During the last period of office, the ECTG developed a clear role for the group; including goals and action plans based on these goals, as well as a presence on the WFCC website. We also have a set questionnaire which can be sent to a collection in imminent danger in order that its current holdings, support mechanisms and needs can be properly reviewed and appropriate intervention strategies planned. Some of these early goals, including the procurement of some financial aid, have been achieved and some remain constant and ongoing. The new goals set out below are thus an extension of the past targets with some specific new challenges. Much of the work of this task group is responsive rather than proactive, in that we respond to calls for assistance and how best to help individual collections on a case by case basis. Nevertheless overarching goals can still be set and aspired to in order to help the long term strategic development of the group. Current goals for the ECTG are as follows:

Strategic tasks

• To provide a focal point or first port of call for any collection (industrial/private/academic) which considers itself to be endangered or in need of help or advice with respect to its future sustainability.

• To assess the requirements of endangered collections who seek assistance and to provide any support, advice or practical help to facilitate the continued survival of that collection; preferably in situ.
• In the event of a culture collection being in imminent danger of being lost, to visit, or by means of correspondence, assess the holdings of that collection and attempt to find an alternative home for all or part of said collection.

New tasks for current term of office

1. To seek additional levels of funding to build upon those achieved previously. This will be achieved by developing a sustainable funding strategy document looking at the following areas of funding aimed at supporting the goals of the ECTG:
   
   • Attempt to increase amount of award of grant aid from existing sources (principally the Society for Applied Microbiology - SfAM).
   • Exploiting to the full other available indirect funding sources periodically e.g. the SGM International Development Fund.
   • Contacting existing charitable organisations as potential new funding sources.
   • Heightening awareness of new research projects at the drafting stage in order to persuade the authors to consider provision for the maintenance of cultures arising from the project and help with infrastructure provision with the local/regional collections whose task it is to maintain said organisms.
   • To make use of the regional distribution of ETG members who can try to lobby for special funds within their country or region to set up complimentary funds to the SfAM Endangered Culture Collection Fund. Ideally these funds should be regional or global in scope of usage.
   • Locating and exploiting any additional sources of International funding which may be available to developing countries.
2. To work more closely with complimentary groups or interested parties both within and out with the WFCC to the benefit of endangered or potentially endangered collections.
   
   
   • Specifically to work with the WFCC education and capacity building task group whose role may overlap with some of our own initiatives or calls for assistance. e.g. in countries where there is poor or no co-ordination/communication/training between disparate groups within that country or region.
   • To investigate the possibility of "twinning" in order that an established culture collection can offer one on one assistance to an endangered collection if that appears appropriate or helpful.

Updated 15 December 2004

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Members of Endangered Culture Collection Task Group

 

 

Updated 05 September 2006