Developing a Strategic Plan for Upham Woods, a Field Station and Living Lab of the University of Wisconsin-Madison

厄普汉姆·伍兹户外学习中心是威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的野外考察站和生活实验室，该中心正在召集母校主校区和全国其他野外考察站和大学的合作伙伴，为他们的野外考察站制定战略计划。厄普汉姆·伍兹在威斯康星大学系统内的一个独立管理实体工作了48年后，从制度上回到了威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校。最近的重组提供了一个机会，可以对外勤站的运营进行设想和规划--特别是与研究、创新以及与主校区学生和教职员工的联系有关的流程。通过更有意识地融入大学的战略计划，厄普汉姆·伍兹将更好地充当现场站，为本科生提供以地点为基础的环境教育机会，否则他们可能没有机会在课堂外获得丰富的教育经验。此外，通过以更多的创新和研究将厄普汉姆·伍兹的参与扩展到大学领域，外地站每年接触的12,000名青年和成年人的参与将得到加强和更有力的支持。这些观众将了解，在某些情况下，第一手体验与威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校有关的厄普汉姆森林景观研究，加强该大学自然科学研究的更广泛影响。厄普汉姆·伍兹户外学习中心将制定一项为期五年的战略计划，以解决a)厄普汉姆·伍兹景观研究的进展，b)扩大机会，更有意识地融入威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校，将其作为活的实验室，c)通过大学课程、学生组织和研究项目，促进大学生进入和参与厄普汉姆·伍兹大学，d)确定未来将确保厄普汉姆·伍兹研究项目可持续性的拨款项目，以及e)为外勤站制定数据管理计划。在该项目为期一年的时间里，厄普汉姆·伍兹将主持并共同主持一系列讲习班，重点是总部外站管理(评价和多样性、公平和包容性有效做法)、人文科学和自然科学。每个讲习班都将召集厄普汉姆·伍兹具有相关专业知识的合作伙伴，为大学生编写研究说明书，提出加强外地站业务的建议，并确定寻求赠款资金的机会。每个讲习班产生的数据将为厄普汉姆·伍兹将提交给为该项目举行的战略规划委员会提供的正式战略计划提供信息。该项目的总体目标是为厄普汉姆·伍兹制定一项战略计划，以确保该研究计划在现场站的寿命和可持续性，同时扩大其对广大受众的影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center, a field station and living laboratory of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is convening partners from their home university’s main campus and other field stations and universities around the country to develop a strategic plan for their field station. Upham Woods institutionally returned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison after spending 48 years as part of a separately administered entity within the University of Wisconsin system. This recent reorganization presents an opportunity to undertake a visioning and planning process for the field station operations – specifically related to research, innovation, and connections to students and faculty from main campus. With a strategic plan to more intentionally integrate into the university, Upham Woods will better serve as a field station that provides place-based, environmental education opportunities to undergraduate students that otherwise may not have the opportunity to have enriching educational experiences outside of the classroom. Additionally, by extending Upham Woods engagement into the collegiate landscape with more innovation and research, the engagement with the 12,000 youth and adults that the field station reaches annually will be enhanced and more robust. That audience will learn about, and in some cases experience firsthand, the research on the landscape at Upham Woods that is associated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, enhancing the broader impacts of the natural science research of the university. Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center will develop a 5-year strategic plan that addresses a) the advancement of research on the landscape at Upham Woods, b) expanding opportunities for more intentional integration into the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a living laboratory, c) promoting access and involvement of university students at Upham Woods through university courses, student organizations, and research projects, d) identifying future grant projects that will ensure the sustainability of the research program at Upham Woods and e) develop a data management plan for the field station. Over the one-year duration of this project, Upham Woods will host and co-facilitate a series of workshops that focus in field station administration (evaluation and diversity, equity, and inclusion effective practices), humanities, and natural sciences. Each workshop will convene a partners of Upham Woods with the relevant expertise to develop research prospectuses for collegiate students, recommendations for enhancing field station operations, and identify opportunities to pursue grant funding. The data generated in each of these workshops will inform the formal strategic plan that Upham Woods will present to the strategic planning committee assembled for this project. The overarching goal of this project is to develop a strategic plan for Upham Woods that ensures the longevity and sustainability of the research program at the field station while enhancing its reach to a broad audience.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.