GBIF Work Programme
2014-2016
The updated Work Programme 2014-2016 was approved by the GBIF Governing Board at
GB22 in Antananarivo, Madagascar, October 2015.

LL/5327771

GBIF Work Programme 2014-2016 – Update 2015
Introduction ..........................................................................................................................3
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................3
Stream 1: Advance the Informatics – Persistence and validation ......................................... 4
Key Deliverables ..................................................................................................................42015 Progress .....................................................................................................................52016 Plans ..........................................................................................................................6
1.1 – Reengineer user interfaces of GBIF.org ..................................................................... 6
1.2 – Research and develop services to support sample-based datasets ........................... 6
1.3 – Implement a mechanism to support long-term data preservation ............................... 7
1.4 – Revise GBIF taxonomic data services ........................................................................ 7
1.5 – Operate cloud-based IPT deployments ....................................................................... 8
1.6 – Provide publishers with list of papers citing data from their datasets .......................... 8
Stream 2: Advance the Engagement – Communication and implementation .................... 10
Key Deliverables .............................................................................................................. 102015 Progress ................................................................................................................... 102016 Plans ........................................................................................................................ 12
2.1 – Biodiversity Information for Development (BID) ........................................................ 12
2.2 – Strategy and updates for GBIF.org ........................................................................... 13
2.3 – GBIF regional activities ............................................................................................ 13
2.4 – GBIF capacity enhancement call .............................................................................. 14
2.5 – Integrated training package ...................................................................................... 14
Milestones ......................................................................................................................... 14
Budget .............................................................................................................................. 15
Stream 3: Advance the Content – Relevance and fitness-for-use ..................................... 15
Key Deliverables ............................................................................................................... 152015 Progress ................................................................................................................... 162016 Plans ........................................................................................................................ 16
3.1 – Improving data fitness for key user groups ............................................................... 16
3.2 – Strategy for accelerating discovery of biocollections ................................................ 17
3.3 – Reference datasets .................................................................................................. 17
3.4 – Sample-based data promotion and support .............................................................. 17
3.5 – Foundations for a GBIF gap-filling strategy .............................................................. 18
Milestones.......................................................................................................................... 18
Budget .............................................................................................................................. 19
Summary Budget 2016 ..................................................................................................... 20

Page 2 | 22

Introduction
At GB20 in 2013, and at GB21 in 2014, the GBIF Governing Board approved, with somemodifications, the proposed Work Programme for 2014-2016. For each of the three streams,
Informatics, Engagement and Content, this document outlines the projected key
deliverables, fuller detail for continuing activity during 2016, and a Work Programme budget
for 2016.
The budget secured for 2014 and for 2015 has been lower than that originally proposed and
it is unlikely that funding will increase significantly in 2016. During 2015, receipt of deferredpayments made it possible to expand the funding allocated to Work Programme activity incomparison with 2014. Nevertheless, missing contributions during 2015 mean that GBIF is
expected to enter 2016 with close to the minimum level of reserve funding agreed by theGoverning Board (€250K). As a result, this Work Programme for 2016 must limit expenditure
to remain within the level of funding expected to be received during 2016.
However, at the start of 2015, GBIF received funding from the European Union for
Biodiversity Information for Development (BID), a multi-year €3.9 million programme ofcontent mobilization and capacity enhancement in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and
the Pacific. The GBIF Secretariat is coordinating this activity, which will fund a significant
number of projects in these regions, all contributing to GBIF's mission. These funds should
accordingly be considered as a significant expansion of the GBIF Work Programme during
2016 and beyond, and the various streams of BID activity are accordingly included within
this document. Although these activities do not directly support all GBIF regions, they willcontribute to training and best practice materials of use to all. We would welcome
opportunities to work with any Participant or external organization to seek complementary
funds from their own sources to expand BID globally.
As with the Work Programme documents presented at GB20 and GB21, this document
provides a priority order for expenditure within the budget tables. If the budget committed by
GBIF Participants for 2016 is lower than €2.85M, lower priority activities (those listed lower inthe tables) will be deferred. If the committed budget is higher, or if additional funds arereceived, some of the proposed additional activities may be undertaken.
GBIF is a global network and its activities encompass work by all Participants. We havesought in this Work Programme revision to identify some of the significant ways in which
different Participants have advanced the work this year, and some of the opportunities for
the GBIF Work Programme explicitly to be expanded through complementary activity byParticipants. We encourage the whole GBIF community to consider ways to accelerate
progress in achieving our shared mission.

