Funding was raised for an 8 month pilot project that also benefitted from significant matching funds from the institutional partners. The pilot project was completed in November, 2004. The aims of the pilot project were to develop and document the processes and systems to be used in production of a full working list of plants and to define a strategy to develop and sustain the project through to completion. This required that the project form open and inclusive relationships with other institutions in plant science and with the botanical community to continue past the pilot project.

The experience and insights gained during the pilot project have fed into an updated set of technical documentation, including functional specifications for the systems required and an implementation plan for the longer term project. Procedures and tools were defined, tested, modified and documented both for building the name index and for production of Preliminary Conservation Assessments. Outputs from the pilot phase can be seen here. Further work has been carried out under an extension grant.