SYNTHESYS3 consortium recognises the importance of the Societal Challenges identified by the Horizon2020 programme and relevance of natural history collections for solving problems outside the traditional and conventional fields. We have reviewed 26 Use Cases backed up by documentary evidence demonstrating how the collections, expertise and services can be used to find solutions to a range of societal challenges. The Use Case review has been made available on-line in a format which allows updating and the inclusion of additional examples. It constitutes the first element for building a roadmap for the access policy of the European natural history institutions. This will enable further discussion on the prioritisation of solutions by a wider community.