Protocol for handling policy requests received by the EC's Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity : Version 1

The Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) is a body of the European Commission (EC) and the European Environment Agency (EEA) created in 2020 mainly to support the implementation and mainstreaming of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 (BDS) and other international biodiversity commitments. The KCBD provides evidence and advice on biodiversity related topics when requested by policy-making. The KCBD secretariat is hosted by the Joint Research Centre (JRC). The KCBD secretariat has developed a ticketing system for policy requests; i.e., an online form to be used by the services of the EC to submit their requests for scientific support on biodiversity-related matters. The purpose of this protocol is to standardise the process to be followed once the KCBD receives a request through the ticketing system, and to guide both internal and external collaborators through the steps and considerations to be made. This protocol describes both in brief (Chapter 2) and in detail (Chapter 3) all stages of handling policy requests submitted to the ticketing system. The main focus of this protocol is on requests that will be assigned to the Science Service for Biodiversity (SSBD). SSBD, a scientific pillar for the KCBD, aims to support all bodies involved in the implementation and governance of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, in line with the ecological transition required by the European Green Deal. SSBD is being developed by BioAgora, a collaborative project funded by DG RTD through Horizon Europe. This protocol is also applicable to requests to be handled internally at the JRC, with the support of the KCBD. This protocol will be frequently updated in light of lessons learned from handling an increasing number of policy requests submitted through the KCBD ticketing system.