New call promoting data mobilization in European Russia

Funding opportunity for Russian institutions supporting mobilization of biodiversity data, training and capacity building activities

Stenurella melanura
Black-striped longhorn beetle (Stenurella melanura) by ichman via iNaturalist. Photo licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

This call is closed.

The second call under the Data mobilization in European Russia programme invites proposals that

  • support mobilization of biodiversity data in European Russia and data publications through GBIF.org
  • promote national training and capacity building activities on data publishing

GBIF invites the submission of proposals with the financial support from Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility (FinBIF). Based on the GBIF Implementation Plan 2017–2021, the call for proposal aims to address key data and capacity gaps, and to promote data mobilization in the region. The total potential funding assigned to this call is €27,000, and applicants may request a maximum of €9,000 per project.

Purpose

Projects funded under a Data mobilization in European Russia grant target various institutions, initiatives and networks in Russia. Project proposals should focus on data mobilization activities and may target natural history collections and other sources of freely accessible biodiversity data from European Russia. Other activities supporting data mobilization are also eligible, including training and capacity building activities. Proposals should address regional challenges identified for GBIF in Russia related to filling taxonomic and geographical gaps in freely-accessible data relating to European Russian biodiversity. The following activities are envisaged, in order of priority:

  • Digitization and publication of georeferenced species occurrence data by Russian organisations: mobilizing species occurrence, checklist, and sampling-event data
  • Organization of workshops and training events enhancing national and/or project partners’ capacity in biodiversity data mobilization and publishing

Application process

Project proposals must be completed using the provided template and emailed to dschigel@gbif.org with a copy to info@gbif.org before 30 December 2018 at 23:59 CET (UTC +1) (deadline in local timezones). Proposals must be submitted by completing the application form in English, except for the Project summary section, which must be completed in English and in Russian. Please make sure to read the entirety of the call for proposals and the proposal template before beginning to fill out the form.

Any Russian institution or organization may submit a project proposal, as long as the project focuses on data and activities in European Russia (west of Urals). It is crucial to describe the datasets expected to be published via GBIF.org as deliverables of the project – see guidance on data publishing and on classes of datasets supported by GBIF. Please note that only mobilization of occurrence, checklist, and sampling event datasets will be considered in the proposals. A selection panel convened by GBIF Secretariat will evaluate applications through a one-stage process. For more information, contact dschigel@gbif.org.

When describing data deliverables in the table in the Data section, indicate taxonomic, geographic, temporal scope of the data, approximate number of records, sampling methodology or protocol used (if relevant), geographic accuracy for most of anticipated records, and current state of the data, such as undigitized, digitized, etc.

Under Other deliverables, list all other expected outputs from the project. These could be e.g. organization of data mobilization workshops, training events, data holder engagement activities resulting in new GBIF data publishers from Russia, etc. Activities aimed at supporting national participation of Russia in GBIF will have an advantage.

Activities related to generation of new data (fieldwork, expeditions), analytical research, attending conferences will not be considered. Note also that only a fixed sum can be allocated to purchase of IT equipment (see Funding).

Timeline

Event Date
Call opens by 1 December 2018
Call closes 30 December 2018
Reviews and decision letters January 2019
Contracts signed by 1 February 2019
Project start 1 February 2019
Mid-term report 15 May 2019
Final report 30 September 2019

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Eligibility

The GBIF Secretariat welcomes proposals from biodiversity data holding institutions and organisations in Russia. The eligible proposals must meet the following criteria to be considered by the review panel:

  • Completed application form using template provided in call for proposals
  • Mobilization of data focusing on European Russia, west of Urals
  • Appropriate dataset classes matching the call priorities
  • Proposals must include co-funding from other sources, either directly or in-kind, including staff time.

Evaluation criteria

Project proposals will be assessed for maximum realistic impact for the available time and funding. Specifically, the following evaluation criteria will be used:

  • Alignment of the project with objectives and priorities of the call
  • Quantity, quality and relevance of the biodiversity data proposed for mobilization
  • Occurrence and sampling event datasets have substantial numbers of georeferenced records
  • Expected number of records realistic for the available time and funding based on the internal performance analysis
  • Anticipated value of the project deliverables to both the national context and the broader GBIF community
  • Quality of project design and risk assessment

Funding

A maximum of €9,000 may be requested through a Data mobilization in European Russia grant. No overheads may be charged. A maximum of €1,000 may be requested for IT services or purchase, covering a maximum of 50% of total cost for these items.

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Appendix - application deadline

Copenhagen, Denmark Sun, 30 Dec 2018 at 23:59 CET
Moscow Standard Time, MSK Mon, 31 Dec 2018 at 01:59 MSK
Samara Time, SAMT Mon, 31 Dec 2018 at 02:59 SAMT
Yekaterinburg Time, YEKT Mon, 31 Dec 2018 at 03:59 YEKT
Omsk Standard Time, OMST Mon, 31 Dec 2018 at 04:59 OMST
Krasnoyarsk Time, KRAT Mon, 31 Dec 2018 at 05:59 KRAT
Irkutsk Time, IRKT Mon, 31 Dec 2018 at 06:59 IRKT
Yakutsk Time, YAKT Mon, 31 Dec 2018 at 07:59 YAKT
Vladivostok Time, VLAT Mon, 31 Dec 2018 at 08:59 VLAT
Magadan Time, MAGT Mon, 31 Dec 2018 at 09:59 MAGT
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia Mon, 31 Dec 2018 at 10:59 PETT
Corresponding UTC Sun, 30 Dec 2018 at 22:59