EAGER: Transforming public engagement by ecosystem scientists from burden to benefit: The Research Ambassador Program

EAGER：将生态系统科学家的公众参与从负担转变为受益：研究大使计划

• 批准号: 1141833
• 负责人: Nalini Nadkarni
• 金额: $ 5.07万
• 依托单位: University of Utah
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-07-01 至 2015-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1141833&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Transforming; public; engagement; ecosystem

Solving environmental issues such as global climate change requires new ways to understand the biosphere, and for much greater engagement between ecosystem scientists and the public. However, the current academic system does not reward, and sometimes penalizes, such activities. Academic scientists only rarely connect to those who have little access to science (e.g., people in assisted living centers, urban youth, or incarcerated people).A pilot study suggested that scientists who engage with scientifically unaware audiences can generate new ideas, implement research, communicate results, and inspire ecological understanding in ways they could not if they were restricted to academic interactions or worked only with traditional public audiences. This proposed project explores a high-risk/potential high- return approach to create a rigorous, creative, sustainable, and transformative program to change public outreach from burden to benefit. Working with a team of professional evaluators, the PI will gather well-established and early career ecosystem ecologists as "Research Ambassadors" (RAs) to engage scientifically unaware audiences via lectures, research projects, and websites. They will: a) brainstorm with appropriate public audiences whose interests overlap with the RAs'; b) provide guidance on outreach activities; and c) evaluate effects on the scientists and their science, as well as the public audiences.This is a first systematic effort to provide a sustainable outreach program for senior and junior ecosystem scientists and to understand the impacts of public engagement on them. The results for ecosystem science can extend to other fields of science in the future.Research Ambassadors will create materials and projects for underserved public audiences that are often disproportionately weighted toward minorities. This work will set the stage for large numbers of scientists to understand that contact with these audiences can bring academic and societal rewards.

解决全球气候变化等环境问题需要新的方法来理解生物圈，并需要生态系统科学家和公众之间更多的参与。然而，目前的学术制度并不奖励，有时甚至惩罚这种活动。学术科学家很少与那些很少接触科学的人联系（例如，辅助生活中心的人、城市青少年或被监禁的人）。一项试点研究表明，与不了解科学知识的受众接触的科学家可以产生新想法、实施研究、交流结果并激发生态理解，如果他们仅限于学术互动或仅与传统公众受众合作，则无法实现这些目标。这个拟议的项目探索了一种高风险/潜在的高回报方法，以创建一个严格的，创造性的，可持续的和变革性的计划，以改变公众宣传从负担到受益。与专业评估人员团队合作，PI将聚集成熟和早期职业生态系统生态学家作为“研究大使”（RA），通过讲座，研究项目和网站吸引不了解科学的观众。他们将：a）与利益与区域主管重叠的适当公众进行头脑风暴; B）为外联活动提供指导;以及c）评估对科学家及其科学以及公众的影响。这是为高级和初级生态系统科学家提供可持续外联计划并了解公众参与对他们的影响的首次系统性努力。生态系统科学的成果可以在未来扩展到其他科学领域。研究大使将为服务不足的公众受众创建材料和项目，这些受众往往不成比例地偏重于少数群体。这项工作将为大量科学家了解与这些受众的接触可以带来学术和社会回报奠定基础。