. "Harvest" covers data mobilization and publishing, including cleaning and standardizing datasets, aligning taxonomic names against databases such as the Catalogue of Life (COL), transforming data into Darwin Core format, validating quality, and publishing to GBIF with metadata and DOI assignment. The firm publishes example pricing on its site, such as $175 per hour, with illustrative packages like a 16-hour plant inventory mobilization and publishing engagement or a six-hour guided mobilization consultation. Because it is a services business rather than a product manufacturer, The Data Patch does not sell physical goods. Its "products" are engagements and deliverables: data management plans, data models, collection templates, taxonomic resolution, Darwin Core mapping, GBIF publishing support, and guidance reviews for funders. Its clients appear to be mission-driven research and conservation organizations, including land trusts and funding bodies that need their grantees' data to be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. The company is privately held and founder-owned. It operates primarily as a remote or distributed consultancy serving U.S. and international clients, and it is listed in Wikidata as a data management services company in the United States. No parent company, outside investors, or public listing are known.

The Data Patch is a small, founder-owned data management services company in the United States. Its public history is tied closely to the professional trajectories of its two principals, Abby Benson and Steve Formel, rather than to a long corporate lineage. Abby Benson's path began in ecology, studying thirteen-lined ground squirrels on prairie dog colonies in Colorado. She later moved into data work at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), where she became a champion for making biodiversity data useful. Her focus has been on the drivers and effects of changing ecosystems on organisms at a national scale, and on the role that data management can play in mitigating harm. From 2018 to 2023 she served as node manager for OBIS-USA, and from 2019 to 2023 as node manager for GBIF-US. She has been heavily involved in data management communities including ESIP, TDWG, and the GBIF and OBIS communities, and has worked with the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network, the Global Ocean Observing System, the National Ecological Observatory Network, and many others to share their data to global systems. In 2019 she launched the Standardizing Marine Biological Data working group, and in 2021 she launched the ESIP Biological Data Standards cluster, which won the ESIP Catalyst Award in 2022. Steve Formel is a microbial ecologist by training. His past research focused on the relationship between a salt marsh grass, its microbiome, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In 2021 he turned his attention toward improving data management and standards implementation for large, complex data and projects. His experience includes archiving data as a data officer for NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and developing and implementing data management practices. Together, the two founders report a combined 25 years of data management experience. They have helped develop international and U.S. national standards and practices for open data, implementing the FAIR principles, federal data management requirements, and cutting-edge data types such as eDNA, PAM, and telemetry. The Data Patch was formed to package that expertise as a service for scientists and organizations that need to meet the requirements of modern science, including the FAIR principles, the CARE principles, and open science. The company's service model is organized around garden metaphors. "Raised Beds" addresses data modeling, planning, and structuring: management plans that satisfy funders, well-documented models that reflect how research actually operates, and collection templates aligned to standards so data plays well with others. "Harvest" addresses data mobilization and publishing: cleaning and standardizing site codes, survey dates, and plot coordinates; aligning plant names against taxonomic databases such as the Catalogue of Life (COL); transforming data into Darwin Core format with appropriate survey extensions; conducting quality validation and flagging data gaps; and publishing to GBIF with full metadata documentation and DOI assignment. The firm also offers guided mobilization for organizations that have staff capacity but need expert guidance, and guidance reviews for funders that want a second perspective on public data management guidance documents. Pricing is published transparently on the website at an illustrative rate of $175 per hour, with example packages such as a 16-hour plant inventory mobilization and publishing engagement ($2,800), a six-hour guided mobilization approach ($1,050), and a two-hour data management guidance review ($350). These examples illustrate the company's positioning as an accessible, project-scale consultancy rather than a large enterprise vendor. The Data Patch is listed in Wikidata as a data management services company in the United States. It is privately held and founder-owned, with no known parent company, outside investors, or public listing. Its clients appear to be research projects, land trusts, conservation organizations, and funding bodies that need their data to be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.

• 2022

  The ESIP Biological Data Standards cluster wins the ESIP Catalyst Award.

• 2021

  Abby Benson launches the ESIP Biological Data Standards cluster; Steve Formel turns his attention toward improving data management and standards implementation for large, complex data and projects.

• 2019

  Abby Benson begins serving as node manager for GBIF-US (through 2023) and launches the Standardizing Marine Biological Data working group.

• 2018

  Abby Benson begins serving as node manager for OBIS-USA (through 2023).

A boutique, founder-led data management consultancy for scientists and mission-driven organizations, specializing in FAIR/CARE-aligned open data, biodiversity data standards, and publishing to global systems such as GBIF.

• Raised Beds — Data modeling, planning, and structuring

  Data management plans that go beyond boilerplate, data models tailored to a project's needs, and collection templates aligned to community standards.

• Harvest — Data mobilization and publishing

  Cleaning and standardizing data, aligning taxonomic names against databases such as Catalogue of Life, transforming data into Darwin Core format, quality validation, and publishing to GBIF with metadata and DOI assignment.

• Guided Mobilization Approach

  Structured consultation across three sessions for organizations with staff capacity that need expert guidance on cleaning, taxonomic resolution, Darwin Core mapping, and GBIF publishing.

• Data Management Guidance Review

  A review service for funding organizations that want a second perspective on public data management guidance documents, identifying strategic gaps and recommending repositories and metadata standards.

1. 1The Data Patchthedatapatch.com
2. 2Who are we? – The Data Patchthedatapatch.com
3. 3harvest – The Data Patchthedatapatch.com
4. 4raised-beds – The Data Patchthedatapatch.com
5. 5The Data Patch – Wikidatawikidata.org