Entries Invited for GBIF Ebbe Nielsen Challenge

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), based in Denmark, is an international open data infrastructure that enables individuals from any country to access survey and research data about all types of life on Earth. It is funded by the world’s governments.

GBIF’s Ebbe Nielsen Challenge aims to inspire scientists, informaticians, data modellers, cartographers and other experts to create innovative applications of open-access biodiversity data. It recognises outstanding contributions to biodiversity informatics while honouring the legacy of Dr Ebbe Nielsen, a Danish entomologist and one of the principal founders of GBIF.

The Challenge is an annual incentive prize that aims to recognise innovative entries that leverage biodiversity data and tools from the GBIF network to advance open science. Entries will be judged on their openness, repeatability, relevance and novelty. The aim is to encourage the development of tools and techniques that improve the access, utility and quality of open biodiversity data.

Entries should benefit multiple stakeholder groups, including data users, data holders and data managers. Submissions may choose to develop new applications, visualisation methods, workflows or analyses, or build on and extend existing tools and features.

Entrants are welcome to document and present their entries via any appropriate repository or website eg GitHub, Dryad, FigShare, Open Science Framework, Jupyter Notebook or their own website.

It is expected that successful entries will provide practical, pragmatic solutions for the GBIF network while advancing biodiversity informatics and biodiversity data management in relation to the GBIF mission and strategic plan.

The Challenge is open to individuals, teams of individuals, companies and their employees, and governmental agencies and their employees. Entrants can be based in any country worldwide.

There is a total fund of €20,000 to be distributed as prizes. The prize judges will advise the administrators with recommendations on the final number of winners and size of prizes.

Entries must be submitted by the deadline of 2 August 2021 (16:00 CEST).

More information about this research funding opportunity and the application process is available on the RESEARCHconnect funding information platform. RESEARCHconnect provides up-to-the minute content, insight and analysis on research funding news and policy. To find out more about how RESEARCHconnect can keep you in the know, and subscription fees, contact us today.