Open question and answer sessions for 2025 BID Regional and Cross-regional call – Full proposal phase
· Regional biodiversity data mobilization grants
· Cross-regional biodiversity data mobilization grants
· 2025 BID regional and cross-regional call for proposals: FAQ s
Disclaimer:
The call text remains the official reference for all information provided. The questions and answers shared here are intended solely as supplementary clarifications based on inquiries received during the live Q&A sessions. For any further questions, please feel free to post them on the forum here or reach out directly to BID@gbif.org .
Q: Is it sufficient to address CARE principles through data sharing agreements with data providers?
A: Addressing CARE data principles will be very dependent on the context of your project. Data sharing agreements could be a good place to start. Local Contexts labels and notices are a mechanism that some data publishing institutions are using to highlight Indigenous data governance considerations. You can see some other suggestions here: https://training.gbif.org/en/project-planning/indigenous-data-considerations .
Q: Do we need to directly target Indigenous/community-held data as specific deliverables, or can we work via existing data providers?
A: You don’t necessarily need to specifically target Indigenous/community-held data if it is not aligned with your project’s overall objective. However, if there are Indigenous/community-held data among the data your project aims to mobilize, then it is important to consider how you will ensure the respect of Indigenous/local community data sovereignty.
Q: Must all project partners be confirmed at the full proposal stage?
A: Yes, all project partners must be confirmed. If you have a partner that has not confirmed their participation in your project, please remove them from the list of partners.
Q: Are the GBIF support letter templates mandatory, or can we use our own formats or email?
A: The GBIF templates are available for your use if you wish, but they are not mandatory. What is mandatory, however, is that you provide written confirmation from your partner, ideally on an institutional official letter template. An email alone is not sufficient.
Q: Can support letters be signed by individuals (e.g. retired taxonomists) without institutional letterhead?
A: Yes, however, datasets from individual researchers or taxonomists must typically be shared through an organization in order to be published, as GBIF does not support publishing by individuals directly. An alternative could be to explore publishing data papers.
Q: Do we need to obtain new signed letters for the full proposal if we already submitted them at concept note stage?
A: If the confirmation letters from the concept note stage fully describe the support for this project, you may reuse them. However, we kindly ask that you re-upload them in the “mandatory documents” section, as they will be part of the eligibility check we will be conducting.
Q: Can partners from non-eligible countries be included in the project?
A: The answer is yes; they can be added as additional partners alongside the mandatory partners from eligible countries.
Q: Can we fund participation (e.g. workshop travel) for partners from non-eligible countries?
A: The answer is yes.
Q: How specific do dataset deliverables need to be if we don’t yet know all the exact datasets?
A: You should be as specific as you reasonably can be right now, but you do not need to name every exact dataset if they are not yet known.
Q: Do you have any guidance on how to allocate the sub-grants for data mobilization which is one of our activities?
A: We are not able to provide a specific recommendation here, as approaches will vary depending on context and implementation strategy. The only requirement is that the chosen approach must be transparent, ensure equal access to opportunities, and clearly document the selection process used to allocate sub-grants.
We encourage you to take into account the relatively short implementation period of two years, as well as the practical complexity of setting up and managing sub-grants. In some cases, it may be worth carefully considering whether a sub-grant mechanism is the most effective and feasible approach within this timeframe, while still ensuring that the overall project objectives can be achieved. There is no fixed requirement or prescribed approach, this is ultimately up to you as the applicant to design in a way that best fits your project.
Q: Beyond mandatory datasets, what kinds of “other deliverables” are expected or recommended?
A: We are also expecting to see additional deliverables beyond the production of the datasets themselves. For example, proposals should clearly explain how the data will be used, the relevance and potential value of the data for identified user communities, and how data users and stakeholders are being engaged throughout the project. Other deliverables here might be training materials, communications and reports.
In addition, it would be beneficial to describe any planned activities related to data uptake, capacity building, collaboration with end users, or the anticipated impact of the published data on research, policy, conservation, or decision-making processes. Demonstrating a clear connection between data mobilization and its practical use will strengthen the proposal.
Q: Is it recommended to select additional (optional) capacity development indicators, or are mandatory indicators sufficient?
A: Selected projects will be asked to report on the mandatory indicators as part of their progress reports. This is intended to facilitate and streamline the monitoring of project implementation.
In addition, we have developed a range of optional capacity development indicators that you may choose from. These are not mandatory. They are provided as an additional tool to help you, if useful, in assessing and demonstrating the impact of your project. You are free to select as many or as few as you consider relevant to your work.
Q: What level of detail is expected in the full proposal budget compared to the concept note?
A: Include all costs related to the project’s activities and deliverables and ensure all costs are reasonable, conservative and realistic, well explained, and properly estimated. GBIF reserve the right to remove ineligible costs listed in the budget. All costs should clearly show how the amount was calculated (e.g. unit cost × quantity, daily rate × number of days). Example: “Coffee break for 15 people at 100 [currency] per person; venue hire of 1,000 [currency] per day for 2 days.”
Q: How should we handle multiple currencies for co-funding and in-kind contributions?
A: Please do your best to provide an approximate amount in your local currency. Please note that we will not require official documentation for co-funding.
Q: How should we estimate flight and travel costs given price volatility?
A: You may use the current cost of flights as the basis for your budget estimates. However, it is advisable to mention in the risk assessment section of the proposal that travel costs may increase due to external factors such as fluctuations in fuel prices, an oil crisis, inflation, or other unforeseen economic conditions, and to explain how you plan to mitigate this risk (e.g., virtual or hybrid meetings).
Including this information demonstrates that potential budget risks have been considered and that the project team is aware of possible changes that could affect implementation costs.
Q: Can BID funds be used to support workshops involving both eligible and ineligible country participants?
A: The answer is yes.
Q: Why do some warnings appear in the form even when we cannot see an obvious error?
A: The system includes compliance checks for requirements such as confirmed partners, adherence to the IT budget cap, and staying within the maximum allowed BID grant amount. If any of these requirements are not met or are entered incorrectly, the system will prevent you from submitting your application.
Q: How many proposals were invited to full proposal stage and approximately what proportion of invited full proposals will receive funding?
A: We are not able to disclose this information, but we can note that the call is highly competitive.
Q: Who in the GBIF community has relevant experience with automated Darwin Core conversion that we could approach?
A: We have a regional support team that can provide assistance to funded projects. However, the implementation of project activities should not depend on support from GBIF staff or contractors.
You may wish to consider including partners with relevant expertise and experience who can help support the successful implementation of the project.