Despite the difficult circumstances, the bureaucracy and the high costs associated with sending people abroad, the Natural Sciences Commission managed to gather an extensive collection. The biological museums of Leiden became internationally renowned in the field of flora and fauna from Southeast Asia thanks to this collection. Many subsequent efforts by both institutes, including recent expeditions, have continued to build on the foundations laid in the first half of the nineteenth century.

The accurate and extensive documentation of the activities, of the observations in the field and of the description of the species make the scientific archives of the Natural Sciences Commission of exceptional importance for the objects gathered for the collections. Furthermore, the materials collected offer an outstanding insight into the scientific practices in the first half of the nineteenth century. The archives of the Natural Sciences Commission are managed by the NCB Naturalis.