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.
In August 2018, Arizona State University’s (ASU) Biocollections and Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center was selected by the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) leadership to be the NEON Biorepository, potentially for the full 30-year duration of the project. More information about the rolling launch of the NEON Biorepository is now available online. The NEON Biorepository represents […]
NSC Alliance members are invited to participate in the 2019 Congressional Visits Day organized by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). The event will be held on March 27, with supplemental training available on March 25-26. The event allows you to meet with your members of Congress to help them understand the important role […]
The Department of the Interior (DOI) has adopted a new policy it contends will improve transparency and public access to scientific research. The open science order was signed by Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on September 28, 2018. Similar to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed rule Increasing Transparency in Regulatory Science, DOI’s order requires […]
Congress has approved and the President has signed a $853 billion spending package, which includes a stop-gap spending measure to avert a partial government shutdown. The short-term funding measure provides level funding for the government programs for which an appropriations bill had not been passed and signed into law prior to October 1. The House […]
The NSC Alliance has been contacted by a National Academies study committee that would like to receive additional information from taxonomists and collections curators. Please consider sharing your thoughts and recommendations to the request below. Send all information no later than Friday, September 28, 2018, to rgropp@aibs.org. NSC Alliance will compile all information and transmit […]
The Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN) will convene a series of webinar programs in 2018 to share information about BCoN activities with the community and to receive community input on prior and pending BCoN programs. These webinars will include a formal presentation followed by an opportunity for participants to ask questions and share information. All programs […]
The Institute of Museums and Library Services has announced a new funding opportunity for small museums. Inspire! Grants for Small Museums is a special initiative of the Museums for America (MFA) program designed to motivate small museums to apply for grants to implement projects that address priorities identified in their strategic plans. The program includes […]
The White House has nominated Dr. J. Scott Angle to be Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Mr. David Vela to be the Director of the National Park Service (NPS) at the Department of Interior (DOI). Dr. Angle, President and CEO of the International […]
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has announced the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) plan to reorganize its bureaus into 12 unified regions. The proposed management re-design establishes new regional divisions based on the boundaries of states and watersheds, including a California-Great Basin Region, a Lower Colorado Basin Region, an Upper Colorado Basin Region, and Mississippi Basin […]
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s (NASEM) Board on Life Sciences (BLS) is seeking experts to serve on a committee that will review the contributions of biological collections in research and education. The expert panel will examine both living organisms and preserved biodiversity specimens that are supported by the National Science Foundation. The […]