Mission
The DanBIF strategy with mission and vision statements is currently in Danish and available on request (see contacts). The work of DanBIF is based on three strategic goals and sub-goals.
Goal 1: DanBIF manages Denmark's participation in the GBIF community, (1.1) ensuring that biodiversity data housed by Denmark are shared globally on the Internet; (1.2) contributing to the collaboration of the GBIF network of nodes and the coordinating secretariat; and (1.3) channelling the results of the GBIF global effort and work back to the users in Denmark.
Goal 2: DanBIF is centrally located in the “engine room” of Danish biodiversity informatics, (2.1) bringing together all data on biodiversity housed in Denmark, on both global and domestic occurrences; (2.2) providing access to occurrence data for all who wish to use them; and (2.3) being a resource that brings together and makes visible knowledge about biodiversity.
Goal 3: DanBIF coordinates the Danish national consensus species list.
Funding
The current funding agreement runs from 2013 through 2015 with contributions from the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen; the Faculty of Science and Technology, Aarhus University; and the Faculty of Science, University of Southern Denmark.
The basic financial contribution to GBIF is made by the The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation.
History
The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, under the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, has given DanBIF the formal mandate to be the Danish Participant node of GBIF. From 2001 to 2011, DanBIF was co-financed by The Danish Council for Independent Research, Natural Sciences, and the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen (UCPH). Since 2012, DanBIF is a distributed national infrastructure within the science faculties at UCPH, Aarhus University (AU), and the University of Southern Denmark (SDU). The DanBIF secretariat is hosted by the Natural History Museum of Denmark (NHMD) of UCPH. The DanBIF websites are hosted by UCPH. The IT-infrastructure for data-sharing is hosted and maintained by the Department of Bioscience at AU. The DanBIF-project on a national consensus species list has received financial contribution from SDU.
Structure
DanBIF’s small staff and network of members are supported by a five-member board. The Chair of the DanBIF board is also the Head of Delegation for Denmark on the GBIF Governing Board. The work of the board and activities in the network are coordinated by the DanBIF secretariat. Board members are appointed by the Deans of Science at UCPH, AU and SDU. The board convenes four times a year to discuss strategy, work planning and funding for the node, as well as Danish participation in GBIF development, work and governance. Members of the DanBIF network consist of data holders, data users and other interested parties - around 200 people in 65 museums, research institutions, public administrations, companies and organisations in Denmark, Faroe Islands and Greenland. DanBIF’s activities are communicated through the website and newsletters.