The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is inviting concept notes for project funding in sub-Saharan Africa through its Biodiversity Information for Development (BID), a program funded by the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Union.

The BID program aims to enhance capacity for effective mobilization and use of biodiversity data in support of decision- and policymaking for sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The total funding assigned to this call for Africa is approximately €600,000.

This call builds on the impact of BID’s first phase, in which 63 BID-funded projects mobilized 535 biodiversity datasets containing more than 1.3 million records relevant to the regions’ priority policy needs. The program's rigorous training and e-learning curricula have also helped improve biodiversity data skills and establish regional communities of practice.

The GBIF call will support projects from sub-Saharan Africa that:

• Mobilize biodiversity data relevant to decisions supporting sustainable development
• Use and extend best practices for digitizing natural history collections and mobilizing other biodiversity data
• Apply biodiversity data in support of decision-making and research
• Develop lasting national, regional or thematic networks to support ongoing data sharing and reuse

The call offers support for four grant types:

• Regional biodiversity data mobilization grants that establish or strengthen international collaborations to increase biodiversity data mobilization for research and policy addressing regional sustainable development needs
• National biodiversity data mobilization grants that establish or strengthen national biodiversity information facilities and increase biodiversity data mobilization to respond to national priorities
• Institution-level biodiversity data mobilization grants that mobilize biodiversity data relevant for sustainable development
• Data-use grants that build on existing relationships between biodiversity data-holding institutions and decision-makers to provide data solutions that respond to a specific policy need

Concept notes must be submitted by 27 August 2020. If you have questions about the program or call for proposals, please contact BID@gbif.org.

The JRS Biodiversity Foundation is recognizes GBIF and the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Union for their commitment to African biodiversity information systems.