Funding
To address current development needs, the Monitoring Centre funds projects through the “Progressive Biodiversity Monitoring” funding call as well as through “flagship projects” of particular importance to nationwide biodiversity monitoring.
Flagship Projects
The Monitoring Centre’s flagship projects are selected innovative initiatives whose implementation is of exceptional federal interest. They specifically address gaps in nationwide biodiversity monitoring that are of particular importance to the responsibilities and obligations of the Federal Government.
Through its flagship projects, the Monitoring Centre provides targeted support for initiatives whose results and experience strengthen nationwide biodiversity monitoring in the long term, extending beyond the individual project. As exemplary initiatives, they create lasting added value by connecting relevant stakeholders and fostering knowledge transfer between science, public administration, policy and nature conservation practice and, depending on the project, citizen science initiatives.
Flagship Projects Underway
The first flagship projects are creating robust data foundations, closing existing data gaps, and advancing methods, digital solutions and technical infrastructures. At the same time, they strengthen collaboration and knowledge transfer between different stakeholders and raise public awareness of biodiversity.
The projects launched in 2024 exemplify the collaboration of scientific, governmental and voluntary actors and strengthen the citizen science community. Further flagship projects are broadening the scope: BK-DE was launched in June 2026 with the aim of developing an overarching system of indicators for assessing the state of biodiversity in Germany. From March 2028, EnDiLand will investigate the effects of different types of grassland management on soil-dwelling enchytraeids, providing new insights for the further development of soil monitoring.
Flagship Projects Launched and Planned
2024 bis 2027
- ADEBAR 2 – Atlas of German Breeding Birds 2 – Use Case for Collaboration between Citizen Science, specialised societies and government authorities
- FAMos – Support and Expansion of Butterfly Monitoring Germany (TMD)
- Flora Incognita – Methods for Closing Data Gaps in Nationwide Biodiversity Monitoring and Reporting Obligations
- FLOW – Monitoring small streams – creating knowledge together
- BK-DE – Development of an Aggregated Indicator or Set of Indicators for the State of Biodiversity in Germany
Planned Start in 2028
- EnDiLand – Enchytraeid Communities under Land-Use Pressure
Funding Call “Progressive Biodiversity Monitoring”
Through the “Progressive Biodiversity Monitoring” funding call, the Monitoring Centre supports projects that advance nationwide biodiversity monitoring. The focus is on new methods, digital tools, and greater involvement of the public and volunteers.
Funding Priorities
The key thematic focus of the projects sought is summarised below. More detailed information can be found in the document “Erläuterungen zu den Förderschwerpunkten” / “Explanatory Notes on the Funding Criteria” (only available in German).
Subject areas for funding at a Glance
Projects are funded in the following three subject areas:
This subject area aims to operationalise new or further developed technologies and methods for biodiversity monitoring – that is, to integrate them into existing monitoring processes and ultimately establish them as standard practice. Innovative technologies and methods play a crucial role in advancing nationwide biodiversity monitoring. Their successful integration into existing processes enhances efficiency, accuracy, objectivity and scalability. Among other things this requires the development of standards and guidelines, close inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration, and targeted investment in human, technical and professional capacities.
Funding will be provided for selected projects that apply innovative technologies and methods to German biodiversity monitoring in this sense.
This subject area addresses projects that strengthen the commitment of volunteers and citizen scientists in biodiversity monitoring and sustainably integrate them into monitoring activities in Germany. Funding will be directed in particular towards projects of nationwide relevance that address thematic or spatial gaps in existing monitoring schemes, or that provide representative coverage of one or more habitats. Special emphasis is placed on supporting volunteers and building long-term capacities. Good data quality should be ensured through appropriate measures such as training and identification tools. Projects are expected to establish networks of experts and organisations, while also considering long-term perspectives in terms of sustainability and interoperability. Public outreach also plays an important role in raising societal awareness of biodiversity. The main focusses of this funding priority are professionalisation, recognition and long-term integration of volunteering and citizen science in biodiversity monitoring.
This subject area aims at improving the structured, interoperable and sustainable use of biodiversity data in Germany. Funding will be provided for projects that integrate and further develop existing solutions and technologies, and that apply or establish standardised, ideally machine-readable metadata models and uniform data structures. A key concern is the optimisation of data exchange between relevant stakeholders and administrative levels – both horizontally across disciplines and vertically between federal, state and other administrative units. Legal and organisational frameworks should also be examined, with practical solutions for data sharing and governance developed and illustrated. In addition, the funding call supports approaches to the long-term implementation and consolidation of data infrastructures.
In the context of the development of long-term monitoring programmes, the mobilisation of historical or archived biodiversity data may also be funded. The focus here is not simply on general data mobilisation, but on the targeted identification of taxonomic groups or data types for which scientifically sound and methodologically compatible integration into existing monitoring and assessment systems appears feasible.
Funding will be provided for projects that contribute to improving the quality, comparability and usability of biodiversity data. This will create a reliable basis for the coordination, evaluation and management of monitoring activities, as well as for data exchange between stakeholders in Germany.
Funding Procedure
The application process is designed in two stages. Interested applicants had until 12 October 2025 to submit their project ideas. Sixteen proposals were selected and invited to submit a formal funding application. The first applications have already been received by the Monitoring Centre. It is anticipated that the majority of projects will commence by the end of 2026. Once funding has been approved, we will provide further information about the projects.
The effectiveness of the funding instruments is evaluated regularly, and the findings are taken into account when shaping future project funding. A further call for proposals is currently planned, although no date has yet been set. This call is expected to focus on different funding priorities. Continued funding for the same project will not be possible under the second call.