Executive Summary
The activities and deliverables outlined in this update are organized according to the threestrategic imperatives identified in the GBIF Strategic Plan 2012-2016: advancing theinformatics, advancing the engagement, and advancing the content. The final year of thethree-year Work Programme will coordinate work across all of these three streams toadvance delivery of some key benefits to GBIF’s users and stakeholders, placing the
network in a good position to meet the challenges of the next Strategic Plan period 20172021. In summary, GBIF’s work during 2016 will:

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•

•

•

•

•

•

•
•

Significantly improve the functionality and usefulness of GBIF.org and associatedcommunication products to meet the needs of key audiences, both through technicalenhancements and reorganization of content, including accommodation of selected
information materials in multiple languages (1.1, 2.2)
Offer new opportunities for sharing and discovery of sample-based datasets
incorporating information such as sampling methodologies, species composition andabundances, through targeted mobilization and adaptations of GBIF.org to improve
filtering and visualizations of data relating to sampling events (1.2, 3.4)
Improve the long-term persistence of data through implementing a pilot repository,
enabling for example the uploading of cleaned data from research projects to act as
reference datasets for future discovery and re-use (1.3, 3.3)
Enhance the quality and fitness for use of data accessed via GBIF.org throughrevision of taxonomic services and addressing recommendations of specialist user
communities, including new services to filter data based on their fitness for particularuses (1.4, 3.1)
Enhance the capacity to mobilize and use digital biodiversity data in developing
countries and among diverse data-holding communities through support to capacity
enhancement projects and development of cloud-based data hosting arrangements(1.5, 2.1, 2.4); as well as by developing an integrated training package to support
development of skills in biodiversity informatics (2.5)
Offer data publishers improved ability to track use of mobilized data through linking
citations using Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to the source datasets to which theyrefer (1.6)
Develop guidance and strategies for documenting natural history collections
through metadata, to help prioritise further digitization of collection data (3.3)
Build the foundations for a strategy to fill gaps in the biodiversity data available
through GBIF.org, by evaluating potential methodologies, consulting expert
communities and offering a community challenge to develop viable tools and models
for this purpose (3.5)

Stream 1: Advance the Informatics – Persistence and validation
Key Deliverables
From GBIF Work Programme 2014-2016, as approved at GB20:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Stable operation of new GBIF.org and services as a global infrastructure
Processes to allow all data sets and data records to have stable identifiers
Tools to support data citation needs for data publishers and for data users
Clear machine-readable data licences and guidelines on usage for all GBIFmobilised data
Guidelines and supporting tools to assess and improve metadata completeness for
all data
GBIF.org upgrades to report data quality and fitness-for-use for each data set andspecies
Proposal for use of repositories to improve long-term persistence of GBIFmobilised data
Proposal for expanding GBIF model for endorsement of data sets
Demonstration of mobilization of sample-based data through the GBIF network

Page 4 | 22•Criteria and process for evaluating software compliance with GBIF
recommendations

2015 Progress
The following progress can be reported against Work Programme deliverables:• GBIF.org
o Resource library updated and data use cases integrated in GBIF.org
o Near real-time indexing of checklists in placeo ‘Simple CSV’ downloads and download support for R client introducedo GBIF taxonomic backbone reworked (expected ready for review by end 2015)
o Maps generated for some occurrence search results (expected by end 2015)• Stable identifierso Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT) enables data publishers to allocate DigitalObject Identifiers (DOIs) during the publication process using an existing
DataCite or EZID account, or to request allocation of a DOI through GBIF
through its agreement with DataCite.
• Data citationo GBIF.org now includes DOIs for all datasets and user downloads
o Recommended citations adjusted to take account of new DOI facility,
enabling users to cite data downloads with a single DOI that resolve to a pagelisting all contributing datasets.
• Machine-readable data licenceso IPT requires compulsory selection of CC0, CC-BY or CC-BY-NC licence forall occurrence datasetso Licence declarations for all existing datasets in GBIF.org interpreted foralignment to accepted CC licences, and provisional licence allocation
proposed in each caseo National nodes contacted with proposed licences for all existing datasets fromtheir endorsed publishers
o All publishers invited to respond to proposed CC licence allocation (expected
Nov-Dec)o Revised data use and data publishing agreements drawn up taking account of
new citation recommendations and new licensing arrangements (expected by
October)• Metadata completenesso Not yet started• Data quality and fitness-for-use
o Implementation awaiting recommendations of fitness-for-use task groups• Long-term persistenceo Memorandum of Cooperation signed with DataONE to enable implementationof a repository for upload of cleaned datasets with GBIF-assigned DOIs
• Endorsement of data setso New procedure implemented for registering and endorsing GBIF data
publishers via online form, with associated guidance for nodes on evaluatingendorsement requests
o Procedure in place for community-based endorsement of publishers from
non-Participant countries, through the Nodes Committee• Sample-based data
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Darwin Core extension for sample-based data ratified by Biodiversity
Information Standards (TDWG)
o IPT supports publication of sample-based datasetso Targeted mobilization of sample-based datasets initiatedo Manual published and associated training organized on publication of samplebased data (by GB22)
Evaluating software complianceo Not yet startedo•Contributions to Stream 1 from GBIF Participants during 2015 include:•

National portals based on the Atlas of Living Australia software have been adaptedand deployed in Spain and France, with a prototype in the United Kingdom (Atlas of
Living Scotland). This was made possible due to considerable support from
Australia. Several other nodes are exploring a similar approach.

