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.
Legislation is pending in the House of Representatives that would require the public release of sensitive information regarding peer review of federal grants. As it is currently drafted, the Grant Reform and New Transparency (GRANT) Act, HR 3433, would require that the government publish online grant proposals funded by federal agencies. Unlike the current government […]
The NSF-funded iDigBio project is pleased to announce a Visiting Scholars program available at the national headquarters (HUB), University of Florida, Gainesville, starting in 2012. Emphasis will be placed on early-career collections and informatics-based professionals with demonstrated interest in digitization, particularly those who broaden representation within this academic and professional community. The iDigBio Visiting Scholars program […]
Today, NSC Alliance requested that the U.S. government pursue a discussion of how to improve the permit validation process for scientific specimens on the agenda for the sixteenth regular meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The comments were in […]
Dr. Betsy Bennett, director of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, has been honored with the title of Tar Heel of the Year by The News and Observer, a North Carolina newspaper. The award is given to “a strong leader who has had wide and lasting impact in North Carolina,” according to paper. Dr. […]
The Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award (EPPLA) recognizes graduate students in the biological sciences with an interest and aptitude for working at the intersection of science and public policy. EPPLA winners will receive a free trip to Washington, DC to participate in the 2012 BESC Congressional Visits Day on 28-29 March 2012. Applications must be […]
On 15 December 2011, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) Research Board issued a new request for proposals, RFP-II, which will provide up to $7.5 million per year for research grants to individual investigators or small groups of researchers.  The funding is part of BP’s commitment to provide $500 million over ten years to […]
In a feature article in the September 2011 issue of the journal BioScience, freelance journalist Beth Baker chronicles recent efforts to digitize scientific collections in the United States. The article includes an interesting sidebar describing the recently announced National Science Foundation effort, Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections. The report concludes with a section describing how […]
A new online presentation sponsored by the NSC Alliance aims to inform biologists about proposed federal funding for science and how individual scientists can help secure increased funding for competitive, peer-reviewed grant programs. Â The webinar, presented as part of the 3rd Annual Biological Sciences Congressional District Visits event, features information on the federal budget process, […]
There appears to be bipartisan agreement that the nation must take corrective steps to reduce the size of the federal deficit. For months now, however, lawmakers have been battling a policy solution. Some politicians have proposed deep cuts or the elimination of some scientific research programs. Using the budget deficit to target scientific research that […]
Ecosystem and biological research programs at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) could be cut by $10.7 million, a disproportionately large budget cut, if the House of Representative’s Interior and Environment Appropriations bill is enacted in its current form. When the proposed spending cuts are considered with the reductions enacted in the 2011 Continuing Resolution, […]