Disciplinary Improvements: The SEEKCommons Research Coordination Network

University Of Notre Dame, Notre Dame IN

Investigators

Abstract

The “Socio-environmental Knowledge Commons” (SEEKCommons) research coordination network will disseminate and study open science tools and methodologies to advance collaborative socio-environmental research. SEEKCommons will build bridges between domains of scientific, technical, and environmental expertise through community-building workshops and support activities that enable the sharing of skills, resources, and socio-environmental research products as public goods. The project seeks to bridge long-standing divides between the social and environmental sciences through the adaptation and application of open tools and methodologies in ways that will overcome disciplinary barriers to acceptance. SEEKCommons will draw primarily from three areas of research and development: Science and Technology Studies (STS), OS, and Socio-Environmental research. Each of these component areas will be integrated and coordinated with the others by using STS as a “translational component” that will mediate between open science practitioners and socio-environmental researchers working with communities affected by environmental and climate issues. Five major activities will be conducted to establish the SEEKCommons RCN: (1) empirical STS research on common problems and capacity gaps related to “openness” in socio-environmental research; (2) regular convenings to share research findings and challenges, and to build consensus on how to advance collaborative work; (3) fellowships for students and early-career researchers to investigate emerging problems and opportunities in the application of OS to socio-environmental research; (4) a Data Facilitation Consortium; and (5) creation of a Resource Hub and Curriculum Builder to disseminate open research outputs and highlight the work of our network partners. This award by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure is jointly supported by the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. 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.