The third call under the Biodiversity Information Fund for Asia (BIFA) programme invites proposals that
- Enhance knowledge of Asian biodiversity through access to data from biological collections and monitoring programmes in the region
- Support GBIF nodes in Asia to develop or improve biodiversity information portals
GBIF invites the submission of proposals under the third phase of the Biodiversity Information Fund for Asia (BIFA) programme, funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan.
This call for proposals aims to address key challenges that GBIF nodes in Asia have identified in connection with the mobilization and use of biodiversity data in the region. The total potential funding assigned to this call is approximately €105,000, and applicants may request a maximum of €15,000 through BIFA for each project.
Three types of grants are included in the call:
- BIFA collections data mobilization grants will target Asia’s natural history collections, to fill taxonomic and geographic gaps in freely-accessible data relating to Asian biodiversity. These grants are open to any institutions based in Asia.
- BIFA ecological monitoring data mobilization grants will target Asian biodiversity monitoring programmes and networks. These grants are open to any institutions based in Asia.
- BIFA portal support grants will target activities by GBIF Participant nodes or groups of nodes in Asia to develop or upgrade national, regional or thematic biodiversity information web portals.
Concept notes must be submitted to the GBIF Secretariat by 20 December 2017, using the appropriate template linked from the guidelines on each grant type above. For more information, contact bifa@gbif.org.
Application process and timeline
A selection panel convened by GBIF Secretariat will evaluate applications through a two-stage process.
- Initial concept notes, using the templates provided, must be submitted by 20 December 2017
- Selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposals in early 2018
- Following a final review and selection, funded projects will start in second quarter of 2018. The project implementation period will be approximately April 2018–February 2019.
Applicants for data mobilization grants will be required to send a project team member to a capacity enhancement workshop and obtain certification in the skills needed to publish data according to GBIF standards. This workshop will take place in June or July 2018, and the cost of participation will be met separately from BIFA funds (applicants need NOT include it in the project budget).
