DTO-BioFlow project has launched its Second Open Call, inviting international networks, citizen science groups, research institutes, universities, and NGOs to help establish long-term biodiversity data flows to the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EU DTO) through EMODnet Biology. Successful applicants can access up to €60,000 in funding. The call is open until February 28, 2025, at 23:59 CET.
Supporting Marine Biodiversity Data Collection
This open call provides an opportunity for marine biodiversity data holders to contribute to the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EU DTO) by making their data available to the public domain through the EMODnet portal. EMODnet is the European portal that provides open and free access to interoperable data and data products from among others the biology domain; examples of EMODnet Biology data products include temporal and spatial distribution of marine species (angiosperms, benthos, birds, fish, macroalgae, mammals, reptiles, phyto- and zooplankton) from European regional seas.
The objective of the call is to standardize and publish previously unavailable biodiversity data and establish semi-automated workflows for sustained data ingestion into the EU DTO. Applications are welcomed from a broad range of organizations, with the potential to significantly enhance our understanding of marine ecosystems.
Addressing ‘Sleeping Data’ Gaps
Despite the significant progress made in marine biodiversity data collection, a large portion of this data remains unpublished or inaccessible—referred to as “sleeping data.” This second open call aims to activate these data sets by offering funding of up to €60,000 per project. Eligible activities include developing data pipelines, ensuring proper formatting, standardization, and quality control, as well as ensuring compliance with Open Access standards.
This second round follows the success of the first open call, which funded nine diverse projects from across Europe, utilizing innovative methods such as AI-assisted imaging and citizen science. Projects focused on a wide range of marine species, from cetaceans to benthos, in regions spanning the Arctic to the Mediterranean.
One of the criteria for evaluation is how much proposed projects would contribute to filling (taxonomic/geographic/temporal) data gaps in EMODnet Biology. Regarding the geographic data gaps, the following ICES ecoregions have been identified to be the regions with the most missing data: the Arctic Ocean, Faroes, Greenland Sea, Iceland Sea, Azores, Ionian Sea and the Central Mediterranean Sea, and Aegean-Levantine Sea. As a result, projects containing data from these regions will receive a higher impact score during the selection process.
Key Dates and Application Process
The call is open until February 28, 2025, with evaluations set for March 2025. Projects will be selected based on their relevance, impact potential, sustainability, and overall proposal quality. The activities for the selected projects will take place over a one-year period, from May 1st, 2025, to April 30th, 2026. For detailed information about the application process and criteria, visit the official DTO-BioFlow website here.
Get Involved
For more details, visit DTO-BioFlow Open Calls or contact the team at opencalls@dto-bioflow.eu.
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