Workshop on Grand Challenges in the Social and Behavioral Sciences; Baltimore, October 2000

由于在广泛的学科领域中出现了一系列令人兴奋和强大的新发现，社会和行为科学站在了一个关键点上。除了个人研究人员和小研究小组的进步之外，社会和行为科学家已经看到了跨学科活动的价值，这些活动增加了与自然、数学和计算机科学家和工程师的合作。社会科学和行为科学内部越来越多的关注已经开始集中在“大挑战”的识别上——超越个别科学的形式和实质的广泛的、基本的问题。该奖项将允许美国地理学家协会和社会科学协会联盟（COSSA）的其他组织组织和举办一个研讨会，重点关注社会和行为科学中的重大挑战。讲习班特别关注的是确定一个或多个对社会和行为科学的总体关注具有根本中心意义的主要研究问题。这些问题应该：(1)有希望创造新的知识和理论；(2)吸引兴趣广泛的科学家参与，包括地球、生物、数学和信息科学，以及教育和工程领域的科学家；(3)是社会和行为科学界广泛而深入协商的结果，因此是一个将吸引广泛支持和产生广泛热情的挑战；(4)对有识之士透明，并能引起他们的兴趣和支持；(5)引起广泛的联邦和州机构以及私人基金会的兴趣和支持；(6)具有国际性和多民族的范围，使其成为促进多国合作科学的手段。大约30位来自广泛的社会和行为科学学科的主要研究人员和实践者将参加为期两天的研讨会，暂定于2000年10月13日至15日在巴尔的摩举行。重大挑战的初步候选方案将在讲习班前由与会者拟定并分发，并将举行一系列全体会议和重点更突出的分组会议，为探讨想法和达成协商一致意见提供结构。讲习班的会议记录和结果将以电子方式传播，并通过在与科协会有关的学会的通讯中出版的方式传播。研讨会的开展及其建议将为个人和集体的研究人员提供宝贵的新见解和激励，并将有助于主要资助机构和组织内部就现在和将来的主要新研究和预算倡议进行讨论。暂定计划在2001年秋季举办后续讲习班。NSF对后续研讨会的任何支持都将通过初始奖励的补充来提供。

Because of an exciting and powerful array of new discoveries across a broad range of disciplines, the social and behavioral sciences stand at a pivotal point. In addition to advances by individual researchers and small groups of investigators, social and behavioral scientists have seen the value of interdisciplinary activities that have increased collaborations with natural, mathematical, and computer scientists and engineers. Increased attention within the social and behavioral sciences has begun to focus on identification of "grand challenges" -- broad, fundamental questions that transcend the form and substance of individual sciences. This award will permit the Association of American Geographers and other organizations in the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) to organize and conduct a workshop that focuses on grand challenges in the social and behavioral sciences. Of special concern at the workshops will be identification of one or more major research questions fundamentally central to the overall concerns of the social and behavioral sciences. These questions should (1) hold the promise of creating new knowledge and theory; (2) attract the interest and participation of scientists across a broad spectrum of interests, including the earth, biological, mathematical, and information sciences, as well as in education and engineering; (3) be the result of broad and intensive consultation in the social and behavioral science community and therefore a challenge that will attract broad support and generate widespread enthusiasm; (4) be transparent to intelligent lay persons and capable of enlisting their interest and support; (5) engender interest and attracts support from a broad spectrum of federal and state agencies and private foundations; and (6) be international and multinational in scope, making it a means of promoting multinational collaborative science. About 30 leading researchers and practitioners from the broad range of social and behavioral science disciplines will meet for a two-day workshop, tentatively scheduled for October 13-15, 2000, in Baltimore. Preliminary candidates for grand challenges will be formulated by and circulated among participants before the workshop, with a set of plenary and more focused break-out sessions providing structure for the exploration of ideas and development of consensus. The proceedings and results of the workshop will be disseminated electronically and through publication in the newsletters of COSSA-related societies. The conduct of the workshop and its recommendations will provide valuable new insights and stimulus for researchers, both individually and collectively, and they will contribute to discussions within major funding agencies and organizations regarding major new research and budgetary initiatives now and in the future. A follow-up workshop for Fall 2001 is tentative planned. Any NSF support for this follow-up workshop would be made through a supplement to this initial award.