Collaborative proposal: Workshop on Best Practices for Integrating the Social Sciences and Natural Sciences for Sustainability Research and Education

本次研讨会汇集了从事以团队为基础的跨学科综合研究的学者，他们的研究重点是社会科学与自然科学和工程学的合作。目的是探索从这些研究中吸取的经验教训，以便编写一份关于将社会科学与生物物理科学、数学和工程相结合的最佳实践报告，以促进可持续发展科学。研讨会探讨了什么是有效的，什么是无效的，以及为什么要这样做，以便让这些领导者参与如何最好地指导新兴的综合科学家的问题，确定对实现综合可持续发展科学至关重要的关键技术，并就如何将社会科学融入可持续发展研究和教育提供结构化指导。这些最佳实践面向不同的受众，从美国国家科学基金会和其他资助项目的决策者，到从事可持续发展项目的研究人员和教育专家。可持续发展科学包含了无数的问题和过程，涉及自然世界的各个方面以及作为其中一部分的社会。只有通过对后一种现象的理解，才能得出可能的解决方案。此外，可持续发展科学的方法必须解决构成我们目前面临的许多挑战根源的众多世界观和价值观。迄今为止，美洲还没有召开过一次会议，明确表达了一种压倒性的呼吁，即寻找有效而有力的方法，将社会科学和对社会动态的理解纳入可持续性科学。为了实现可持续发展，决策者必须学会整合自然科学、工程和社会科学的知识和方法。解决方案既不是纯技术的，也不是纯社会经济的，而是将各个领域的最佳实践结合起来。本次研讨会是学习如何进行必要的集成的一个步骤。

This workshop brings together scholars who are doing research that involves team-based, interdisciplinary, integrative research focused on the social sciences in collaboration with natural sciences and engineering. The purpose is to explore lessons learned from such research toward producing a report of best practices for integrating the social sciences with the biophysical sciences, mathematics, and engineering for sustainability science. The workshop explores what works, what doesn't work and why in order to engage these leaders in questions of how to best mentor emerging integrative scientists, to identify the key technologies which are critical to enabling integrative sustainability science and to provide structured guidance on how to integrate the social sciences in sustainability research and education. These best practices are directed at diverse audiences ranging from NSF and other funding program decision makers to researchers and education experts engaged in sustainability programs.Sustainability science encompasses a myriad range of issues and processes that involve diverse aspects of the natural world and the societies that are part of it. It is only through an understanding of these latter phenomena that likely solutions will be derived. Moreover, the approaches to sustainability science have to address the multitude of worldviews and values that comprise the roots of the many challenges we currently face. To date, no meeting has occurred in the Americas to clearly articulate what has become an overwhelming call to find effective and powerful ways to incorporate the social sciences, and an understanding of social dynamics, into sustainability science. To achieve sustainability, decision makers must learn to integrate knowledge and methods from the natural sciences, engineering, and the social sciences. Solutions are neither purely technical nor socio-economic, but involve bringing together best practices from all fields. This workshop is a step toward learning how to do the necessary integration.