AIBS Membership for Organizations: Services and Benefits

Societies, Institutions, Academic Units, Corporations, and other Scientific Enterprises

Membership Categories

1. Professional scientific societies.

   Open to all nonprofit biological societies and associations that are membership governed.

2. Academic units at research and educational institutions of all levels.

   Open to all nonprofit biological educational associations or educational consortia, as well as academic departments, divisions, or research and teaching centers. Multiple academic units on campuses are welcome to join as members.

   The following new benefit is being developed for members in this category: Participation in The BioChairs Program, for engaging in discussions and information sharing about educational matters as well as workplace and public policy issues affecting science and education.

3. Institutions engaged in biological research and public education.

   Open to all nonprofit biological collections institutions, research or teaching field stations, and consortia of such institutions.

4. Corporations that share AIBS's mission goals and aspirations.

   Open to all for-profit organizations and corporations interested in promoting biological science and education.

   The following new benefit is being developed for members in this category: Science and the Corporate World. Participation in AIBS conferences and workshops on major issues (e.g., applied biological research, human resources in biology, and funding for applied and fundamental biological science).

Organizations in all four organization membership categories are treated as equals with respect to the appointment of their representative to the AIBS Council (the advisory body to the Board of Directors, AIBS's governing body). As members of the Council, all organizations have the right to vote up to four of their Council peers onto the 13-seat Board of Directors, depending on the number of vacant board seats in a given year of the election cycle.

Annual dues: $125 per organization (additional benefits available for an additional fee; see Public Policy below)

Apply to Join AIBS Now

Academic Units

Please complete our application form online or download an application and submit it by mail.

• Online application form
• PDF application (35 KB)
• Microsoft Word application (44 KB)

Societies, Institutions, Corporations and other Scientific Enterprises

Please download our application form (68 KB PDF) and submit it by mail.

Summary of Services and Benefits

Participation in AIBS Governance

Each MSO appoints a representative to the AIBS Council. At the annual Council meeting, MSO presidents, representatives, and executive directors share information, collaborate on projects, and develop collective statements and positions. (NOTE: Council Representatives must be dues-paying individual members of AIBS.)

Public Policy

The AIBS Public Policy Office provides services in the support and defense of biology, including analyses, representation, and advocacy; Hill/agency visits and testimony; workforce policy; internships and fellowships; workshops training biologists to be effective in the public policy arena; biweekly e-mail reports and alerts; the Emerging Public Policy Leader Award; and the "Washington Watch" column in BioScience. Recent activities have promoted funding and program areas for biology at the NSF/NIH nexus as well as at USGS, USDA, and EPA; blocked creationist attacks on evolution education; dealt with federal challenges to the peer-review process, the classification of areas of study, and international visas; and countered the effects of coercive Open Access legislation for journal publishing on the conduct and integrity of science.

Member societies and organizations receive core services with their annual dues that include:

• Collective action by AIBS Public Policy Office staff on behalf of research and education in biology

• AIBS Public Policy Reports (bi-weekly via e-mail) and e-mail Action Alerts

• Weekly Federal Register notices, posted to the AIBS website

• Annual Report on AIBS Public Policy Office activities, posted to the AIBS website

• The annual AIBS Congressional Handbook — a pocket-sized directory of members of Congress as well as a primer on Capitol Hill and the legislative process. The handbook is provided free to the MSO President each year; extra copies are available for minimal cost.

By paying additional funds each year to AIBS (see http://www.aibs.org/public-policy/funding_contributors.html), member societies and organizations can gain important additional public policy services, including:

• Reprint rights for all open access content in BioScience, including the "Washington Watch" column

• A seat on the AIBS Public Policy Committee (PPR)

• Quarterly teleconference briefings by AIBS staff

• Customized Annual Report on AIBS Public Policy Office activities

• Meeting with your board

• Conducting policy workshops at your annual meetings

• Assistance with responding to Federal Register notices or drafting letters to Congress

• Assistance in organizing Congressional briefings

• Policy articles for your bulletin or newsletter

• Assistance with preparing written or oral testimony

• Compiling information for a report

• In-depth analysis of policy issues or funding trends in your field

• Creating content for your organization's website

• Tracking or lobbying on specific bills or provisions

• A Washington, D.C. presence for your organization, including phone line, mailing address at the AIBS office, and the use of AIBS facilities

• Dedicated staff time and a staff job title, in your organization's name, to work on your organization's specific issues

Publications

BioScience. MSO Presidents receive a free subscription to AIBS's journal, BioScience. The best of biology, every month — and now sold on newsstands across the U.S. and Canada. Since 1964, BioScience has presented readers with timely and authoritative overviews of current research in biology, accompanied by essays and discussion sections on education, public policy, history, and the conceptual underpinnings of the biological sciences. A peer-reviewed, heavily cited, monthly journal with content written and edited for accessibility to researchers, educators, and students alike, BioScience is provided to all AIBS members in print and online as a part of regular AIBS dues. BioScience includes articles about research findings and techniques, advances in biology education, professionally written feature articles about the latest frontiers in biology, discussions of professional issues, book reviews, news about AIBS, the "Washington Watch" column, and the "Eye on Education" column. Roundtables, Forums, and Viewpoint articles provide the perspectives of opinion leaders and invite further commentary. A sample issue is online at www.aibs.org/bioscience.

