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 Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSC Alliance) has submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Committee, requesting Congress to provide the National Science Foundation with at least $10.2 billion in FY 2022 and highlighting the importance and role of natural history collections. The testimony reads, in part: “Collections are a critical resource for advancing the knowledge […]
The NSC Alliance has submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Committee regarding fiscal year (FY) 2022 funding for certain programs that curate natural history collections within the Department of the Interior and Smithsonian Institution. “Preservation of specimens and the strategic growth of these collections are in the best interest of science and the best interest […]
A coalition of more than 200 scientific and academic stakeholder groups, including NSC Alliance, have asked President Biden to champion the Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act (H.R.869, S.289) and support full funding for the initiatives the legislation would create. The widespread, detrimental impact of COVID-19 on research and researchers, particularly those from underrepresented […]
On March 1, 2021, NSC Alliance joined forces with the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) and Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) in highlighting to lawmakers the value of mobilizing biodiversity specimens and data in spurring new scientific discoveries. In the letter to House Science Committee Leadership, the groups bring attention […]
NSC Alliance has endorsed an action plan developed by the Science and Technology Action Committee that calls for doubling the federal expenditure for research and development and STEM education relative to gross domestic product (GDP), from 0.7 percent to 1.4 percent, over the next five years. The requested level of funding is estimated to reach […]
NSC Alliance has endorsed a petition expressing support for scientific research stations and their educational programming that have been adversely impacted by financial concerns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The petition reads, in part: Unfortunately, current circumstances, especially COVID-related travel restrictions, have truncated cash flow to field stations thereby debilitating their capacity to […]
Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, US science leaders and others have expressed frustration with the lack of an informed and coherent federal response, a sentiment that echoes objections to the handling of other pressing issues, such as climate change. NSC Alliance has endorsed a Viewpoint article, penned by past presidents of the […]
The Natural Science Collections Alliance was among 170 science and research stakeholders to write to congressional leadership urging swift action to complete work on the fiscal year (FY) 2021 appropriations bills with increases for federal science agencies and to provide emergency supplemental funding for research relief in the wake of COVID-19. The groups argue, in […]
The Natural Science Collections Alliance has joined 15 other scientific organizations in thanking House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Representative Gerald Connolly (D-VA), and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) for introducing the Saving the Civil Service Act (H.R. 8687) to reverse the October 21, 2020 Executive Order on Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service. The […]
On October 19, 2020, the NSC Alliance reiterated its request to key House and Senate leaders that any economic measures crafted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic address the financial harm being felt by natural history museums, botanical gardens, and other scientific societies and research organizations, which are an integral part of the nation’s bioeconomy. […]