Mission
The aim of FinBIF is to coordinate the collection, analysis, reporting and archivial of all kinds of biodiversity related information in Finland. Participation will include both governmental and non-governmental organizations producing or using such data.
Funding
The Finnish node is integrated into the Finnish Museum of Natural History.
The basic financial contribution to GBIF is covered by Academy of Finland, which is an agency within the administrative branch of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.
History
The GBIF Participant node for Finland is currently integrated into the Finnish Museum of Natural History. All technical development is executed by the ICT-team at the museum. The cross-governmental Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility (FinBIF) species gateway was established during a meeting in 2012.
For the years 2015-2017 FinBIF acquired project funding from the Ministry of Finance as part of a wider project called Envibase. The goal of Envibase is to promote the opening, harmonization and open use of information on the environment and natural resources. This project is coordinated by SYKE, the Finnish Environment Institute.
Structure
The node has a minimal formal organizational structure. The Head of Delegation for Finland is the director of the Finnish Museum of Natural History and the node manager is a member of the ICT-team of the museum, with affiliation as ICT-specialist. The node does not have a separate board or steering committee, but is under the guidance of the board of the Finnish Museum of Natural History with core funding coming from the museum budget. Some external GBIF activities have been developed with EU-funded projects and projects funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.