In 2012, the NSC Alliance engaged in a number of notable activities to raise the profile of natural history collections with policymakers, researchers, and the general public. A few highlights are presented below:
- Conducted a Congressional briefing on digitization of natural science collections. The event was well attended by policymakers from Capitol Hill, federal agencies, and nongovernmental organizations.
- Coordinated a joint society letter to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to express concerns with a proposal to alter the Collections in Support of Biological Research program.
- Provided testimony to House and Senate Appropriations Committees in support of increased funding for the NSF and the Department of the Interior.
- Developed two issue briefs that help to articulate the importance of scientific collections, which are available at https://nscalliance.org/?page_id=10.
- Initiated planning with iDigBio and AIBS for a jointly sponsored workshop to be held at the 2013 Society for Preservation of Natural History Collections annual meeting.
Read all of NSC Alliance’s accomplishments from 2012 at https://nscalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/nsca-2012-summary.pdf.
NSC Alliance Announces 2012 Accomplishments