BGE+ to implement a €2.75m budget for individual projects
BGE+ aims to scale up and scale out the production and application of DNA barcode and genome sequence data during the next 3.5 years. For that purpose, the project will mobilise a distributed network of researchers across Europe, delivering new insights into species and genetic diversity along the way. Not that we have not done this before. In fact, BGE+ will build on the cross-border barcode and reference genome production carried out in its predecessor, BGE, as well as its successful subcontracting model.
BGE+ will fund a minimum of 42 individual projects
BGE+ will open thematic calls awarding funding through the EU’s Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) mechanism. A dedicated budget of €2.75 million will fund a minimum of 42 individual projects with budgets ranging from €30,000 to €60,000. The funded projects will contribute to expanding the geographic and taxonomic coverage of reference barcode libraries and reference genomes. It will also open up participation beyond traditional consortia and lower the barriers to entry for researchers and institutions from countries and regions that have been underrepresented in Europe. Additionally, the effort will link genomic evidence generation to species discovery and local biodiversity conservation, feeding into the bigger goal of a unified European system for biodiversity genomics knowledge production and monitoring.
In practical terms, BGE+ will build the framework for the FTSP cascade funding mechanism and operationalize it by defining and opening the calls, and evaluating and selecting the cascade-funded projects. Once selected, projects will be onboarded and monitored throughout their implementation, tracking their progress and impact along the way. Finally, the individual and collective impact of the funded projects will be assessed, translating these findings to guide future project development and implementation.
For more information about BGE+’s funding opportunities, visit our dedicated section in biodiversitygenomics.eu