2016 Plans
In addition to providing ongoing operational support to nodes, data publishers, users of
GBIF.org and the community adapting and adopting the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA)
software, GBIF aims to evolve the GBIF infrastructure with the following enhancements
during 2016.
1.1 – Reengineer user interfaces of GBIF.org

Note: this activity provides the informatics components required for Engagement activity 2.2:
strategy and updates for GBIF.org.
Revise the content structure and architecture of the user interface of GBIF.org with the aims
of
•
•
•
•
•
•

Accommodating the extensive feedback received since launch of the new GBIF.org
platform in 2013, and captured in more than 1000 issues
Improving the user experience, particularly around a site-wide search function andcontent navigation
Providing better support for mobile devices (e.g. responsive width)
Accommodating support for multilingual interface
Improving performance by providing architecture for a cloud-based deployment
Providing architecture for software to allow for rapid enhancement and continuous
deployment with new features

Within this implementation, GBIF will enhance the public GBIF API to expose content suchas news and resources.
1.2 – Research and develop services to support sample-based datasets

Note: this activity provides the informatics components to complement the Content activity
3.4: sample-based data promotion and support

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With the release of the IPT v2.3 and supporting data standards in 2015, GBIF has the ability
to mobilize sample-based datasets and register them in GBIF.org. It is expected that withtargeted data mobilization effort and promotion, GBIF will mobilize significant amounts ofcontent (see activity 3.4). During 2016, GBIF will research and progressively incorporate
services to enable discovery, visualization and access to such data. Subject to feedback
during the mobilization process, such developments may include:••••

Services to monitor trends in the number and types of sample based datasets
mobilized
Visualizations showing the temporal and geographic coverage of sample based
datasets
Filters to query and access individual records documenting sampling events
Studies into the feasibility of offering visualizations of the relative abundance of taxa
at sites under consistent monitoring

1.3 – Implement a mechanism to support long-term data preservation

Note: this activity provides informatics support for Content activity 3.3: reference datasets.
GBIF is an effective network for publishing datasets for reuse, but lacks a consistent longterm data preservation mechanism, which leaves data at risk of being lost. To address this,GBIF seeks a mechanism to offer redundant storage across multiple data centres andreduce the risk of data loss under technical (or other) failure scenarios. The DataONE (Data
Observation Network for Earth) infrastructure is an attractive option to provide this ascommon data standards are in use by both GBIF and DataONE. GBIF will develop thetechnical connections so that any dataset published through GBIF can be archived in the
DataONE network to provide redundancy, and will increase the visibility of the data to wider
audiences. It is anticipated that the connection will also help in making the monitoring data
already archived in DataONE more readily accessible to users of the GBIF network.
Once the workflow for secure storage is operational, GBIF will offer a repository for users to
upload and archive unstructured and semi-structured datasets – such as datasets
representing cleaned versions of downloaded GBIF records that are used in publications andthe ‘reference datasets’ to be scoped in activity 3.3 below.
1.4 – Revise GBIF taxonomic data services

Note: this activity provides some of the informatics support for Content activity 3.1: improving
data fitness for key user groups.
The GBIF backbone taxonomy is one of the most encompassing taxonomies available. It isalgorithmically assembled using the checklists mobilized through GBIF and drives theservices that organize all content accessible through GBIF.org. During 2016 GBIF will
enhance this in the following ways:•••

Revise the API service to make a clear distinction between names and taxa
Revise the underlying data models to link names to the literature documenting thespeciesWork with key stakeholders, such as maintainers of the large nomenclature
databases, to find a model of credit that would satisfy integration of their databases

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••Provide a rapid means of correction issues within the taxonomy
Publish regular versioned editions of the taxonomy, reorganizing occurrence content
with each new version

Such changes will improve the quality of all data accessible through GBIF.org for all users,
and thus complement activity 3.1 on improving data fitness for key use groups.
Funds were allocated during the 2015 Work Programme for a workshop to promote delivery
of a shared taxonomic framework with other biodiversity informatics initiatives. During 2015,
GBIF has been in discussion particularly with the Catalogue of Life, Encyclopedia of Life,
Biodiversity Heritage Library and Barcode of Life Database. These partners share a vision
for collaboration to accelerate delivery of a common digital taxonomy or checklist including
all species and mechanisms for community curation and correction. The workshop funds will
be used late in 2015 or early 2016 to progress this agreement as an implementation plan.
1.5 – Operate cloud-based IPT deployments

Note: this activity provides informatics support to Engagement activity 2.1: Biodiversity
Informatics for Development
Installations of the GBIF IPT enable hundreds of institutions to publish datasets through the
GBIF network. Increasingly data publishing institutions are sharing installations of the tool,
making use of the capabilities to clearly separate attribution of data ownership from the data
hosting service, and benefiting from the reduction in maintenance costs. Building on thistrend, the GBIF Secretariat will offer cloud-based deployments of the IPT specifically forinstitutions involved in data mobilization projects, but without the technical capacity to run
installations robustly. This will apply to GBIF Participant nodes wishing to make use of sucha service, and will be especially useful as a means to support data mobilization through the
Biodiversity Information for Development programme (activity 2.1).
The perceived benefit of this model is that investment in data mobilization can be spentexclusively in digitization, advocacy, training and data management activities. Users of thecloud services will receive robust data hosting solutions at no cost, with the option of
migrating installations in the future as technical capacity increases.
A small budget has been allocated from BID funding for Helpdesk services to support
hosting costs and some technical support for this work. Most of these costs represent thework of Secretariat informatics staff to support deployment and any necessary adaptation of
the IPT software. The Secretariat will explore opportunities to use appropriate network andhardware resources offered by Participants in preference to commercial solutions.
1.6 – Provide publishers with list of papers citing data from their datasets

During 2014 and 2015, GBIF has established and deployed clear mechanisms for data
citations built around Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs). All datasets published throughGBIF.org and all data downloads receive a DOI. Users downloading data receive a
recommended citation including a DOI that resolves to a page listing each source dataset.
Guidelines clarifying recommended practice for citing data used in scientific publications arebeing incorporated into the revised GBIF data use agreement (see 2015 progress above).

