To the FWGNA project,
Good news: Over the last couple months our group has grown by nine members. Join me in welcoming Jim Alexander, Peter Badra, Jayne Brim-Box, Leslie Colley, Steve Duke, John Kent, Scott Martin, Larry Master, and Melissa Morrison. The FWGNA roster now stands at 84.
Bad news: Our NSF proposal was not funded. This is unsurprising - very few proposals are funded at their first submission. I haven't received the reviewer's comments as yet, but I can pretty much predict what they'll say. What's needed is a proof of concept.
In the next few weeks I'm going to try to find some space on a server, together with the software and technical expertise to patch together some sort of freshwater-gastropod-database-on-a-shoestring. The NSF Biotic Surveys & Inventories program only reviews proposals once each year, so we've got plenty of time to prepare for the next round.
In the mean time, I continue to welcome any thoughts and suggestions you all may have about funding, or indeed about any aspect of the project. We are moving forward, regardless.
Keep in touch,
Rob