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.
On March 28, 2022, President Joe Biden released his budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2023, once again calling for significant investments in climate change, scientific research, and conservation. The budget framework proposes large budget increases for most federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. […]
Federal support for the Smithsonian Institution would grow by 11 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2023 to $1.2 billion. This increase includes the congressionally mandated pay raise, funds to revitalize physical infrastructure, and support for two new museums. Smithsonian is also funded by private donations and a trust fund. The Facilities Capital account would receive […]
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. President Biden’s FY 2023 budget request includes $277 million for IMLS, an increase of 3.4 percent compared to the FY 2022 enacted level. The IMLS Office of Museum Services (OMS) awards grants to museums […]
The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) an alliance of more than 140 professional organizations, scientific societies, universities, and businesses that advocate for the National Science Foundation (NSF) has called on House and Senate Appropriators to provide at least $11 billion in funding for NSF in fiscal year (FY) 2023. The groups wrote, in part: […]
The U.S. Congress has now enacted a much-awaited omnibus spending package that provides fiscal year (FY) 2022 funding for the U.S. government. Nearly 6 months overdue, the $1.5 trillion legislative package (H.R. 2471) combines all twelve FY 2022 appropriations bills and includes $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Overall, defense spending will […]
Science Insider recently reported on the impacts of the ongoing war in Ukraine on museum collections. The article recounted how researchers at the Ukrainian Bat Rehabilitation Center a bat rescue and research facility in Kharkiv, Ukraine scrambled to protect, hide, or evacuate irreplaceable specimens, collections, and data. Conservation biologist Anton Vlaschenko moved the center’s collection of […]
The NSC Alliance has joined an international coalition of 26 scientific societies and organizations and 122 scientific researchers and professionals in urging continued open access to digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources. In a letter to National Focal Points to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the coalition has shared recommendations to inform ongoing […]
The NSC Alliance has submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Committee regarding fiscal year (FY) 2023 funding for programs that curate natural history collections within the Department of the Interior and Smithsonian Institution. “Scientific collections are critical infrastructure for our nation’s research enterprise, argued NSC Alliance. They are a national treasure that help support the […]
The Field Museum in collaboration with iDigBio and NSC Alliance is hosting the sixth annual Digital Data in Biodiversity Research Conference, Enhancing & advancing the quality of digitized data, on May 23-25, 2022. This year’s event with be a virtual meeting. The conference will again provide an important opportunity to explore digital data tools, techniques, […]
In 2021, the NSC Alliance engaged in a number of efforts to elevate the profile of natural history collections with policymakers, researchers, and the general public. Read our annual summary.