A Workshop on Data Standardisation in Animal Health

Accurate, consistent, structured, and interoperable data are the foundation of effective animal health management, surveillance, research, and policy. Yet, the diversity of data sources -ranging from veterinary clinics and laboratories, to farms and field studies - often leads to fragmentation, inconsistency, and lost opportunities for insight.

This workshop on Data Standardisation in Animal Health brings together experts, practitioners, and stakeholders to explore how harmonised data frameworks can improve disease monitoring, facilitate collaboration, and support evidence-based decision-making. Through presentations, discussions, and fun practical exercises, participants will learn the basics of data standardisation, examine existing standards, share best practices (e.g. from human health), and identify priority areas toward more integrated, high-quality data systems that strengthen animal health and welfare worldwide.

Who is this for?

We invite anyone working in the animal health sector, including vet practitioners, veterinary researcher, members of industry including records system software providers, data scientists and informaticians, and regulatory representatives.

The full-day workshop will consist of three parts:

Part 1: What is data standardisation anyway? through real-world examples. Participants will gain an understanding of data standardisation, ontologies and vocabularies, how these have been used in human health, what the potential benefits in animal health.

- Coffee break -

Part 2: Lets dive in! participants will be guided through a short hands-on tutorial, to build their very own functional animal ontology.

- Networking lunch -

Part 3: What’s next? In small groups, of mixed stakeholders, participants will work together to identify the key areas of need. Each group will then pitch the specific need they identified, the reasons for prioritising this area, potential uses, and potential benefit and impact.

- Drinks reception -

Outputs from the workshop and different groups to be distilled into a position paper and a road map for vHive/Zoetis actions.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher vHIVE, University of Surrey