BID Volunteer Mentor

GBIF—the Global Biodiversity Information Facility—is an international network and data infrastructure funded by the world's governments and aimed at providing anyone, anywhere, open access to data about all types of life on Earth.

ISSUER

This badge is issued by the Secretariat of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). For more information about the awarding of this badge, please visit http://bid.gbif.org/en/community/people/.

Any questions in connection with this badge can be addressed to BID@gbif.org or info@gbif.org.

CRITERIA

This badge certifies that the wearer has volunteered to act as a mentor as part of the Biodiversity Information for Development (BID) programme.

BID is a multi-year programme funded by the European Union and led by GBIF — the Global Biodiversity Information Facility — with the aim of increasing the amount of biodiversity information available for use in scientific research and policymaking in the ‘ACP’ nations of sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

By applying to become a mentor, the badge wearer accepted the commitment to actively support the BID community in achieving the objectives of the BID programme. Volunteer mentors share their expertise with project teams through capacity enhancement activities, including online help desk support, and remote and/or on-site mentoring visits.

The BID mentors contribute expertise in one or more of the following areas:

BIODIVERSITY INFORMATICS SUPPORT DISCIPLINES: Basic skills from disciplines outside of biodiversity informatics but needed to build specific capacity upon: basic computer use, databasing, biology, geography, GIS use and project management, among others.

BASIC CONCEPTS ON BIODIVERSITY INFORMATICS: Basic field-specific building blocks required to understand the concepts and develop the skills that are needed to successfully develop and implement BID projects. It includes basic information on biodiversity, the nature of digital biodiversity data and information about the global initiatives working in the field.

BIODIVERSITY DATA CAPTURE: Turning evidence of the presence of organisms into digital records, including the planning and implementing digitization projects.

BIODIVERSITY DATA MANAGEMENT: Transformation, formatting and management of biodiversity data. It includes elements of data quality assessment and improvement both before and after data (re)publication and use.

BIODIVERSITY DATA PUBLISHING: Using tools to make biodiversity data openly available in the web. This includes using GBIF tools (especially the GBIF IPT) to publish data online.

BIODIVERSITY DATA ANALYSIS AND USE: Applying biodiversity data in support of decision making and research. Includes ways of transforming and combining heterogeneous datasets with information from diverse sources and producing data products that can be easily consumed by decision makers and researchers.

BIODIVERSITY INFORMATION FACILITY (BIF) BUILDING, INFORMATICS: Skills and knowledge needed to set up and maintain the informatics infrastructure required to support the work of a biodiversity information facility.

BIODIVERSITY INFORMATION FACILITY (BIF) BUILDING, NETWORKING: Developing lasting national, regional or thematic networks to support ongoing data sharing and reuse. Covers the skills and knowledge needed to ensure the engagement and coordinated work of human and institutional networks. It includes elements of strategic planning, capacity enhancement, community engagement and promotion.

This earner was awarded this badge after completing the following tasks:

• Applying to become a BID volunteer mentor in response to the open call for BID mentors and providing sufficient information about her/his experience in the area of biodiversity informatics and/or the establishment of biodiversity information facilities. The GBIF Secretariat analysed the candidature and approved it as suitable.
• Participating in an introductory webinar organized by the GBIF Secretariat.
• Joining the BID mentors mailing list and the BID community mailing list.

The list of BID volunteer mentors is available at http://bid.gbif.org/en/community/people/.