Mission Statement
The Specify Collections Consortium (SCC) advances scientific research and innovation by managing the data from biology and geology collections and by supporting and fostering the collections community.
With engagement and collaboration from its member institutions, the SCC will:
- engineer innovative, robust, open-source software for the acquisition, integration, and curation of digital collections data;
- create tools promoting FAIR principles; and
- foster collaborative networks to facilitate the use of collections data in broader initiatives.
Core Values
Strong Community
- Member-Driven: We are a membership based organization dedicated to fostering a supportive, collaborative network. We succeed by supporting and connecting institutions, curators, collection managers, researchers, educators, decision makers, and aggregators to collectively advance the practice of collections management.
- Inclusive: We are committed to benefiting the entire biological and geological collections community through leveraging the strength of larger members in order to advance the entire community.
- Reciprocal Knowledge: We empower all members by sharing procedural and software knowledge, experience, and developments with all members of the SCC community.
Robust Software
- Quality Tools: We develop robust, secure, user-friendly, state-of-the-art software and tools to ensure collections information is high-quality, consistent, and easily shared to maximize its research impact.
- User-Centric: We strive to make our members’ work easier and more effective. Our software design and support services are centered on creating an efficient, intuitive, and reliable user experience.
- Open & Accessible: We champion open-source principles in our software and support open-access to scientific data.
- Innovative & Flexible: We are committed to continuous evolution. We provide the flexibility to meet the changing needs of the biological and geological collections community.
Integrity
We believe in the foundational value of scientific collections. We act with integrity to support the institutions that preserve our critical biological and geological heritage, ensuring their data can serve research and society for generations to come.