Building taxonomic research capacity near biodiversity hotspots and for protected areas by networking natural history museums and other taxonomic facilities
Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
Professional taxonomists are highly specialised and skilled experts, traditionally working in academia or curating collections in natural history museums, herbaria, botanical garden or biobanks. EU Member States and associated countries, often lack permanent taxonomic capacity in the field, in particular near biodiversity hotspots and protected areas. They could greatly benefit from professional expertise, networking and infrastructures from natural history museums and other taxonomic facilities, such as botanical gardens or biobanks, and centres integrating new genome- and image-based technologies to advance taxonomy, contributing at the same time with adequate in situ conservation monitoring, data and samples.
Detailed Call Description
Building on expert findings and recommendations, the taxonomic network should develop a plan to strengthen taxonomic expertise in Europe, promote taxonomy and its applications in official curricula and businesses, and develop plans for international cooperation. Expert taxonomy trainers across Europe should train a network of ‘followers’, by creating simple-to-use identification guides and methodologies, training programmes, online tools and activities adapted to local needs and resources (by area and by taxa of particular importance, such as endemic, locally-threatened species, those in the Red List, or intra-specific diversity). The strategy of promoting integrative taxonomy should also account of the publication gap in taxonomic journals, discouraging specialists in academic competitions. The project should also lead with guidance, resources and expertise to establish or improve national reference collections for pollinators in all European countries (bee, butterfly, moth, and hoverfly and beetle specimens), as well as for soil fauna (mites, springtails, woodlices, millipedes and earthworms) and freshwater taxa including invasive alien species in all European countries.
The network should also support, guide and supervise the establishment of adequate facilities in a pilot number of local nodes (such as wet labs, connected computer data nodes and remote communications). Proposals can include financial support to third parties in the form of grants. The action should also seek to involve amateur taxonomists, reach for citizen scientists with tools and networks, produce/update a strategic mapping and agenda for taxonomic expertise in Europe, and identify gaps and needs for future actions.
A maximum of €200,000 per third party could be granted. The consortium need to define the selection process of organisations, for which financial support will be granted.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
70%
EU contribution per project: €6,00 million
Maximum 30% of the requested EU contribution may be allocated to this purpose.
Thematic Categories
- Agriculture - Farming - Forestry
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Rural development
Eligibility for Participation
- Educational Institutions
- Farmers, Agriculturalists
- NGOs
- Non Profit Organisations
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- State-owned Enterprises
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou Street, 1075 Nicosia
T.Th. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
+357 22205000
Email: support@research.org.cy
George Christou
Contact Phone: 22 205 030
E-mail: gchristou@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/
Charalambos Papatryfonos
Contact Phone: 22 205 016
E-mail: cpapatryfonos@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/
(Publish Date: 10/11/2021-for internal use only)
EU Contact Point
European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/research-and-innovation_en#contact