Launch Plans for BCH Migration

Dear colleagues,

As we move into the holiday season, we'd like to take a moment to appreciate the BCH community.

Many thanks for your support and engagement throughout this busy year. The migration of the Biosafety Clearing-House to the new platform has been a success, and it would not have been possible without your efforts.

Warmest holiday wishes and all the best for the new year.

Best,
Zakir

Zakir Jafry
Biosafety Clearing-House Programme Management Officer
United Nations Environment Programme/Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
413 Saint-Jaques street,  suite 800
Montreal, Quebec
H2Y 1N9

Dear colleagues,

As many of you are aware, a webinar to introduce and demonstrate the new BCH platform was held on 7 December 2021.

The video recording of the webinar is available on YouTube at the following link: https://youtu.be/WH1wlFkm5Oc

Please feel free to let us know if you have any questions or comments.

Many thanks,
Zakir

Zakir Jafry
Biosafety Clearing-House Programme Management Officer
United Nations Environment Programme/Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
413 Saint-Jaques street,  suite 800
Montreal, Quebec
H2Y 1N9

Dear colleagues,

As you all aware, the migration of the BCH is well underway and we look forward to the new platform going live next week, on 29 November at 12 p.m. EST.

A kind reminder to join us for a webinar on the new platform of the Biosafety Clearing-House on 7 December 2021, from 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. EST.

If you have not already done so, please register at the following link: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4259187407278647822

Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you have any questions.

Best regards,
Zakir

Zakir Jafry
Biosafety Clearing-House Programme Management Officer
United Nations Environment Programme/Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
413 Saint-Jaques street,  suite 800
Montreal, Quebec
H2Y 1N9

Dear colleagues,

This is a kind note to ensure you all received the Notification that was sent on November 3rd indicating the next steps for our upcoming BCH launch, available here: https://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2021/ntf-2021-075-bch-en.pdf

Please take note of the following key dates:

- 17 – 29 November : We will be migrating content from the current BCH to the new platform. During this period, the current BCH will be available for browsing and searching records, but note that new records cannot be submitted during this time;

- 29 November, 12pm EST : The new BCH platform will officially launch;

- 7 December, 8 – 10am EST : The Secretariat will host a webinar introducing the new BCH platform.

If you have not already done so, we encourage you to register for the webinar at the following address: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4259187407278647822

Note that throughout our upcoming transition, this BCH on BCH Forum will function normally, so please feel free to message here or contact me directly should you have any questions or concerns.

Best,
Zakir

Zakir Jafry
Biosafety Clearing-House Programme Management Officer
United Nations Environment Programme/Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
413 Saint-Jaques street,  suite 800
Montreal, Quebec
H2Y 1N9

Dear colleagues,

I’m writing to provide a brief update on the migration plans for the Biosafety Clearing-House. We’re excited about the streamlined structure, view and functionalities on the new BCH site, and are eager to demonstrate the site’s latest capacities in the coming weeks.

We are currently in the midst of finalizing a new homepage to improve user navigation of the site, as well as a Knowledge Base that details how to use the many functions of the BCH. That being said, due to several technical circumstances, we’ve had to postpone our launch plans by a small margin. Our current plan is to launch the new BCH in the final week of November, and host the webinar the week that follows. As discussed in the previous update, users will not be able to add new records to the BCH in the weeks leading up to the launch.

As our launch is quickly approaching, we’ll be certain to promptly keep you informed of the latest developments. In the first week of November, I’ll communicate specific dates so you can update your calendars accordingly.

Please feel free to reach out should you have any specific questions or would like to discuss in greater detail.

Best,
Zakir

Zakir Jafry
Biosafety Clearing-House Programme Management Officer
United Nations Environment Programme/Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
413 Saint-Jaques street,  suite 800
Montreal, Quebec
H2Y 1N9

Dear colleagues,

I’d like to take a moment to update you on the next steps for the migration of the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH). As a result of the feedback received from many members of our BCH community, we’ve been making changes to the new platform as we work towards our pending launch.

The current plan is to launch the new platform of the BCH during the week of November 8th. Shortly thereafter, we will host a webinar to introduce all stakeholders to the new site, its key functionalities, and we will also provide an opportunity for users to ask questions on the new BCH.

With this in mind, we’d like to take this opportunity to communicate some key details related to launch:

1) In the week leading up to our launch date, the current BCH site will be down as we migrate all the data and records in the current clearing-house to the new platform. We’ll communicate the specific timeframe well in advance so you are aware and are able to work around this transition period.

2) While we’ve been making considerable efforts to make the new platform as user-friendly as possible, we understand that it can be challenging to become accustomed to a new interface. As a result, we’re developing walk-through tours for various pages on the site and populating a Knowledge Base with contextual help materials to aid you as you use the site. We’ll also be sure to feature some of the excellent training materials developed by UNEP-GEF’s BCH Project III.

3) We’re making a concerted effort to translate as many sections of the website as possible prior to launch. However, please note that certain pages on the BCH will not be fully translated at initial launch. However, note that we will work swiftly to translate all content as soon as possible.

Many thanks for all your hard work and support during this substantial transition. We’ll be in touch in the coming weeks with additional details related to our launch timeline and webinar. Please do not hesitate should you have any additional questions regarding our launch plans. Feel free to post any questions below, or email me directly if you’d like to schedule a call to discuss via teleconference.

Best regards,
Zakir


Zakir Jafry
Biosafety Clearing-House Programme Management Officer
United Nations Environment Programme/Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
413 Saint-Jaques street,  suite 800
Montreal, Quebec
H2Y 1N9