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Collaborative Science in a Virtual World (Part 1): Recognizing Limits and Leveraging Opportunities

Thu, May 28 2020, 3 - 4pm

Speaker(s): Kristen Goodrich, Shannan Lewinski, Julia Wondolleck, and James Arnott

Location: Webinar


Collaborative science involves working closely with partners at every stage - from conceptualizing a new project, to conducting the research, to refining tools to best meet a management need. As a result, it’s challenging to imagine how to adapt our collaborative science practices to our new, socially-distanced reality.

This panel discussion explored some of the implications of planning and conducting collaborative science virtually. Our three panelists have expertise in collaborative processes, stakeholder engagement, and virtual meeting design and, like all of us, are learning more about the challenges and opportunities of virtual engagement.

The discussion built on needs and strategies identified by participants and kicked off what we hope will be an ongoing dialogue about virtual engagement for collaborative science. While no one has all the answers, we are eager to learn together.

Learn more about speakers:

Cressman Cumulative ChangeKristen Goodrich is the Coastal Training Program Coordinator at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. There, she provides training and technical assistance to coastal decision-makers in Southern and Baja California. Working on the U.S.-Mexico border has provided her with a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities for collaboration and boundary spanning and inspires her research on psychosocial resilience.
Burdick Site 4 MapsShannan Lewinski is an instructional designer and learning specialist with NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management. In this role she helps design training and offers guidance and production support for a range of virtual meetings and workshops. 
Julia Wondolleck has spent the past 30 years researching and writing about collaborative processes in the management of natural resources. She is a professor at the University of Michigan where she teaches courses in collaborative resource management, alternative dispute resolution, and integrative negotiation and mediation. 

Moderator:

James Arnott is the Executive Director of the Aspen Global Change Institute. James’ research seeks to understand how to better link scientific knowledge with decision-making through research on collaborative science and science funding. James is also a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan’s Graham Sustainability Institute.