Natural Science Collections Alliance
Our members are part of an international community of museums, botanical gardens, herbariums, universities and other institutions that house natural science collections and utilize them in research, exhibitions, academic and informal science education, and outreach activities.
The latest Index Herbariorum annual report, The World’s Herbaria 2019, is now available along with previous reports from 2016-2019 at http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/annual-report/. This report provides an annual snapshot of Index Herbariorum data that helps to track any changes in the number of herbaria and their specimens over time. “Participating institutions can use these data to put […]
Just prior to the expiration of the most recent stopgap funding resolution that kept the government running through December 20, 2019, both chambers of Congress passed two bundles of appropriations bills totaling approximately $1.4 trillion. The two compromise packages were signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019. As an indication of the […]
President Donald Trump has announced his intention to nominate Dr. Sethuraman Panch Panchanathan to serve as the next director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). If confirmed, Dr. Panchanathan would be the agency’s 15th director. He would assume the office following Senate confirmation. He would replace Dr. France Cordova at the end of her […]
On January 16, 2020, Robert Gropp briefed the members of the Federal Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections about the Extended Specimen Network report and other recent Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN) activities and accomplishments. The NSC Alliance is an active leader of the BCoN effort and played an important role in shaping the Extended Specimen […]
Congress has yet to pass legislation providing fiscal year (FY) 2020 funding for science. Government agencies, including the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, have been operating under FY 2019 funding levels since FY 2020 began on October 1, 2019. More than two months into FY 2020, Congress has passed two continuing resolutions […]
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is soliciting public input on a Museums for America grant program, entitled Museums Empowered: Professional Development and Capacity Building Opportunities for Museums–A Museums for America Special Initiative. Museums for America (MFA) grants support efforts that strengthen the ability of museums to serve the public. This is a […]
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has requested information from the public on the American Research Environment. In a notice published in the Federal Register on November 26, 2019, OSTP has requested input on behalf of the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC’s) Joint Committee on the Research Environment (JCORE) on […]
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking public comment on a proposed NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing and supplemental guidance. According to NIH, the purpose of this draft policy and guidance is to promote effective and efficient data management and sharing to further NIH’s commitment to making the results and accomplishments of […]
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s (NASEM) Committee on Assistance to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) on Taxonomic Studies of the Red Wolf is calling for research applications to clarify the taxonomic identity of wild canid populations in southwestern Louisiana and other geographic areas where the red wolf (Canis rufus) was […]
The joint meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) and the International Council of Museums Committee for Museums and Collections of Natural History (ICOM NATHIST) will take place from the June 7-13, 2020 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. The theme for the meeting is “The Role of Natural History Collections in […]