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Else Østergaard Andersen, University of Copenhagen Liaison to GBIF, and her study partner Peter Larsen conducted a case study of GBIF and its Participant Nodes in the light of organizational theories of Imaginary Organizations and Sense-making.

This case study became the basis for their thesis for the Executive Masters degree in Public Administration (MPA) at the Copenhagen Business School. They received the degree in January, 2006.

The empirical study of five GBIF Nodes considered whether the theoretical perspectives of Imaginary Organizations and Sense-making could help to improve leadership, at the Node level, of a global knowledge network like GBIF. Especially, focus was given to how these perspectives can inspire GBIF Participant Node Managers in their efforts to handle organizational challenges.

Study results indicate that it would be valuable to GBIF for the Nodes to focus in a more concentrated way on biodiversity data as a public good, trust building in local networks, and the norm of reciprocity.

This analysis led to five recommendations to the GBIF Nodes Committee:

• Imagine the invisible: Make sure the part of the GBIF network that your node is the key to (e.g., data holders and users) is visible to you as a Node Manager. That is, make sure you have a conceptual grasp of this network as a real entity, even though it is "virtual".
• Focus on the whole, rather than on a single problem. The imaginary organization consists of transactions, relations, processes, and learning. The key to solving a problem in one of these areas might well lie in another.
• Break challenges down into small and feasible wins: To be able to manage the whole, it can be very helpful to break the challenges down into small and identifiable win-win situations.
• Learn from your colleagues - and from yourself: Take the time to stop and reflect on what has worked and what has not in a given situation, share these reflections with your colleague Node Managers, and use what has been learned from these experiences in meeting future challenges.
• Set up E-intervision programmes: Use your colleague Node Managers for counselling among professional partners via the Internet for mutual support. Questions from an equal partner can help you examine a work-related situtation, place it in its context (focus on the whole) and break the challenge down into small, achievable steps.