Collaborative Research: Integrated Communications Effort (ICE) Online Strategic Planning Workshop

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The International Polar Year 2007-2009 (IPY) is a landmark event to further scientific research about the polar regions and to bring polar research to students and the public worldwide. This will be the fourth IPY, building on IPYs of 1882, 1932 and 1957. Designing effective ways to bring the science and the experience of polar regions to classrooms, homes, libraries, museums and through other means takes coordination among scientists and professionals in the fields of education and outreach. In the lead-up to IPY, two workshops, one in 2004 and one in 2005, have been sponsored to bring together the right communities to discuss and plan ways to conduct effective education and outreach as part of IPY. This proposal builds on the previous two workshops and takes the effort one step further by developing the key messages to deliver during IPY about the polar regions. In addition the workshop will consider how to measure whether IPY was successful at educating people about the polar regions. Previous workshops introduced many community members to one another and discussed current opportunities, audiences and potential avenues for collaboration. This workshop is unique because it will be facilitated online to encourage the participation of people who may not be able to travel to a meeting location or who may be in different time zones, particularly international participants. Facilitation of workshop discussion will take place during two weeks in the spring of 2006, the exact dates are yet to be determined. The workshop facilitators are experienced in hosting online workshops with asynchronous participation. The outcomes of the workshop will include a report summarizing the input of the workshop participants and the key messages identified as focus point for IPY. Education and outreach efforts during IPY will be conducted by a number of different federal agencies, universities, non-profit organizations and others. The guidance provided by the community through this workshop process will help funding agencies and people writing proposals to focus their efforts on advancing literacy about the polar regions and about science to different public audiences.