Natural History Museum to lead new national programme to digitise the UK’s natural science collections

• DiSSCo UK is a £155 million, 10-year programme to digitise natural science collections held in the UK

• UK natural science collections hold more than 137 million items spanning an incredible 4.6-billion-year history - researchers use these collections to find solutions to global problems like biodiversity loss and food security

• Delivered by the Museum and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the programme involves around 90 partners across the UK

• Announcement made by the Secretary for State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan, at a private Museum event earlier this week 

The Secretary for State for Science, Innovation and Technology has announced that the Natural History Museum will lead a major new project, DiSSCo UK, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to digitise a critical mass of the UK’s natural science collections. 

Announcing the project in the Museum’s Darwin Centre on Monday 25 March, Michelle Donelan said, “This programme will allow researchers in the UK and around the world to use museum collections to find solutions to global problems from helping scientists to design climate change-resistant crops, to identifying the location of future pandemics through the study of bats.”

The UK’s collections are among the world’s most geographically, historically and taxonomically important. The uses and values of collections like these are unparalleled; from tracking biodiversity loss to informing policy and finding cures for diseases. 

Currently, the Museum’s digitised butterfly specimens are used by researchers to predict and diagnose environmental changes, like the relationship between emergence times and warming temperatures, and to inform conservation efforts, while the digitisation of legumes has helped to make samples available to improve the study of drought and stress-resistant crops, and of plants used for medicinal purposes.

Working with the AHRC to digitise these collections creates a vast data set for the next generation of environmental scientists to solve ecological challenges. By deploying the latest AI-derived innovations, DiSSCo UK will deliver tools to study and explore environmental systems, applying AI to inform policy and assist with environmental management decisions. Once digitised, the data will be freely available to anyone worldwide, meaning greater access and opportunities for global collaboration as we navigate the planetary emergency.

Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of the AHRC said, “We are proud to be working with the Natural History Museum on this programme which will use cutting-edge technology to unleash a wealth of opportunity across the UK and globally. By digitising this data and making it freely available across the world, DiSSCo UK has the potential to have a huge impact on the most pressing global challenges, from pandemics to food security.”

In 2022, more than two research publications a day cited UK natural science collections data, highlighting the importance of UK records to global science, and the transformative potential of DiSSCo UK in unlocking the data held within the UK’s collections, from national museums to local and university collections, botanic gardens and specialist institutes.

This programme builds on 10 years of experience in digitisation at the Museum. With a growing collection of 80 million specimens, and almost 6 million specimens already digitised and published with the support of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the Museum will lead the delivery of this critically important national programme. Alongside collaborating with DiSSCo's international efforts, Museum scientists are investigating whether a robot arm (pictured) can move and take photos of specimens quicker than a human to further increase the scale, speed and impact of UK digitisation.

As part of this work, DiSSCo UK will use the new facilities being developed by the NHM Unlocked programme which will see approximately one-third of the collection being moved to a purpose-built, state-of-the-art research facility at Thames Valley Science Park.

Museum Director, Dr Doug Gurr said, “More than 138 million specimens currently comprise the UK's natural science collections, and are among the most diverse of their kind. Unlocking this treasure trove of data by embracing the latest advancements in AI and robotics is a truly game-changing opportunity, not just for the UK but for global science, generating impact across sectors, including food, health, energy and the environment. We are delighted to be leading this critical project.”

Releasing digital collections data is expected to generate approx. £2 billion of economic benefits for the UK in sectors including food and health.

DiSSCo UK is funded through the UKRI Infrastructure Fund and led by the AHRC. UKRI invests in world-class facilities, equipment, and resources that are essential for researchers and innovators to do ground-breaking work. This infrastructure underpins the UK’s position as a science superpower and innovation nation. DiSSCo UK is one part of a wider £473 million investment from the UKRI.

ENDS

DiSSCo UK is the Distributed System of Scientific Collections UK.

Press pack including images available here.

Natural History Media contact: Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 5654 / 07799690151  
 
Email: press@nhm.ac.uk

About the Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is a world-leading science centre and one of the most visited attractions in the UK. A global source of curiosity, inspiration and joy. Our vision is to build a future in which both people and the planet thrive. We aim to be a catalyst for change, engaging advocates for the planet in everything that we do. Our 350 scientists are finding solutions to the planetary emergency in all aspects of life. Visit, join and support the Natural History Museum today. Protecting the planet. It's in our nature.

About the UKRI Infrastructure Fund programme 

The UKRI Infrastructure Fund supports the facilities, equipment and resources that are essential for researchers and innovators to do ground-breaking work. 
 
This strategic fund helps to create a long-term pipeline of research and innovation infrastructure investment priorities for the next 10 to 20 years. It supports a range of projects from new infrastructures to major upgrades, delivering a step change in infrastructure capability and capacity.

The Infrastructure Fund spans the complete disciplinary spectrum and funds infrastructures located across all of the UK’s regions and nations, and those which form part of major international collaborations.