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

解决诸如全球气候变化之类的环境问题需要新的方法来理解生物圈，也需要生态系统科学家和公众之间更大程度的接触。然而，目前的学术体系并不奖励这种活动，有时还会惩罚这种活动。学术科学家很少与那些几乎接触不到科学的人联系（例如，在辅助生活中心的人、城市青年或被监禁的人）。一项试点研究表明，与不了解科学的受众接触的科学家可以产生新的想法，实施研究，交流结果，并激发对生态的理解，而如果他们仅限于学术互动或只与传统的公众受众合作，他们就无法做到这一点。本项目探索了一种高风险/潜在高回报的方法，以创建一个严谨、创新、可持续和变革性的项目，将公共宣传从负担变为收益。与专业评估人员团队合作，PI将召集成熟和早期的生态系统生态学家作为“研究大使”（RAs），通过讲座、研究项目和网站吸引不了解科学的听众。他们将：a)与利益与评级机构重叠的适当公众进行头脑风暴；B)对外联活动提供指导；c)评估对科学家和他们的科学以及公众受众的影响。这是第一个系统的努力，为高级和初级生态系统科学家提供可持续的外展计划，并了解公众参与对他们的影响。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民族。这项工作将为大量科学家理解与这些受众的接触可以带来学术和社会回报奠定基础。

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.