SwissCollNet is committed to improving the accessibility of natural history collections. A common vision and long-term strategy will promote the use of natural history collections for research, education and society.

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Running projects

The SwissCollNet projects are launched!

SwissCollNet has terminated the evaluation of a two rounds of project submissions. 68 projects are financially supported, of which 41 are based on cooperation between the collection institutions and in most cases institutions from several cantons are working together.

The projects, which last up to two years, cover a wide range of thematically diverse collections from botany, mycology and zoology to palaeontology, geology or anthropology. Most of the objects in the collections are from Switzerland.

The focus lays partially on conditioning of collections, following defined standards to prepare the specimens for digitisation. Considerable effort will be made to digitise the collections and make them publicly accessible. Digitised, the collections provide unique data for climate, biodiversity and landscape research as well as for environmental authorities and educational institutions. A further goal is to promote training for collection management and taxonomic expertise.

Distribution of institutions, disciplines and funds of SwissCollNet projects

115 main- and co-grantees and their teams from 53 institutions from all over Switzerland work on many different natural history collections.

SwissCollNet Network Call1-2
Image: SwissCollNet

Network of collaborations SwissCollNet

Distributions of disciplines Projects call 1 & 2
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Numerous collections from biology and geosciences will be modernised and digitised

Cantonal distribution of projects Call 1&2
Image: SwissCollNet

Almost every canton with public and non-profit collection-holding institutions is participating

Allocation of SwissCollNet funds per canton
Image: SwissCollNet

Cantonal and disciplinary distribution of SwissCollNet funds