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.
Periodically, Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSC Alliance) member institutions request information about what the NSC Alliance has recently accomplished. The following provides a summary of some of the key activities and accomplishments of the NSC Alliance for the period of January 2011 to April 2012. Worked with other scientific organizations to demonstrate grassroots support for […]
The National Ecological Observatory Network, Inc. (NEON) is hiring an assistant director for scientific research collections. This position will be responsible for planning, implementing, and overseeing the archiving and analysis of samples (biological, physical and chemical), tissues, and specimens collected as part of the field-based research of the NEON Observatory. This person will actively collaborate […]
Today, NSC Alliance submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. The testimony was in support of $3.5 million in new funding for the Department of the Interior’s Cultural and Scientific Collections program. The FY 2013 budget request would implement a multi-year action plan to address recommendations made by the […]
A new study published online 18 March 2012 in Nature Climate Change uses data from the Pliocene epoch to test how accurately climate models can predict future climate trends. The Pliocene epoch is the time period from 3.3 to 3.0 million years ago, and is believed to resemble most closely, in terms of “sustained global […]
A recording of a Congressional briefing on the economic returns associated with federal government funding for scientific research is now available online. The briefing, “Research That Pays Off: The Economic Benefits of Federally Funded R&D” was held on Friday, 16 March 2012. A video of the briefing is available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m6y_P2vUfg&feature=youtu.be.
This week, NSC Alliance submitted testimony to the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. The testimony was in support of funding the National Science Foundation (NSF) at $7.373 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2013. This funding level would represent a 4.8 percent increase for the agency over the FY […]
On 5 June 2012, the NSC Alliance will host a science briefing for policymakers on “Digitizing Science Collections: Unlocking Data for Research and Innovation.” The event will provide congressional, federal, and nongovernmental decision makers with information about the value of scientific collections and efforts to make collections more accessible through digitization. Draft Program Natural science […]
Ten scientific organizations have joined together to sponsor a briefing for congressional policymakers on the economic returns associated with Federal government funding for scientific research. The briefing, “Research That Pays Off: The Economic Benefits of Federally Funded R&D†will be held on Friday, March 16, 2012. Two sessions have been planned. The first session is […]
On 5 March 2012, Dr. John Wingfield, head of the Biological Sciences Directorate at the National Science Foundation, responded to concerns raised by the collections community about the Collections in Support of Biological Research (CSBR) program. NSC Alliance and several other scientific organizations wrote to Wingfield in late February regarding NSF’s proposal to change the […]
The National Park Service is seeking public comments regarding the collection of information from museums about Native American cultural items in their collections. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) requires museums to compile certain information regarding Native American cultural items in their possession or control, and provide that information to lineal descendants […]