Nodes and BIFs

In the GBIF community, a Participant BIF refers to a network of data holders, users, and other stakeholders established by a GBIF Participant to promote, facilitate, and coordinate the biodiversity data sharing activities within its domain. A Participant BIF typically includes a coordinating team, a governance structure, informatics infrastructure, and a framework for collaboration.

The coordinating team of a Participant BIF is referred to as the Participant Node. A Participant Node is normally in charge of deploying informatics infrastructure, building capacity, promoting policies on open access to biodiversity data, supporting data holders in the process of mobilising and publishing data, and coordinating the development of information products and services for target audiences. The head of a Participant Node team, the Node Manager, is the main technical contact point between the Participant, the Secretariat, and other GBIF Participants.

In other words, Participant Nodes are the conduit by which GBIF Participants meet their own biodiversity information needs, while benefiting from and contributing to the GBIF network's mission and goals.

Participant Nodes Training in Arusha, Tanzania, 2008