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 February 16, 2024, the Natural Science Collections (NSC) Alliance sent a letter to Duke University leadership in response to reports about the closure of their herbarium due to a change in funding priorities. The letter strongly urged Duke leadership to reconsider the decision to dismantle the herbarium. “Duke’s proposed divestment of its herbarium is […]
NSC Alliance has joined more than 1000 organizations in a letter urging Congress to reject any full-year continuing resolution that would result in cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, the funding source for most scientific research programs. “Such cuts would be disastrous for the capacity of the federal government to serve the public, assist those in […]
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 the Biden Administration to request $16.7 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in fiscal year (FY) 2025, which is the level of funding for NSF […]
The Natural Science Collections Alliance has provided testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee regarding fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). “The IMLS is the primary federal agency that supports public education programs at museums and an important source of funding for preserving scientific collections. Investments in IMLS […]
NSC Alliance was among 760 organizations that signed a letter urging Congress to reject proposed cuts to non-defense discretionary (NDD) appropriations. The letter, led by the Coalition for Health Funding, calls on Congress to reject cuts to NDD appropriations and instead set funding for fiscal year (FY) 2024 at a level that recognizes both rising […]
Twenty six scientific societies and organizations, including NSC Alliance, as well as more than 280 individual researchers, have expressed support for a BioScience editorial by Drs. Charles Fenster and Scott Collins that calls for restoring the Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG) program within the Divisions of Environmental Biology (DEB) and Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) at […]
The Natural Science Collections Alliance has submitted testimony to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, requesting Congress to provide the National Science Foundation with at least $11.9 billion in FY 2024. The testimony highlights the importance and role of natural history collections in improving public well-being and national economic security. “Natural science collections advance scientific […]
The NSC Alliance has submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Committee regarding fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding for programs that curate natural history collections within the Department of the Interior and Smithsonian Institution. “Scientific collections, and the collections professionals and scientists who make, care for, and study these resources, are a vital component of our […]
NSC Alliance has submitted written input to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in response to a request for information on supporting the U.S. bioeconomy. Specifically, the White House was seeking public input on how advances in biotechnology and biomanufacturing can achieve previously unachievable goals and the steps necessary to create […]
The NSC Alliance has joined the American Institute of Biological Sciences and 16 other scientific societies and organizations in sending a joint letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) providing input on her forthcoming legislation, the One Health Security Act. The One Health Security Act aims to create a mechanism to enhance interagency coordination, streamline funding, and strengthen […]