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Working with DataCite and scholarly publishers during 2016, GBIF will start mining the
publications to link cited use of data to the source datasets. A service will be deployed thatallows GBIF publishers to discover which papers have cited use of their data. The intention
is to help strengthen the perceived importance of investing in open data infrastructure anddigitization projects, by clearly demonstrating the scientific use such activities enable.

Milestones
Item

Due

GBIF becomes an operational member node of the DataONE network (withGBIF data discoverable through DataONE)

Mar 16First cloud-based IPT deployment

Apr 16

GBIF operates a repository for datasets backed by DataONE storageJun 16

Revised taxonomic data services (separation of names and taxa, links topublications, etc.)

Sep 16

Implementation of GBIF DataONE member node for data archival

Sep 16

Newly deployed (re-engineered) GBIF.org site

Oct 16

GBIF.org includes initial visualisations and services for sample-based data

Oct 16

Discovery service for published papers known to have used particular
datasets

Dec 16

BudgetItem

Stream 1 (Informatics)

Costs (K€)

2016 ACTIVITIES

Staff salary1027

Includes supplementary funding (reducing costs for core funds to €992K):·
EU BON€25K·
EMODnet 2€10K

Operating Expenses
Cloud-based IPT repository

5

Fees for trial operation of a cloud-based service for an IPT repository (from BID funds)

PROPOSED ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES (if funds increase)
Additional software developer

90

Extra capability to deliver outstanding enhancements

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Stream 2: Advance the Engagement – Communication andimplementation
Key Deliverables
From GBIF Work Programme 2014-2016, as approved at GB20:
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•
•
•
•
•
•

Comprehensive communication strategy
Essential documents and information resources for GBIF stakeholder groups
Guidance and planning for national biodiversity information facilities
Improved collaboration with organizational participants
2nd Global Biodiversity Informatics Conference to advance GBIF-compliant dataand infrastructure
Investigation of model for building Supplementary Funds for GBIF-related activity
Regular update reporting on content and research value for GBIF national
Participants2015 Progress
The following progress can be reported against Work Programme deliverables:
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Communication strategy○ Strategy document revised following community consultation and in use for
guiding development of GBIF.org revision and associated communication
products
Essential documents and information resources○ GBIF information brochure updated and available in six UN languages (byGB22)○ GBIF data publishing documentation updated and consolidated (by end 2015)○ ‘How to’ guide on publishing sample-based data available in English, French,
Spanish (by GB22)
National biodiversity information facilities○ Capacity self-assessment guidelines developed and tested by selected nodes(release by GB22)○ Guidance document on establishing an effective GBIF Participant node
available in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish
Organizational participants○ Memorandum of Cooperation signed with Bioversity International on data
mobilization for agrobiodiversity○ Plan agreed with OBIS (UNESCO/IOC) for integration of updated marine
datasets into GBIF via regional OBIS nodes
Global Biodiversity Informatics Conference○ Deferred following discussion at GB20
Supplementary Funds○ Biodiversity Information for Development (BID) programme approved and,communicated, structures set up within GBIF Secretariat to manage
programme

Page 10 | 22○●Survey conducted on biodiversity data needs in Africa, to support first phaseof BID○ Africa Rising conference involving 100 participants from 21 African countries,
launches declaration and action plan on biodiversity information forsustainable development in○ First call for project proposals in Africa prepared and launched (expected
September)○ Biodiversity Information Fund for Asia (BIFA) launched with funds provided byGovernment of Japan, final project selection expected by November○ Eye on Earth project funded by Abu Dhabi Environment Agency engages
regulators and consultants in Arabian Gulf region to publish datasets
associated with environmental impact assessment through workshop in
Oman (September)
Update Reporting○ Following consultations on a prototype national report, automated national
reports with six-monthly updates implemented for all countries (expected
delivery for GB22)

In addition, the GBIF Secretariat made progress in the following areas:
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Capacity enhancement○ New GBIF capacity enhancement framework released after public review○ Six collaborative projects co-funded through 2015 support call
○ Past GBIF capacity enhancement actions evaluated (report for GB22)○ Draft GBIF regional strategy developed by NSG for discussion at GB22
Regional node meetings○ Seventh European regional nodes meeting in Paris (hosted by GBIF France,
Participant funded)○ Sixth Asian regional nodes meeting in Taiwan (funded by BIFA and TaiBIF)
Global nodes events○ Nodes training event and global nodes meeting held in Madagascar
associated with GB22
Strategic Plan development○ Major strategic priorities for GBIF 2017-2021 established through community
consultation○ Draft GBIF Strategic Plan 2017-2021 presented to GB22 for approval
External engagement○ Support for IPBES Task Force on Knowledge and Data in developing
guidelines on handling of data in IPBES assessments○ Memoranda of Cooperation (MoCs) developed with IUCN and Conservationof Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) – signature of both anticipated before end
2015

