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.
Funding agencies increasingly encourage grant recipients to communicate their findings to appropriate stakeholders. Many researchers, particularly those involved with projects with implications for environmental or public health management and policy, want to communicate research findings to appropriate decision makers, news media outlets, or the general public. This webinar presents information and findings from the HBFR […]
A legislative milestone was marked on June 26, 2009 when the House of Representatives by a seven vote margin (219-212) approved HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.  Ultimately, 44 Democrats opposed and 8 Republicans voted for HR 2454, also known as the Waxman-Markey bill. HR 2454 includes a long list […]
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is seeking public input to revise and refresh the federal government’s ocean research priorities plan. Released in January 2007, “Charting the Course” was developed by federal agencies and outside stakeholders to identify and prioritize ocean science and technology endeavors over the next decade. NSC Alliance submitted […]
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) are soliciting proposals for research to support ecosystem-based management of marine ecosystems. Projects should aim to understand complex dynamics controlling ecosystem structure, productivity, behavior, resilience, and population connectivity, as well as effects of climate variability and anthropogenic pressures on living marine resources […]
Through the NSC Alliance partnership with the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), the NSC Alliance has access to the AIBS Legislative Action Center (http://capwiz.com/aibs/home). This tool allows you to quickly send a letter to your members of Congress to share your perspectives on policy issues. Congress is working on fiscal year (FY) 2010 appropriations […]
The Smithsonian Institution’s natural science collection has been used to successfully identify the species and origin of the birds which are implicated in the January 15, 2009 plane crash of US Airways flight 1549. All 150 passengers and five crew survived the plane’s crash landing into the icy Hudson River. Researchers at the Smithsonian’s Feather […]
On June 5, 2009, NSC Alliance submitted comments to the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on a draft science education rule. The rule would implement the Louisiana Science Education Action (SB 733), which was enacted in June 2008. The Act is viewed by many as a back door approach to teaching creationism. […]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced two new funding opportunities under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on June 1, 2009. The Recovery Act NIST Construction Grant Program will fund $120 million in grants for construction of research buildings. All grant proposals that complement one or more programs of the […]
The Natural Science Collections Alliance submitted comments to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on May 29, 2009 regarding the agency’s development of a strategic research, education, and extension plan. When completed, the plan will identify current trends, constraints, and major opportunities and gaps that no single entity within the USDA would be able […]
On May 18, 2009, the National Science Foundation (NSF) released its long-anticipated fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget request. In total, NSF’s FY 2010 request is for $7.045 billion, an increase of $555 million (8.5 percent) above the FY 2009 request (Note: The FY 2009 and 2010 budget numbers do not include the one-time appropriation of […]