Small Collections Grant
This page is used to provide assessment scores for each grant application assigned to you. Please use the rubric below the grant details to enter your assessment scores and any notes you wish to include.
Please note that all scores entered must be whole numbers (no decimals), or you will be unable to save this form.
MQU Goes Online: making our herbarium data available to the world.
Australia
Other
Cost (USD):
2000
MQU
Downing Herbarium, Macquarie University
Objective:
MQU holds 13000 specimens, including nationally significant bryophyte collections and collections from the Subantarctic Islands. Specimen data are currently held locally and can be accessed only by the Curator. Our aim is to make MQU specimen data available to the wider scientific community by becoming a participating member of the Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH) online platform. Our project objective is to review the existing data and database, ensure compliance with AVH data standards, upload existing data, and facilitate future data entry and upload of MQU collection backlogs.
Timetable:
The project will begin in April 2020 and be completed by November 2020.
Scoring Rubric
Reviewer's name:
Collection Improvement (max. 120 points)
-
Facilitating access to the physical collections by digitization (e.g., data entry, setting up database structure with an outline of the platform to be used, purchasing equipment, and imaging specimens) – up to 30 points.
-
Enhancing physical collections by improving the conservation status of specimens in the herbarium (e.g., better folders, protecting covers, mounting paper, labeling, etc.) – up to 30 points.
-
Curating specimens (e.g., updating families, species identification, identifying types) – up to 20 points.
-
Increasing our understanding of the flora or funga by making new herbarium specimens available, such as processing of backlog or collecting and mounting of new specimens from understudied sites – up to 20 points.
-
Securing collections by distribution of duplicates (or orphan collections) to other regional or international herbaria or shipping endangered collections to another herbarium – up to 20 points.
This proposal scores:
/120
Methods & Funding (max. 40 points)
-
Match between the proposed budget and methods for the aims described – up to 10 points.
-
Perceived need, the extent to which the project will benefit from IAPT funding: e.g., due to active floristic work or contribution to poorly collected sites, due to threatened conditions of collections, and for the degree of involvement of others (outreach and education). We give more points for herbaria in low- and middle-income countries – up to 20 points.
-
Sharing duplicate specimens with other herbaria – up to 10 points.
This proposal scores:
/40
Broader Impacts (max. 40 points)
-
Degree of regional importance of the collection or the taxonomic importance of the targeted collection – up to 10 points.
-
The project will yield durable benefits (specimens, digitized metadata, databases, websites) – up to 15 points.
-
The project involves outreach/mentoring and broad dissemination – up to 15 points.
This proposal scores:
/40
Year of last successful SCG application:
Has applicant applied for SCG before?:
Plan:
We will employ a person with expertise in plant collections data to:
- Review existing MQU database data fields and map them to fields required for upload to AVH, ensuring compliance with Darwin Core
- Modify existing data fields to create a suitable template for future data entry
- Modify and clean existing data as required, in liaison with the Curator
- Create a test data export and liaise with the AVH Biodiversity Informatics Developer
- Document new MQU data standards
- Document the data upload protocol
- Train the Herbarium Curator in the data upload protocol
- Upload existing MQU vascular and cryptogam data to AVH.
Institution:
IH Code:
Country:
Target areas:
Applicant First Name/s:
email:
Review data and database to enable upload to shared data platform the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
"Other" target:
Karen Marais
Applicant Last Name/s: