Understanding the users and uses of UK Natural History Collections

Abstract

UK natural science collections hold over 137 million items, an unrivalled source of data about 4.56 billion years of planetary development and hundreds of years of biological change, including the differences made by humans — but the scientific, commercial, and societal benefits of these collections are constrained by the limits of physical access, and by highly fragmented digitisation efforts with less than 10% digitally available. Following work with Frontier Economics in 2021, which showed potential for £2 billion in benefits to the UK economy from digitising all UK natural science collections, in 2022–23 the Natural History Museum London worked, with analytical support from McKinsey and Company, to understand the impact of what has already been digitised and shared by UK natural science collections — what is the demand for these data, what are they used for, and how does this deliver efficient, effective and impactful research? This study focuses on usage via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the largest source of relevant usage data, examining 7.6 million records from twelve UK institutions. While these UK collections data are just 0.3% of total GBIF occurrences, they are cited in 12% of peer reviewed publications citing GBIF data, showing the disproportionate impact of UK collections data and the historical, geographical, and taxonomic richness that they bring. Researchers have already benefited from more than £18 million of efficiency savings from digital UK specimen data. Data from natural science collections held in the UK are uniquely impactful resources, vital to a future in which people and planet thrive, and a step change in the pace of digitisation is needed to unlock their potential for researchers, policymakers, and society.