Sustaining Biological Infrastructure: Expanding and Enhancing an ESA Training Initiative for Project Directors

美国生态学会（ESA）获得了一笔赠款，用于扩大和加强可持续生物基础设施（SBI）培训计划。这项计划帮助科学家获得维持研究基础设施（如数据库、收集、野外站和海洋实验室）所需的商业规划、营销和沟通技巧。研究基础设施对科学发现至关重要，并支持农业、遗传学、环境科学和人类健康等领域的创新。这些资源还需要明智的规划，以维持其长期的财务可持续性，并满足研究界不断变化的需求。SBI培训计划将帮助建立一个新的科学家社区，提高他们的商业和沟通技能。这些科学家将有更好的装备，以确保关键资源继续促进发现，促进美国的健康、繁荣和福利。SBI培训计划旨在用科学家能理解的语言向他们传授关键技能，并提供充足的机会：1)向经验丰富的教师学习；2)实践使用他们可以立即在自己的项目中实施的关键工具；3)与对研究界面临的具体挑战有深刻理解的同行建立联系并向他们学习。该奖项支持以下活动：在未来三年内，每年在两个不同的地点提供为期三天的“成功战略”课程；开发和提供一个更高级的两天课程“创建一个成功的商业计划”；每年在专业协会或其他组织会议上提供两次较短的研讨会（一天或更短）。扩大和加强这一培训计划将产生以下结果。基础设施主管将更频繁、更有效地交换有助于项目可持续性的信息。商业和财务规划将成为管理生物基础设施项目和计划的常规部分。基础设施主管将报告更大的筹资成功、更多样化的资金来源以及更有效的项目财务管理。基础设施主管将越来越多地为其项目制定并定期更新正式的业务和战略计划。SBI培训计划（www.esa.org/sbi）的扩大将通过确保重要基础设施继续支持生物研究中的创新和发现来促进科学进步。

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is awarded a grant to expand and enhance the Sustaining Biological Infrastructure (SBI) training initiative. This initiative helps scientists gain the business planning, marketing, and communication skills needed to sustain research infrastructure (e.g. databases, collections, field stations, and marine labs). Research infrastructure is vital to scientific discovery and supports innovation in fields such as agriculture, genetics, environmental science, and human health. These resources also require informed planning to maintain their long-term financial sustainability and to meet the research community's constantly changing needs. The SBI Training Initiative will help create a new community of scientists with enhanced business and communication skills. These scientists will be better equipped to ensure that critical resources continue to enable discovery and advance the health, prosperity, and welfare of the United States. The SBI Training Initiative is designed to impart key skills to scientists in a language they understand, and to provide ample opportunities to: 1) learn from experienced faculty, 2) practice using key tools that they can implement immediately at their own project, and 3) network and learn from peers who possess a deep understanding of the specific challenges that the research community faces. This award supports the following activities: offering the keystone 3-day "Strategies for Success" course in two different locations each year for the next three years; developing and offering a more advanced 2-day course on "Creating a Successful Business Plan"; and offering two, shorter workshops annually (one day or less) at professional society or other organization meetings.Expanding and enhancing this training program will lead to the following outcomes. Infrastructure directors will exchange information useful to project sustainability more frequently and effectively. Business and financial planning will become a routine part of managing biological infrastructure projects and programs. Infrastructure directors will report greater fundraising success, increasingly varied funding sources, and more effective financial management of their projects. Infrastructure directors will increasingly develop and regularly update formal business and strategic plans for their projects. The expansion of the SBI Training Initiative (www.esa.org/sbi) will promote scientific progress by ensuring that vital infrastructure continues to support innovation and discovery in biological research.