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Contributions to Stream 2 from GBIF Participants during 2014 include:
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●
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Translation of documentation by GBIF Portugal and SiBBr (PT), GBIF France and
BeBIF (FR), TaiBIF (CN) and JBIF (JP), review of Arabic translation by GBIF
Mauritania
Funding of European regional nodes meeting by GBIF France
Co-funding of Asian regional nodes meeting by TaiBIF
Funding for Biodiversity Information Fund for Asia by Government of Japan
Co-organisation of Africa Rising conference by SANBI

2016 Plans
In addition to providing ongoing operational support to GBIF Participants and nodes, andparticipating in international fora such as the CBD, IPBES and GEO BON, GBIF will carryout the following activities during 2016.
Only limited funds are available for use in 2016 to support regional meetings and the GBIF
capacity enhancement call. The Secretariat will prioritise these areas for allocation of any
additional funds or underexpenditure in other areas. It should however be noted that the
Biodiversity Information for Development (BID) activities also significantly address theseneeds within Africa, and the funding from Japan for the Biodiversity Information Fund for
Asia (BIFA) contribute to such needs in Asia.
2.1 – Biodiversity Information for Development (BID)

Note: This activity includes dependency on Informatics activity 1.5: operate cloud-based IPT
deployments; it also represents a significant investment in Stream 3 (Content) relating todata mobilization.
The BID programme will issue the first call for proposals for Africa in 2015, with a potential
total of €900,000 in funding assigned to this call, and the selected projects are expected tostart their activities in early 2016. This call for proposals will favour projects that:
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●

●

Mobilize biodiversity data related to protected areas, threatened species and invasive
alien species
Generate best practices in digitizing natural history collections and/or in mobilizing
sample-based biodiversity data, species occurrence data, checklist data, or dataset
descriptions
Engage users of biodiversity data in producing guiding examples of the integration of
biodiversity data into decision-making and research, and ensure the mobilized data
are suited to the user’s needs
Develop lasting national, regional or thematic networks to support ongoing data
sharing and reuse

Further calls for proposals will be issued to the Caribbean and Pacific regions in 2016. The
specific themes and grant types to be included in the calls for proposals for the Caribbean
and Pacific will be informed by commissioned studies and regional meetings, but will bebroadly based on the model for the call for proposals issued for Africa.

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The first BID capacity enhancement workshop in Africa will also be scheduled during 2016,
focussing on equipping funded projects under BID with the skills needed to publish
biodiversity data.
These activities will require coordination and management from within the Secretariat and an
additional administrative officer will be recruited using BID overhead funds to ensure thesmooth operation of these and other activities.
2.2 – Strategy and updates for GBIF.org

This activity complements Informatics activity 1.1 – reengineer user interfaces of GBIF.org
During 2016, the Secretariat will develop and implement a content strategy to support therevisions to the structure and organization of GBIF.org. This data-driven, audience-focused
approach will improve access, usefulness and discovery of targeted, relevant content on
GBIF.org for the audiences identified in the GBIF Communications Strategy. Priority will begiven to materials that promote and enhance the value of GBIF, both as a research
infrastructure and a global network, equipping node managers to support their networks,
guiding data publishers and enabling optimal use of data accessed through GBIF.
Related changes will improve production and publishing workflows, increasing the efficiency
of compiling, distributing, repurposing and curating news, featured datasets, and examplesof data use in research and policy. These enhancements will also make it easier for GBIF
network members to access, redistribute and translate regular Secretariat publications likethe GBits newsletter, the Annual Report and the Science Review.
With a consultation on multilingual priorities planned for late 2015, the changes
accommodate support for multiple languages, providing a systematic and coherent means ofdisplaying translations of priority resources, both those commissioned by the Secretariat andcreated by the network’s active language communities.
Funds have been reserved to support key translation needs during 2016, partly from GBIF
core funds and partly from BID funding (reflecting the need to support BID activities withtimely documents in relevant languages). Where possible, translation needs will be met
using skills within the GBIF network. When contracted work is required to complete
translations, priority will again be given to use of expertise within the network.
2.3 – GBIF regional activities

During 2016, GBIF will build on recommendations made in the review of the network’s
regional strategy carried out by the Nodes Steering Group during 2015, and further
discussed by Participants in a dedication session within GB22.
GBIF has limited funds to provide partial support for regional meetings during the year. The
Secretariat welcomes offers from Participants to organize or provide further funding tosupport meetings in their regions, and encourages Participants to consider closely whatstrategy and deliverables may be most relevant for their region to target.
Given the limited funds, priority will be given to the most cost-effective options for organizing
meetings alongside other regional events. Proposals for any adjustments to governancearrangements relating to regional activity will be presented to GB23.