Read in print and online around the world in thousands of libraries, BioScience is ranked among the top journals in its ISI category (Biology) for Impact Factor, with a Citation Half-Life of almost ten years.

The BioScience Bulk-Purchase program for MSOs' individual members provides BioScience subscriptions for only $12/year.

Free reprint rights are available for the use of all open access content in BioScience in an MSO's own publications, including Editorials, Features, BioBriefs, Viewpoints, and the "Washington Watch" and "Eye on Education" columns.

BioScience editorials expressing opinions or commentaries are encouraged from MSO representatives.

The "AIBS News" column in BioScience publishes short news items on the latest happenings of AIBS and its membership. MSO contributions are welcome.

MSOs can participate in BioOne, the online publishing collection. Nonprofit MSOs may choose to have their journals published online via BioOne — often at no up-front cost. Visit www.BioOne.org for details.

Education, Diversity, and Public Outreach

The AIBS Education Office provides services including career information, textbook reviews, curriculum projects, diversity programs, internships, student chapters, bimonthly e-mail reports, and the "Eye on Education" column in BioScience. Recent activities include the expansion of ActionBioscience.org; a two-day symposium on evolution education with the National Association of Biology Teachers; a study of the effects of the National Research Council's 2003 report, "Bio2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists"; education services and staff for the new Center for Synthesis in Biological Evolution at Duke University; and the forthcoming film, "Evolution, Why Bother?" with the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study.

ActionBioscience.org: AIBS's newest service, launched in 2004 with the mission of "Learn More, Get Involved, Make a Difference!" is a free bilingual (English/Spanish) education website. The site's current subject emphases are (1) biodiversity, (2) the environment, (3) evolution, (4) biotechnology, (5) genomics, (6) new frontiers, and (7) advances in biology education. All content is peer-reviewed. Many articles include lesson plans keyed to U.S. National Science Education Standards and recognized by the National Association of Biology Teachers for professional development credit. See www.actionbioscience.org.

Online Virtual Library: Online and CD-ROM lectures by prominent scientists and teachers, recorded at AIBS annual meetings as well as at AIBS public roundtable sessions in Washington DC and other events. Access is free, via the AIBS website.

Online Communications Network

Connects you to key contacts and information for AIBS and AIBS's member societies and organizations. Search the AIBS membership databases by name, location, specialty, etc. Searchable contacts include the President, Immediate Past-President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Executive Director, AIBS Council Representative, Journal Editor, Newsletter Editor, Public Policy Committee Chair, Public Policy Representative, Education Committee Chair, and Education Representative of all AIBS member societies and organizations. Access is via the AIBS website.

E-mail & Website Updates

Custom e-mail subscriber services, such as biweekly public policy reports, bimonthly education reports, evolution/creationist updates, funding alerts, letter-writing campaigns, and progress reports from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Project Office at AIBS. If you don't like receiving e-mails, you can read all of the above on the AIBS website, updated daily.

New benefit for academic members--the BioChairs Forum is an exclusive benefit for chairpersons or directors of collegiate programs that are members of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. BioChairs was established to increase communication among the leadership of college and university departments, divisions and centers in the biological sciences. The forum is an interactive electronic network for peers to share advice and information about the management and leadership issues unique to leaders of academic biological science programs.

Collaborative Efforts and Sponsorship Opportunities

MSOs may sponsor interns or fellows in the AIBS Washington office for work in public policy, education, diversity/outreach, and other areas.

AIBS public outreach activities include Congressional briefings and scientific roundtables. These projects, benefiting both our membership and society at large, are available as collaborative efforts of ideas, organization, and sponsorship.

Meeting and Membership Services

AIBS Meetings Services provides logistical support for scientific meetings, seminars, workshops and other forums, regardless of size. Furthermore, AIBS itself holds an annual meeting in most years for its individual members and participating MSOs — the latter on a profit-sharing basis. Meeting with AIBS can be an effective method for an MSO to hold its own meetings, annual and otherwise, while taking advantage of AIBS's organizational umbrella.

Online Meetings Finder to search for AIBS member societies' and organizations' meetings by name, place, and date.

Assistance with administration. As an umbrella society, AIBS can offer its MSOs administrative support at minimal cost. Depending on the size of your organization and the services needed, some may even be provided at no cost. Services include managing membership and subscriber lists, and applying for tax exempt status, insurance, incorporation, etc. MSOs are also invited to use the AIBS offices in downtown Washington, DC, and in Reston, Virginia for small gatherings of up to a few dozen attendees.

Advertising

Discounts on postings to AIBS's online jobs listings, and on the rental of AIBS mailing lists.