1 Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) IABIN HUB *MACN*NBII*IIa Team Capacity and Commitment of Joint IABIN / CHM Meeting Cancun, Mexico August 12-14, 2003

2 The Team is a partnership among: Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia (MACN) Technical Leadership Information Technology Infrastructure National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) Financial and Technical Support Information Technology Infrastructure Information International Associates, Inc. (IIa) Business/Project Management Infrastructure

3 El Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia (MACN) u Institutional, financial and technical commitment of MACN u Availability of staff with biodiversity information management u Commitment to a full time expert in bioinformatics u Full support of Museum and Argentina FP at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Commerce and Worship (IABIN’s NFP) u Tradition of strong cooperation with +50 research institutions across Argentina u Synergy with other biodiversity information management initiatives, e.g. GBIF (MACN is National Node for GBIF and CHM (Secretary of Environment is the NFP) u Leverage of continued funding from public and other sources

4 National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) u National public/private partnership –Over 200 public private partners u Has historical commitment to development of IABIN (over $2M investment since 1997) u Continued commitment of technical and financial resources (including 2 FTE support) u Support of Information Technology (IT) infrastructure –Portal Technology –Search Capabilities –Geographical Information Systems (GIS) u Fund raising experience inside and outside government –Help establish a Biodiversity Foundation

5 Information International Associates, Inc. (IIa) u Operates 4 Secretariats, i.e. HUBS in informatics –1 in biodiversity informatics u Has full business infrastructure including accounting, contracts, and human resources –Has had contracts with OAS, US Government, UN Agencies and World Bank u Supported development of IABIN since 1997 u Develops and manages national /international web sites u Multilingual staff (over 17 working languages)

6 Team Proposes to u Supplement resources for GEF Staff of 3 with 2 FTE –Visiting biodiversity informatics expert u Mirror sites and staffing in ARG and US u Locations in Buenos Aires, Washington DC, and Tennessee u All full time staff will be bilingual Buenos Aires Washington, DC Oak Ridge, TN

7 The Team is a partnership that has:  Commitment  Expertise  History  Continuity  Resources Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia (MACN) National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) Information International Associates, Inc. (IIa)  Networked  Flexibility

8 Criteria/IABIN Team Offering CRITERIA IABIN TEAM OFFERING Ability to provide office space, overhead and infrastructure such as facilities, utilities, and meeting space for Hub staff Space can be provided for HUB staff in Buenos Aires, Washington, and Tennessee, Access to good telecommunications infrastructure, including high-speed Internet connections Excellent Telecom available: T1, T3 Available staff that is knowledgeable about biodiversity issues and their importance Large, bilingual staff in biodiversity and biodiversity informatics in partner organizations Knowledge of the biodiversity structures in member governments; understanding of whom to interact with within governments All organizations have worked with bilateral and multilateral biodiversity organizations and are familiar with the governmental structures Capable IT support staff First class capabilities available Internet technology application experience, especially distributed Web architectures Major web sites developed, maintained and hosted, e.g., sain.nbii.gov; ; sain.nbii.govwww.iabin-us.org

9 Criteria/IABIN Team Offering CRITERIA IABIN TEAM OFFERING Multilingual staff (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French) Over 17 languages spoken by staff including LAC key languages Excellent reputation for raising money from varying sources including governments, private sector, foundations and NGOs Millions of dollars in contracts and grants obtained annually Secretariat/program direction experience Maintains 4 inter-organizational secretariats, one in biodiversity informatics; 3 informatics including one international Ability to contract and recruit easily and broadly (including outside Hub country) Have staff in multiple countries and have contracted in countries abroad. Easily accessible by air from major cities of the Hemisphere 3 locations provide for excellent access for meetings and visits