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<div class="Section1">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal"><span style="font-family:Arial">Creation of a Network Integrated
Biocollections Alliance will increase research productivity, solve societal problems,
and drive innovation</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial"><br></span></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">The American Institute of Biological
Sciences (AIBS) has released a report from a workshop of experts that was
convened last fall to outline the steps needed to build a Network Integrated
Biocollections Alliance (NIBA) in the next ten years.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>NIBA is a national scientific, engineering, and data
management initiative first called for in 2010.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>When built, NIBA will provide online access to digitized
data for biological specimens held in natural history museums, university
science departments, and government laboratories, among other repositories.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">The experts’ workshop was convened by AIBS with support from
the National Science Foundation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">NIBA is a coordinated, large-scale and sustained effort to
digitize the nation’s biological collections in order to make their data and
images available through the Internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Implementation Plan for a
Network Integrated Biocollections Alliance </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">(</span></span><a href="http://www.aibs.org/public-policy/biocollections.html" target="_blank"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial">http://www.aibs.org/public-policy/biocollections.html</span></span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial">)</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial"> “provides a detailed roadmap to achieve a vital
national goal, which will be extremely important in coping with consequences of
climate change, invasive species, pollution and other major environmental
problems,” said Dr. James Hanken, director of Harvard University’s Museum of
Comparative Zoology and an author of the report.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">In 2010, the scientific community developed a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Strategic Plan</i> for NIBA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Strategic
Plan</i> has been well received, but the scientific community also recognized a
need to augment the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Strategic Plan</i> by
identifying the key steps, milestones, and stakeholders required to fully
achieve its goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Thus, AIBS
convened a workshop to develop an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Implementation
Plan </i>for NIBA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Both documents
have emerged from the biocollections community and have been widely informed
through workshops of experts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The
broader scientific community and the public have also provided input that
informed the final <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Implementation Plan</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">“Scientists are eager to see the NIBA implemented,” said Dr.
Lucinda McDade, Interim Executive Director of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
and an author of the report.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>Hanken concurs and notes that NIBA is required to help move research
forward and to ensure that policymakers and the public have access to the
information they need to make informed decisions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">“This report strongly emphasizes research applications while
also highlighting important educational components and focusing on workforce
training that will be necessary to achieve and sustain NIBA,” said McDade.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">The National Science Foundation already is showing earnest
commitment to achieving many of the goals identified in the report through
several current funding initiatives, notes Hanken.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>“Full implementation of NIBA will require additional
investments by other federal and state agencies that hold major
biocollections.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">The report identifies many specific activities that can and
should be led by individual scientific societies, biocollections institutions,
federal and state agencies, colleges and universities, and other consumers of
digitized data.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Implementation
Plan</i> includes detailed recommendations to:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">1) Establish an organizational and governance structure that
will provide the national leadership and decision-making mechanism required to
implement NIBA and to fully realize its Strategic Plan.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">2) Advance engineering of the US biocollections
cyberinfrastructure.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">3) Enhance the training of existing collections staff and to
create the next generation of biodiversity information managers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">4) Increase support for and participation in NIBA by the
research community and a broad spectrum of stakeholders.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">5) Establish an enduring and sustainable knowledge base.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">6) Infuse specimen-based learning and exploration into
formal and informal education.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">“We urge all stakeholders to join the NIBA effort,” said
McDade.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Strategic Plan</i>
for NIBA is at </span><a href="http://digbiocol.wordpress.com/brochure/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial">http://digbiocol.wordpress.com/brochure/</span></a><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Implementation Plan</i>
for NIBA is at </span><a href="http://www.aibs.org/public-policy/biocollections.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial">http://www.aibs.org/public-policy/biocollections.html</span></a><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial"> </span></p><br><div><span></span><div><div><div>Julie Palakovich Carr<br>Senior Public Policy Associate<br>American Institute of Biological Sciences<br>1444 I Street, NW Suite 200<br>Washington, DC 20005<br>202-568-8117<br>www.aibs.org<br><br>"This message is confidential and should only be read by its intended
recipients. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender
and delete all copies."<br></div></div></div><span></span><br></div><br></div></div></div></body></html>