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2.4 – GBIF capacity enhancement call

The GBIF Capacity Support Programme has supported nine projects during its first two
years of existence. GBIF.org is being updated to include new project pages highlighting theachievements, products and best practices identified during the implementation of eachproject. These pages will be rolled out for GB22 and further developed during 2016.
The 2016 capacity enhancement call has limited funds but will continue this programme,
taking account of separate opportunities for project funding in specific regions under the BID
and BIFA programmes. The selection of projects will take place earlier in the year than inprevious calls, to enable better alignment with Participants’ annual plans.
2.5 – Integrated training package

Many groups have defined curricula for the young discipline of biodiversity informatics. GBIF
has been among those groups, recognizing early in its development that reinforcing capacity
in this field was vital to achieve its mission.
Recent efforts to coordinate these parallel initiatives have crystalized in the TDWG interest
group ‘Biodiversity Informatics Curriculum’, which is already supported by many members of
the GBIF community. The GBIF Secretariat is co-leading this group and in 2016 plans tostrengthen GBIF’s current capacity enhancement approach through an integrated training
package, making sure it is aligned with similar efforts worldwide.
As part of this work, the Secretariat would like to establish a certification schema based on
open standards (Mozilla Open Badges) that can be used inside and outside the GBIF
community. A formal certification schema will allow public recognition of skills andknowledge across boundaries, help to identify talent and enlist qualified specialists to GBIFrelated activities, and enable better ways to measure the real impact of the investments intraining initiatives, among other benefits.

Milestones
Item

Due

Start of projects selected under 2016 capacity enhancement callFeb 16First BID funded projects start in Africa

Apr 16

Caribbean and Pacific regional meetings for BID

By Jun 16

BID call for project proposals in Caribbean and Pacific

Jun 16

BID capacity enhancement workshop in Africa

Aug 16

GBIF.org includes basic information about GBIF in at least the six UN
languages

Sep 16

Presentation of proposed GBIF biodiversity informatics curriculum at TDWG
2016

Oct 16

Page 14 | 22

BudgetItem

Costs (K€)

Stream 2 (Engagement)

2016 ACTIVITIES

Staff salary – combined with Stream 3 1

761

Includes supplementary funding estimated at €50K funding (reducing costs for core funds to€711K)

Operating Expenses
BID activities (funded projects, training, meetings)

990

Covered from BID supplementary funds

Regional Nodes meetings

35

Costs to support organising and planning regional meetings

Capacity enhancement call

35

Activities to be prioritised in line with the Capacity Enhancement Strategy

Authoring/translating key documents

20

Contracts to GBIF Participants or other experts to assist with delivery or translation of priority
documents (includes €10K from BID funds for supporting relevant translations)

Administrative support for BID and other funded activities

60

Additional support within Secretariat to support BID activities (from BID overheads)

PROPOSED ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES (if funds increase)
Additional funding for regional meetings

25

Expanded funding to support additional projects

Supplementary funding: Capacity enhancement

Open

Any additional funds specifically allocated to facilitate capacity enhancement

Stream 3: Advance the Content – Relevance and fitness-for-use
Key Deliverables
●
●
●
●
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Engagement of expert communities to form fitness-for-use working groups
Metrics and indicators for assessing relevance of GBIF-mobilised data
Identification of content mobilization priorities
Evaluation of models for creating and curating reference data sets within GBIF
network
Quality and fitness-for-use reporting through GBIF.org and services

1

Salary costs for Stream 2 (Engagement) and Stream 3 (Content) staff salary have been combined
here for reasons of staff privacy with smaller numbers in Stream 3 – see Summary Budget 2016
below.
Page 15 | 22●Support for publishing metadata for undigitized collections

2015 Progress
The following progress can be reported against Work Programme deliverables:
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●
●

●

Fitness-for-use working groups○ Two fitness for use task groups established to report data needs ofagrobiodiversity and distribution modelling communities○ Data needs from each community captured through questionnaires○ Interim progress reports with initial recommendations prepared for GB22
Metrics and indicators○ Historical analytics of data publishing at national level available and updated
Content mobilization priorities○ Implementation awaiting recommendations of fitness-for-use task groups andgap analysis work (see activity 3.5)
Reference datasets○ Activities deferred to 2016 (see activity 3.3)
Quality and fitness-for-use reporting○ Activities deferred pending recommendations of fitness-for-use task groups(see activity 3.1)
Metadata for undigitised collections○ Task force established on ‘accelerating the discovery of bio-collections data’○ Key issues around metadata capture of collections information analysedthrough global survey (by end 2015)○ Strategy and action plan for metadata approach to data mobilization (by Nov)

In addition, the GBIF Secretariat made progress in the following areas:••

GBIF data gap analysis guidelines drafted and reviewed (expected by GB22) tosupport work on gap-filling strategy (see activity 3.5 below)
Following the TDWG 2014 meeting in Jönköping, the GBIF/TDWG Biodiversity Data
Quality Interest Group chaired by Arthur Chapman and Antonio Saraiva(http://community.gbif.org/pg/groups/21292/) started three Task Groups, all with
GBIF involvement: TG1 Framework on Data Quality, TG2 Catalog of Tools for Data
Quality, and TG3 Use Case Library for Data Quality. The Interest Group will report at
TDWG 2015.

