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

美国生态学会（ESA）获得一笔赠款，以扩大和加强可持续生物基础设施（SBI）培训计划。该计划帮助科学家获得维持研究基础设施（例如数据库，收集，现场站和海洋实验室）所需的业务规划，营销和沟通技能。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。这些资源还需要知情的规划，以保持其长期的财政可持续性，并满足研究界不断变化的需求。履行机构培训倡议将有助于建立一个新的科学家社区，提高商业和沟通技能。这些科学家将更好地确保关键资源继续促进发现和促进美国的健康，繁荣和福利。SBI培训计划旨在以他们理解的语言向科学家传授关键技能，并提供充足的机会：1）向经验丰富的教师学习，2）使用他们可以在自己的项目中立即实施的关键工具进行练习，3）网络和学习同行谁拥有对研究社区面临的具体挑战的深刻理解。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;开发和提供为期两天的“制定成功的商业计划”高级课程;并提供两个，每年举办较短的讲习班（一天或更少）在专业协会或其他组织会议上。扩大和加强这一培训计划将导致以下成果。基础设施负责人将更频繁、更有效地交流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款成功，越来越多的资金来源，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。履行机构培训倡议（www.esa.org/sbi）的扩大将确保重要的基础设施继续支持生物研究的创新和发现，从而促进科学进步。

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.