Workshop Proposal: Global Environmental Research Infrastructure (GERI) Planning Workshop; June 25-27, 2019; Boulder, Colorado

Battelle Memorial Institute, Richland OH

Investigators

Abstract

Funding is provided to Battelle Memorial Institute to execute a workshop intended to assemble leaders of Environmental Research Infrastructures (ERIs) from six countries to explore common research interests and explore models to enhance collaborations that leverage each infrastructure's individual, and their combined research strengths. The sheer geographic breadth and the diverse research communities served by participating ERIs potentially add extensive societal benefits to this global scientific endeavor, supported by international data sharing. A workshop facilitating the identification of common research themes and the development of features and potential requirements for a potential governance structure that aligns with each ERI's national goals and engenders global perspectives and good practices for research infrastructures is funded. The workshop also promotes the building of lasting scientific collaborations that will catalyze actions addressing global research questions in environmental science and ecology. The activities proposed will initiate the creation of a platform that fosters wider community mobilization across international boundaries, thus having the potential for significant societal impacts. The organizers plan to engage 28-32 individuals from six ERIs and allow for remote participation, expanding the reach of the workshop. In summary, this workshop leverages NSF's investment in the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and provides a collaborative framework for US researchers to participate in this global conversation and potentially influence, and gain access to, a global ecological data set. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.