2016 Plans
In addition to providing ongoing operational support to data publishers and to users of data
through the GBIF network, and significant content mobilization through BID funding (seeEngagement activity 2.1 – Biodiversity Informatics for Development (BID)) GBIF will carryout the following activities during 2016.
3.1 – Improving data fitness for key user groups

GBIF data are aggregated from many sources and are consequently heterogeneous, varying
in fitness for various uses. During 2015, GBIF established two task groups on data fitnessfor-use, in agrobiodiversity research and in distribution modelling respectively, to document

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how these communities use GBIF data and to understand their data quality demands. The
resulting reports will inform data mobilization, data processing and improvements to
GBIF.org.
Based on the recommendations of the task groups, GBIF aims to formalize the needs ofthese communities as far as possible through ‘data use profiles’, defined as use-specificfilters of data published through GBIF.org. These profiles may be used to facilitate rapid
assessment and download of data exhibiting the preferred characteristics for a particular useor analysis, and can also form the basis for GBIF to evaluate progress in mobilizing new
data or improving existing data to support key needs.
During 2016, GBIF will expand this work to incorporate more key areas of use, provisionallyfocussing on: 1) DNA evidence for names and occurrences, 2) invasive alien species and 3)
marine biodiversity. Depending on resources, these groups will operate through a
combination of face-to-face meetings and online or remote collaboration.
3.2 – Strategy for accelerating discovery of biocollections

The GBIF Task Force on Accelerating the Discovery of Bio-collections Data has been
meeting during 2015 to develop recommendations on best practices around documentationof natural history collections via metadata, and the use of such metadata assessments toestablish roadmaps for further digitization of the collections. The recommendations from thisgroup will be publicized during 2016 and incorporated into GBIF tools, documentation andtraining materials for collection digitisation, thus contributing to Engagement activities 2.1,
2.4 and 2.5.
3.3 – Reference datasets

Note: Support for this activity will be provided by Informatics activity 1.3: implement amechanism to support long-term data preservation.
As GBIF increases the use of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to identify datasets and unique
identifiers for individual records in each dataset, it will be possible for users to download andclean data from the GBIF network and to deliver a derived reference dataset representing
the data used within a scientific manuscript. GBIF aims to facilitate deposition of suchreference datasets in repositories to increase the transparent use of GBIF data in research(see activity 1.3), and to give appropriate credit to data publishers for their contribution.
Evaluating the use of datasets and records in constructing such reference datasets will alsooffer an additional mechanism for assessing the value of particular data records for a given
use and even to derive annotations and corrections for the original data.
During 2016, GBIF will include test archival of reference datasets with DOIs and explore
options for identifying datasets of high-value in key areas such as IPBES assessments. Thisapproach will then be developed to offer best practices for global and national data
publishers and research funding bodies.
3.4 – Sample-based data promotion and support

Note: Support for this activity will be provided by Informatics activity 1.3: research anddevelop services to support sample-based datasets

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The GBIF Secretariat will work with nodes and publishers to identify existing datasets thatare better suited to be sample-based datasets and migrate them. This data management
activity will help in perception of overall data quality, in particular by identifying andcategorizing the so-called gridded datasets.
The following activity is planned to promote and support mobilization of sample-based data:●●●

Identify and engage with nodes and holders of sample data types representing
selected ecosystems, geographic and taxonomic scope, and sampling methods;
capturing experiences from early mobilization of these datasets to inform future
standard development;
Further document training needs and develop essential documentation for mobilizing
sample-based data;
Capture user needs for sample-based data in research and policy, including forexample Essential Biodiversity Variables developed for GEO BON, indicators for the
CBD and IPBES assessments, modelling.

3.5 – Foundations for a GBIF gap-filling strategy

The draft GBIF Strategic Plan 2017-2021 recognizes that a key requirement for long-term
enhancement of the quality of the data products offered by the GBIF network is tounderstand the extent and significance of gaps in published data, including gaps in
geospatial, temporal, taxonomic and other aspects of coverage which may be significant foranalysis. From a different standpoint, this issue can be explored by assessing the extent of
our ignorance of detail in biodiversity patterns.
In preparation for the next GBIF strategic planning period, work will be carried out in 2016 to
begin evaluation of requirements for GBIF processes and models to assess gaps. Relevant
recommendations are expected from the Fitness-for-use Working Group on Distribution
Modeling and these will be incorporated in this assessment.
The 2016 Ebbe Nielsen Challenge will specifically focus on development of viable models
and tools which could be integrated into GBIF workflows to identify and assess thesignificance of gaps in data coverage. This represents a development of the Challenge fromthe open-ended nature of the first call in 2015, focussing the available funds on seeking tosolve a specific problem for GBIF in a timely fashion, engaging the wider community tocontribute creative solutions.

