The chicago botanic garden will partner with other botanic gardens to develop a scalable framework for the active coordination of plant management across institutions' living plant collections

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded the Chicago Horticultural Society (operating as Chicago Botanic Garden) $704,927 on September 1, 2026, under the National Leadership Grants program (CFDA 45.312) to develop a scalable framework for coordinated plant management across multiple botanic garden institutions' living collections.

The project will establish data collection and management processes using orchids as the initial focal genus, with partner botanic gardens participating in the coordination effort. Staff will collect and organize plant data, upload information to a shared platform, conduct plant condition assessments, establish protocols for collection management, and produce a global conservation plan. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, professional conferences, and workshops. The model for conservation-oriented management practices will inform future collection curation across participating institutions and support long-term species resilience.

Performance takes place in Glencoe, Illinois, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2029. The National Leadership Grants program supports projects addressing critical needs in the museum and library fields with potential to advance professional practice through widely applicable models, tools, research findings, and collaborative alliances.

The project will first focus on orchids held in various institution collections as a means of establishing data collection and work processes. Staff will collect and organize data, upload data to a shared platform, conduct tests of plant conditions, establish protocols, and produce a global plan for conservation. Results of the project will be shared in publications as well as professional conferences and workshops. The new model for conservation-oriented management will guide future collection curation practices and support long-term species resilience.