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.
Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress have introduced bipartisan legislation to provide emergency relief appropriations for federal science agencies to support the research community during the ongoing public health crisis. On June 24, 2020, the Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act (H.R. 7308) was introduced by Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO), Fred Upton (R-MI), […]
On July 6, 2020, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a new guidance that would have forced international students to leave the U.S. if they did not participate in in-person instruction during the fall 2020 semester. The ICE guidance modified temporary exemptions issued in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those provisions […]
On July 10, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice ordering hospitals to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and send all COVID-19 patient data to a centralized database effective July 15, 2020. The directive raised concerns about transparency and public access to data for researchers as […]
The NSC Alliance has joined with other organizations representing museums, zoos, and aquaria to endorse comments from the National Council of Nonprofits to the Small Business Administration. The comments were in response to the SBA’s Interim Final Rules on Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Program. The museum groups wrote: As you implement the […]
On March 31, 2020, the NSC Alliance joined with the American Institute of Biological Sciences and Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections to remind federal science policy officials that biological collections can be used to better understand important societal problems, such as zoonoses like SARS-CoV-2. The groups highlighted the Extended Specimen Network (ESN) […]
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 $9 billion in FY 2021 and highlighting the importance and role of natural history collections. “Natural science collections advance scientific research and education, and that informs actions to improve […]
On March 12, 2020, the NSC Alliance sent letters to key House and Senate leaders requesting 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. […]
The NSC Alliance provided testimony to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees regarding fiscal year (FY) 2021 funding for certain 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 […]
On July 29, 2019, the NSC Alliance urged the regents of the University of Alaska to find alternatives to devastating and irrevocable budget cuts to the Museum of the North. The letter from NSC Alliance is below. Please consider contacting the the regents, university officials, and state legislators today to help them understand the importance […]
The Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSC Alliance) provided testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee regarding fiscal year (FY) 2020 funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). “Museums strengthen our national economy. They provide core educational and outreach programs to engage the public and contribute more than $50 billion to the U.S. economy […]