Milestones
Item

Due

Workshop to identify priorities and goals for mapping gaps in GBIF dataFeb 162016 fitness-for-use working groups establishedMar 16

Best practice documentation and roadmaps for collection digitisation via
metadata

May 16

Reference dataset processes included in GBIF.org

Sep 16

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Ebbe Nielsen Challenge results around mapping gaps in GBIF data

Oct 16

Showcase range of sample-based datasets for testing through GBIF.org

Oct 16First fitness-for-use data profiles implemented in GBIF.org

Dec 16

BudgetItem

Stream 3 (Content)

Costs (K€)

2016 ACTIVITIES

Staff salary – combined with Stream 2 2

761

Includes supplementary funding estimated at €50K funding (reducing costs for core funds to€711K)

Operating Expenses
Fitness-for-use working groups

15

Funds to support establishing work of fitness-for-use working groups

Recommendations from Task Force on Accelerating Discovery of Biocollections Data

10

Guidance on metadata for collections and roadmaps for collection digitisation

PROPOSED ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES (if funds increase)
Additional fitness-for-use working groups

Open

Funding or organisation for working groups
GBIF Participants may take leadership in such activities in areas of special interest to theirresearch communities

Supplementary funding: Content mobilisation

Open

Any additional funds specifically allocated to content mobilisation

2

Salary costs for Stream 2 (Engagement) and Stream 3 (Content) staff salary have been combined
here for reasons of staff privacy with smaller numbers in Stream 3 – see Summary Budget 2016
below.

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Summary Budget 2016
The following table summarises the 2016 budget in the context of this Work Programme.
Further information is presented in the GBIF Budget Proposal 2016. The following should be
noted:
1.

All figures representing costs and funding are in thousands of Euro.

2.

Costs and information on funding for activities has been split between 2016 Activities
and Proposed Additional Activities (priority activities that would be funded if revenue
is higher), following the breakdown used elsewhere in this document.

3.

2016 Activities includes activities planned for 2016, including all three Streams andcosts for the Governing Board and committees, for operating the global Secretariat andfor management and support of GBIF staff. The Governance and Secretariat lines
follow the GBIF Budget Proposal 2016 – see that document for further explanation. All
salary lines include on-costs (insurance, recruitment costs, etc.) which are included
within the GBIF annual budget and in GBIF financial reports as part of the Management
costs.

4.

Salary costs for Stream 2 and Stream 3 (and hence total costs for these streams) are
combined for reasons of staff privacy with smaller numbers in Stream 3.

5.

Operating expenses (staff travel and other operating expenses) incurred internally within
the Secretariat at this stage are in Management costs rather than a particular Stream.
At present, the financial system is not designed to attribute them to Streams.

6.

Within 2016 Activities, the items are ordered according to recommended priority (mostimportant first). If available funds are too low to undertake all of these activities, it is
proposed that the last items in the list should be the first that are deferred to futureyears. If on the other hand additional funds become available, the first items in
Proposed Additional Activities are recommended for uptake.

7.

Each line in 2016 Activities indicates the expected source(s) for funding the activity,
either from Core GBIF funds or from Supplementary funding from other sources. At
present supplementary funds are identified only for two of these lines. If additional
supplementary funds are made available and can be applied to any of the listed
activities, it is proposed to transfer corresponding core funds to delivering more of the
Proposed Additional Activities.

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Item

StreamCosts(K€)

Funding (K€)
Core

Supplementary

2016 ACTIVITIES
Staff Salaries (Incl. staff-related costs)
Management and support staff

-

670

670

-

Stream 1 (Informatics)
Supplementary funding from:§ EU BON€25K§ EMODnet 2
€10K

1

1026

991

35

Streams 2 & 3 (Engagement & Content)
Supplementary funding from:
§ BID
€30K
§ BIFA
€10K

2/3

760

720

40

-

199

199

-

Governance
Governing Board, Committees, Ebbe
Nielsen Challenge, YRA

-

111

111

-

Secretariat
Facilities and operating costs, including
travel costs
Note also €23K additional funding received
annually from Copenhagen University for
hardware support

-

185

185

-

2

990

-

990

Regional Nodes meetings

2

35

35

-

Capacity enhancement call

2

35

35

-

Administrative support for BID, etc.

2

60

-

60

Cloud-based IPT repository

1

5

-

5

Staff-related costs[4]

OperatingStream activities (in priority order)
BID activities (funded projects, training,meetings)

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Authoring/translating key documents

2

20

10

10

Fitness-for-use working groups

3

15

15

-

Task Force on Accelerating Access to
Biocollections Data

3

10

10

-

4121

2981

1140

TOTAL 2016 ACTIVITIESPROPOSED ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY (if funds increase)

Additional software developer

1

90

-

-

Additional funding for regional meetings

2

25

-

2

Open

-

-

3

Open

-

-

3

Open

-

-

-

Expanded funding to support additional projects

Supplementary funding: Capacity
enhancement
Any additional funds specifically allocated to facilitate
capacity enhancement

Additional fitness-for-use working groups
Funding or organisation for working groups
GBIF Participants may take leadership in such activities
in areas of special interest to their research communities

Supplementary funding: Content
mobilisation
Any additional funds specifically allocated to content
mobilisation

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