Committee Nominations 2026

Nominations are open to join the team of Trustees of the Natural Sciences Collections Association. Any current personal member of NatSCA is eligible for election.

Our Trustees are volunteers who sit on NatSCA’s committee to oversee the Association’s work. NatSCA’s mission is to support natural science collections, the institutions that house them and the people that work with them, in order to improve collections care, understanding, accessibility and enjoyment for all.

You can read the Charity Commission’s guides to what it means to be a trustee here.

As a Trustee, you will actively contribute to NatSCA’s overall strategic direction and delivery. You will join committee meetings, as well as leading or supporting a governance or activity area. The committee meets monthly online (one hour) and has one in person meeting per year in the Autumn for strategic planning (one or two days). NatSCA covers Trustee travel, accommodation, subsistence for the away day up to a set cost benchmarked against equivalent UK organisations.

Trustees are elected at our AGM, which is taking place this year on Thursday 13th May at our annual conference in Belfast. It will be possible to join the AGM virtually if you are not attending the conference in person or digitally. A Zoom link will be shared with members before the AGM.
Current roles where we welcome new nominations, as well as Trustees who have reached the end of their current terms standing for re-election, include:

- Ordinary Members
Most Trustees on the Committee are “Ordinary Members” – those without formal named roles such as Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Membership Secretary and Editor. Ordinary Members have a wide range of responsibilities. From the new Trustees that are elected at this AGM, we have Trustees standing for re-election who cover conference delivery, the Conservation Working Group and website development, and also welcome nominees with skills in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, communications, or supporting connection with collections regionally.
In addition, existing Trustees with the following roles have reached the end of their current terms:
- Secretary
- Membership Secretary
- Treasurer
- Editor
- Co-Chair
Due to the requirements of these roles, we are currently looking to fill these from within the current Trustees. However, any other NatSCA members are also welcome to submit a nomination.

We would be delighted if you would consider sending a nomination, or passing this on to someone who you think would be well suited to the roles.

The nomination form can be found here, and must be sent to Yvette Harvey, Secretary of NatSCA, at secretary@natsca.org by Tuesday 21st April 2026. Please include which of the roles you would like to stand for in the “Post” section.

The form requires being proposed and seconded by two current NatSCA members. If you would like any help identifying two members to propose you, please email secretary@natsca.org.

All new Trustees will receive training and induction into the Committee. If you have any questions about becoming a NatSCA Trustee, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the current Co-chairs, Jen Gallichan and Tannis Davidson: chair@natsca.org