Description*BACKGROUND* At the end of the 2013-2014 academic year we asked how successful this year's Ph.D. level job seekers in the ecological and environmental sciences had been at obtaining interviews and job offers. We surveyed these Ph.D. level scientists. Among the respondents, *only 34% (47/140) of academic job applicants ended the job season employed*. Further, *44% (61/140) of academic job seekers had not even earned a single telephone interview*, and 68% (96/140) had one or fewer phone interviews. In the academic job market, the phone interview is the first step after application and precedes the on-campus interview. *~2/3 of these job seekers received no offers of employment by the end of the 2013-2014 academic year. * This does not even include the many scholars who were released this passed year after significant state and federal budget cuts and management issues or those who are employed with for-profit organizations that are also ineligible for many of these funding sources. Although these scholars are largely capable of obtaining funding through grants and contracts to make a modest living, they are largely noncompetitive or ineligible for funding simply because they are not affiliated with an organization, and there were three times as many applicants as available openings at such organizations in 2013-2014.
*What can they do?* An independent scientist can open a consultancy and/or become affiliated with a not-for-profit organization if openings among the limited spaces are available. There are also government and non-government jobs for which they qualify. However, all of these options are very competitive and relatively limited in number at this time. *Solution **The Scientific Investigator's Alliance, Inc.* is* a nonprofit organization whose primary purpose is to provide opportunities for scholars *who are willing and able to seek out funding to support themselves and their own educational, research, and/or community service programs that they were trained and educated to do. Scholars can affiliate with us, and we will manage their grants at no cost to them. Grant management costs will be funded through indirect costs in accordance with OMB Circulars A-21, A-110, A-122, A-133. Investigators simply contact the organization, apply for affiliate investigator status, we evaluate if they meet the minimum requirements, and then they are ready to use our services. *The Scientific Investigator's Alliance, Inc.* is designed to provide all services over the internet. This will make it possible for scholars who are currently financially challenged to use our services without traveling or moving. They can launch their career from their current residence. It will also allow them to continue moving forward, becoming more competitive and remaining current in their fields. These things can become nearly impossible when unemployed or exclusively working the adjunct circuit. *Need* This request is for working capital to promote the service and establish a cloud-based infrastructure. Although we have set a very modest request for crowd funding, any assistance would be greatly appreciated so we can act to serve as many scholars as possible. Our crowdfunding appeal is posted on Rockethub at: http://rkthb.co/45061 The Scientific Investigator's Alliance, Inc. SIA is a not-for-profit organization registered with The State of Missouri (N01403751) as of 19 May 2014. Its 501(c)(3) status is pending approval. Website address: (currently inactive) http://scientificinvestigatorsalliance.org/ Linked In page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-scientific-investigator%27s-alliance-inc-?trk=nav_account_sub_nav_company_admin
