Affiliated Project Application
Preamble
This description of the procedure for candidates to follow to apply for EBP affiliation and be admitted to the EBP Membership Council is established as a pilot procedure that will be followed by all new candidates, with the intention that the language will eventually become part of the EBP Governance Document. As defined in the EBP Governance: “Affiliates may be regional, national or multinational initiatives that focus on large-scale sequencing of eukaryotes. Affiliates may also be other organizations with active programs that support the goals of the EBP, such as biological resource collections, museums, genome institutes, and others. The roles, rights, and responsibilities of EBP Affiliates are described in the EBP Governance. By becoming an EBP Affiliate, members agree to uphold and abide by the principles, guidelines, and policies set forth in the EBP Governance.
Process for Initiatives or Organization
For an initiative or organization to be accepted as an EBP Affiliate and consequently be admitted to the EBP Membership Council, the initiative or institution must submit its application to the EBP Secretariat. Importantly, any initiative or institute planning to apply for affiliate status will be expected to contact the EBP Secretariat to express their intent applying for membership. The application of a candidate EBP Affiliate should consist of a cover letter addressed to the EBP Executive Council and signed by the leadership of the initiative or organization. The letter should describe the initiative or organization’s membership scope in terms of countries, initiatives, and institutions, an approximate number of members, and should clearly indicate that the initiative or organization aims to support the achievement of the EBP’s goals by helping to coordinate efforts and work with other EBP Affiliates. The letter should also express a clear commitment to uphold and abide by the EBP principles, guidelines, and policies. The EBP Secretariat reviews each application and may request further details or clarifications from the applicant if deemed necessary. If the EBP Secretariat considers the application complete and appropriate then the application is sent to the Membership Council for a vote to accept or reject the application to become an EBP Affiliate.
Application
The EBP’s principal activity is to coordinate a globally distributed group of affiliated projects to sequence, catalog, and characterize the genomes of all Earth’s named eukaryotic biodiversity over approximately 10 years. EBP has a global hub-and-spokes model with the EBP Secretariat as the hub for coordinating and assisting work done by its members. Currently, the EBP does not offer individual membership; however, we invite individuals to sign up for our quarterly newsletter to stay up to date with EBP progress and happenings.
The chairperson of this project or their designate will be a voting member of the EBP Membership Council as described in the EBP Governance Document.
Applications to become an EBP Affiliated Project must include the following information.
1) Provide the name of the project.
2) Describe the overall goals of the project.
3) Provide names and affiliations of participating investigators.
4) Provide a list of participating organizations not included in item #3.
5) Indicate the project’s timeline and approximate funding level and sources.
6) Give details on the number and taxonomic distribution of species to be sequenced. Please note that you will be required to prepare a spreadsheet with the taxa you plan to sequence and understand that these target species lists will be publicly available to promote coordination between EBP projects.
7) Describe collaborations and partnerships, if any, with other EBP Affiliated Projects.
8) Indicate commitment to EBP standards for sequencing, assembly, and annotation as well as all JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) and ELSI (ethics, legal and social issues) recommendations*.
9) Indicate that you will abide by the principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing.
10) Describe your ethical sampling, data sharing, and publication policies, and affirm that these will be consistent with EBP policies*. In particular, we require that genome sequences are openly deposited in an INSDC database with at most a one-year embargo, with a possible exception in the context of Indigenous peoples' rights*.
11) Provide the name and contact information for the project’s data coordinator.
12) Execution of the signature page here. Please send the required items to Nicolette Caperello at the EBP Secretariat Office Nicolette.Caperello@asu.edu.
The chairperson of this project or its designate will be a voting member of the EBP Membership Council as described in the EBP Governance Document. By signing this form, the representative and all members of this project agree to uphold and abide by the principles, guidelines, and policies set forth in the EBP Governance document.
*All EBP policies and reports with suggested guidelines can be found on the EBP website under the Reports tab.