Role in project

Naturalis is the Dutch national research institute and infrastructure on biodiversity and systematics. Their research projects comprise a whole array of disciplines, ranging from taxonomy, systematics, evolution, ethnobiology, biogeography, bioinformatics, and mineralogy. We focus on a multidisciplinary approach with new technologies such as DNA, imaging, 3D and data science. In addition, Naturalis is one of the leading natural history museums worldwide, receiving over 400,000 visitors a year and harbouring about 42 million specimens of plants, fungi, animals, fossils, rocks and minerals.

Naturalis offers a state-of-the-art research infrastructure and has a world leading position in the development of (inter) national research infrastructures on biodiversity data (ARISE, GBIF, DiSSCo, COL, iBOL). The recently granted ARISE infrastructural project by NWO will enable Naturalis to build a new national research infrastructure to accelerate the discovery and description of biodiversity in the Netherlands and beyond.