Biodiversa+ European Partnership Launches Second Joint Call for Proposals

A total of more than €40 million has been allocated to the second Biodiversa+ transnational joint research call focusing on ‘Improved transnational monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem change for science and society (BiodivMon)’.

The Biodiversa+ European Partnership provides an overarching platform connecting national/local and European Research and Innovation (R&I) programmes and combining in-cash and in-kind resources in support of one goal: by 2030 biodiversity in Europe is back on a path of recovery.

Biodiversa+ has now launched its second transnational joint research call in pursuit of this goal focused on the topic of ‘Improved transnational monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem change for science and society (BiodivMon)’.

A global budget in excess of €40 million has been allocated to the call to fund medium-sized projects with a total budget of €1.2 million to €1.5 million on average. The requested funding should be justified and relevant with regards to the work planned within the project.

The research and innovation focused call aims at contributing to the Partnership’s general objective of improving monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem services across all land and sea habitats in Europe. Applicants may submit proposals addressing one or more of the call’s three research themes:

  • Innovation and harmonisation of methods and tools for collection and management of biodiversity monitoring data.
  • Addressing knowledge gaps on biodiversity status, dynamics and trends to reverse biodiversity loss.
  • Making use of available biodiversity monitoring data.

Projects combining aspects from several themes are encouraged.

All environments (ie terrestrial, inland freshwater including wetlands, and marine) are in scope. Projects are encouraged to consider interdisciplinary issues, cutting across the themes identified in the call and adopting or studying a broad range of methodological approaches.

The following 33 countries are participating in the call:

Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast (tbc), Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania (tbc), Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, The Netherlands, Tunisia and Turkey.

Eligibility requirements, national/regional topics of interest, eligible costs and funding provisions may vary according to the respective funding organisation’s regulations. Project partners must therefore refer and adhere to their own regional/national regulations and scientific remits, as detailed in the relevant regional/national announcements.

To be eligible, research consortia must normally include teams from a minimum of three countries participating in the call (including a minimum of two from EU Member States or EU Associated Countries). The call is open for any eligible research organisations. National/regional eligibility criteria apply to research organisations and for private sector organisations (profit and non-profit).

Projects are expected to start between 1 December 2023 and 1 April 2024. Studies should be completed within three years.

An information webinar for potential applicants is expected to take place on 20 September 2022.

Pre-proposals should be submitted by the 9 November 2022 (15:00 CET) deadline.

(This report was the subject of a ResearchConnect Newsflash.)