Climate Risk Lab Wiki Editorial Guidelines

1. Open-Source Guidelines

The Climate Risk Lab Wiki is an open-source platform, meaning all data, tools, and content are freely accessible, modifiable, and shared under open-source licenses. These guidelines ensure that open-source principles are upheld while fostering collaboration and innovation.

1.1 Licensing and Attribution

• All contributions must be licensed under an approved open-source license (e.g., MIT, GPL, Creative Commons) that permits free use, modification, and redistribution.
• Contributors must clearly state the license for each dataset, tool, or model added, ensuring proper attribution to the original creators.
• When modifying or building upon existing open-source content, contributors must adhere to the original licensing terms, including attribution and any share-alike or non-commercial provisions.

1.2 Open Collaboration and Contribution

• Contributors are encouraged to engage with the broader open-source community by sharing their improvements or modifications to external open-source projects integrated into the wiki.
• When developing or modifying tools and datasets, contributors should document changes transparently (e.g., version histories or changelogs) and submit enhancements back to the original projects where appropriate.

1.3 Transparency and Documentation

• Open-source contributions should include comprehensive documentation, including clear instructions on how to use the data or tools, any dependencies, and a description of the purpose and function.
• Contributors should provide version histories or changelogs when updating open-source tools or datasets, to maintain transparency and enable users to track modifications over time.

1.4 Data Ethics and Legal Compliance

• All open-source data shared must comply with legal regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and ethical standards, ensuring no proprietary or confidential data is unintentionally exposed.
• Contributors should prioritize open data that advances the public good, particularly in the field of climate-related financial risk analysis.

1.5 No Proprietary Contributions

• Only open-source licensed content is permitted. Proprietary datasets, tools, or software that restrict access or modification cannot be contributed to the wiki. This ensures that all content remains freely accessible and modifiable by the community.

2. Editorial Guideline for all contributors.

The Climate Risk Lab Wiki aims to provide accurate, high-quality, and relevant content related to climate-related financial risk analysis. To maintain these standards, all contributors must adhere to the following editorial guidelines which outline content approval, refinement, and feedback processes for our user system.

2.1 Content Relevance and Quality

• Contributions must focus on climate-related financial risk analysis, including topics such as physical risk (e.g. risks posed by extreme weather events), transition risk (risks posed by policy and market changes), financial modeling, and risk mitigation strategies.
• All content should be grounded in up-to-date, credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, government reports, or official datasets.
• All contributions must be fact-checked, well-referenced, and aligned with the practical needs of stakeholders such as financial institutions, regulatory bodies, corporations, and policymakers.

2.2 Data and Tools Contributions

• Datasets, analytical tools, models, and methods added to the wiki must be clearly documented with proper references and instructions for use.
• Contributors should ensure that datasets are relevant to financial risk analysis, including metrics such as asset-level exposure, climate scenarios, and financial impact assessments.
• All contributions should follow consistent standards of each domain (e.g. financial disclosure, climate data) where applicable for variable naming, data formats, and metadata documentation to enable easy integration across models and datasets.

• Common standards, such as IPCC frameworks or financial regulatory guidelines, should be used to ensure comparability and interoperability across contributions.

2.3 Style and Tone

• All content must be written in an objective, neutral tone. Avoid any commercial bias or promotion of specific tools, companies, or methodologies without proper context.
• Where multiple perspectives on climate risk or financial strategies exist, they should be represented fairly, with a balanced overview of different approaches.

2.4 Citations and Sourcing

• All claims, datasets, and methodologies should be accompanied by citations to reliable sources, including academic papers, industry reports, or official documents. Proper referencing ensures content credibility and traceability.
• Contributors should follow a consistent citation format to maintain clarity and professionalism across the wiki.

2.5 Regular Content Review and Updates

• Given the evolving nature of climate-related financial risk, all content should be regularly reviewed by Topic Ambassadors to ensure it remains up-to-date with the latest research, regulatory changes, and market developments.
• Outdated or incorrect content must be flagged and updated in a timely manner to maintain the wiki’s integrity.

2.6 Confidentiality and Ethical Use of Data

• No proprietary or confidential data should be shared without proper authorization. Contributors must ensure that all shared data complies with relevant privacy laws and ethical standards.
• Publicly available or licensed datasets are encouraged, with clear attribution to their sources.

2.7 Feedback and Collaboration

• The Climate Risk Lab Wiki fosters a collaborative environment. All users are encouraged to engage in discussions, provide constructive feedback, and suggest improvements.
• Topic Ambassadors and Major Contributors are expected to actively respond to feedback, ensuring the continuous improvement of content and fostering a community of shared knowledge.

3. Tiered Roles and Responsibilities

The CRL Wiki is overseen by the Editorial Board and sustained through contributions and maintenance by a four-tier user system.

Editorial Board

The Editorial Board is responsible for the oversight of the wiki's content, maintaining its accuracy, quality, and relevance. Specific duties include:

• Power users recruitment Identify and recruit qualified Power Users from diverse sectors and industries, evaluating expertise and providing onboarding support to ensure oversight of content quality.
• Guidance and Collaboration Provide guidance and support to Major Contributors and Topic Ambassadors, fostering a collaborative environment that encourages the refinement of wiki content.
• Content Review and Audit Review and approve all major content contributions to maintain standards of accuracy, relevance, and neutrality, while regularly auditing and updating existing content based on user feedback to improve clarity and usability.
• Moderate Discussions Monitor and moderate discussions and feedback from Registered and Public users, ensuring constructive dialogue and addressing disputes to uphold community standards.
• Community Engagement Actively engage with the contributor community to encourage participation and collaboration, while identifying and inviting new Topic Ambassadors and Major Contributors to ensure a continuous influx of expertise and perspectives.

Tier 1: Topic Ambassadors (Power Users)

• Topic Ambassadors are responsible for reviewing, approving, and moderating all new content submissions to ensure alignment with the editorial guidelines, relevance to climate-related financial risks, and adherence to neutrality and accuracy.
• Ambassadors must regularly address user feedback, ensure ongoing content quality, and foster collaboration across sectors.
• Topic ambassadors are by invitation only; they are recruited by the editorial board, and Ambassadors are expected to actively engage in shaping the wiki’s direction.

Tier 2: Major Contributors

• Major Contributors are responsible for actively enhancing wiki content by adding or updating datasets, tools, methods, and models.
• Major Contributors are typically referred by Topic Ambassadors based on their expertise and significant contributions.

Tier 3: Registered Users

• Registered users may provide feedback and suggestions for improvements through discussion pages or comments. They help shape content quality by offering insights and participating in dialogue.
• While they do not have direct editing privileges, their role is crucial in refining the relevance and usefulness of the wiki.

Tier 4: Public Users

• Public users may view all content and offer feedback without registration. Feedback should be constructive and contribute to the overall improvement of the wiki.
• Public users engage primarily as information consumers but are encouraged to share observations and insights via available feedback channels.

4. Communication and Collaboration

To enhance collaboration, editorial board members can use the "Talk" function to communicate directly. Each editor has a "User talk" page for leaving messages, asking questions, and discussing relevant topics.

• Common Space for Board Communication: For discussions, voting, and comments visible to all board members, use the Admin’s Talk page. To access it, type "User_talk" into the search bar at the top right of the page (see figure below), then select the “Discussion” tab on that page.
• Private Communication with Specific Board Members: For comments relevant to particular members, visit their individual User talk pages at: https://www.climateriskwiki.uw.edu/index.php?title=User:[Username] and go to “Discussion.” Use “Add topic” to leave new messages.