Mr Les Kneebone1
1Kurrawongai, Melbourne, Australia
Biography:
With 20 years experience in metadata projects, Les has worked across government, research and social service sectors. He's helped develop important linked data vocabularies, including the Schools Online Thesaurus (ScOT), Public Policy Taxonomy, and Biosecurity Thesaurus. Les has also built grey literature databases for government – and industry-led research, including the Analysis & Policy Observatory (APO) and Biosecurity Portal.
At KurrawongAI, Les provides expert advice to clients on using and creating vocabularies. He also leads our vocabulary training efforts, ensuring clients understand how to get the most out of the tools and resources we offer.
Abstract:
VocPub is a specification designed to support quality, consistency, and interoperability in SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System) vocabularies. One of a number of SKOS quality profiles, VocPub emphasises clear approaches to stating attribution and provenance of vocabulary data which, in turn, provides a foundation for more confident vocabulary reuse and adoption.
Initially developed by KurrawongAI to guide client vocabulary publishing, VocPub has since matured into a widely referenced public profile. While early versions were curated within KurrawongAI, with occasional input from vocabulary experts in and adjacent to the Australian Government, stewardship of the profile has formally shifted to the Australian Government Linked Data Working Group (AGLDWG) infrastructure.
Today, VocPub is used by organisations that its stewards may not be directly aware of—an encouraging sign of success, but one that exposes gaps in current governance. With no formal mechanisms yet in place for proposing, reviewing, or approving changes, VocPub risks fragmentation or stasis just as its real-world adoption is accelerating.
This presentation traces the evolution of VocPub from an internal tool to a shared, community-facing asset. We explore the challenges of governing lightweight standards that straddle public and private interests, and outline considerations for sustainable, inclusive maintenance. Topics include change management, stakeholder diversity, and balancing technical rigour with community responsiveness.
We invite attendees to reflect on how open specification efforts like VocPub can thrive “in the wild”—where informal stewardship meets formal use.