[Call for proposals IDEASHARE & DATASHARE 2025]

Call for proposals by the CEntre for the Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity (CESAB) of the French Foundation for Biodiversity Research (FRB).

In 2025, FRB-CESAB & HEIRS (hub for Human Evolution Research Synthesis) will launch a call to fund two types of complementary groups: the IdeaShare and the DataShare. This call aims to advance biodiversity research by supporting the generation of innovative interdisciplinary approaches and the development of accessible high quality datasets, respectively.

• The IdeaShare emphasizes the creation of new concepts, models, and methods through interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together biodiversity experts with specialists from other fields to explore new perspectives and frameworks.

• The DataShare focuses on accelerating the assembly, curation, harmonization, and open sharing of biodiversity-related datasets, ensuring that they are accessible and reusable for future syntheses and analyses.

The work achieved within each group can be seen as a preliminary – but not mandatory – step before submitting a research proposal to more ‘classical’ calls from Biodiversity Synthesis Centres (e.g. CESAB, sDiv, NCEAS) or elsewhere.

Will be funded in 2025:

• Up to three generic groups will be funded by the FRB-CESAB with no restrictions on the biodiversity topics ;
• One thematic group, co-funded by the FRB-CESAB and the HEIRS (hub for Human Evolution Research Synthesis), will have to focus on Biodiversity and Human Evolution.

Each proposal can be submitted in either the DataShare or IdeaShare format. Each group will consist of maximum 8 (IdeaShare) and 10 (DataShare) members and will be funded for two years (three weeks of meetings). The groups will receive scientific, technical and administrative support from the FRB-CESAB team and administrative support from the HEIRS team.

The evaluation committee will select the groups on the basis of the novelty and the quality of the proposal submitted.