NARODNI MUZEUM-NATIONAL MUSEUM NM

Their core work

The National Museum in Prague is the Czech Republic's largest and oldest museum, housing extensive natural science collections spanning zoology, botany, geology, and paleontology. In the EU research context, they contribute specimen data, taxonomic expertise, and collection management knowledge to pan-European infrastructure projects aimed at digitising and unifying access to natural history collections. Their work supports biodiversity research, systematic biology, and the creation of shared digital infrastructure for scientific collections across Europe.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their earliest H2020 involvement (BIG4, 2015) centred on training researchers in insect biosystematics and genetics — a traditional museum science competency. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward digital infrastructure, collection digitisation, and pan-European data systems (SYNTHESYS PLUS, DiSSCo Prepare). This mirrors a broader sector trend where natural history museums are transforming from specimen repositories into nodes in interconnected digital research infrastructure.

Moving from traditional taxonomic research toward becoming a digital infrastructure node in the DiSSCo ESFRI network — expect continued investment in data standards, collection digitisation, and open access to specimen data.

How they like to work

The National Museum has never coordinated an H2020 project, consistently joining as participant or third party in large consortia. With 65 unique partners across 29 countries from just 3 projects, they operate within very large, infrastructure-scale networks rather than small focused teams. This profile is typical of a trusted collection-holding institution that contributes domain assets (specimens, data, expertise) rather than driving project management.

Despite only 3 projects, the museum has worked with 65 partners across 29 countries — a remarkably wide network driven by participation in large pan-European infrastructure consortia like SYNTHESYS and DiSSCo. Their reach spans nearly all EU member states and associated countries.

What sets them apart

As the Czech Republic's national museum, they bring irreplaceable natural history collections that cannot be replicated — millions of specimens accumulated over nearly 200 years. Their involvement in both SYNTHESYS PLUS and DiSSCo Prepare means they are embedded in the two most important European initiatives for scientific collection access and digitisation. For any consortium needing Central European biodiversity data or natural history specimen access, they are the default Czech partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DiSSCo Prepare
  Preparatory phase for a new ESFRI research infrastructure — signals long-term strategic commitment to becoming a permanent node in Europe's distributed scientific collections system.
• SYNTHESYS PLUS
  Their largest funded project (EUR 177,161), part of the flagship programme integrating access to natural history collections across 21 countries.