Science Solutions

Solutions are good ideas turned into practice.

Finding science-based solutions to complex, real-world, environmental problems often requires:

• the engagement of many communities from the decision-making, scientific and stakeholder communities;
• decisionmaker needs identification and connection to scientific capabilities;
• effectively targeting limited dollars to producing science-based tools for real-world application;
• tapping the full range of scientific talent in terms of discipline, institutions, geography, and capability; often through grants and contracts;
• building trust through skilled facilitation and communication between different stakeholders; and,
• careful attention to putting science-based tools into the hands of end-users.

NCSE Science Solutions has experience, expertise and dedicated capacity to conduct programs that address these challenges for specific environmental challenges. Some ongoing NCSE Science Solutions programs are:

• The National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry provides practical information and approaches to serve the needs of forest managers, practitioners and policymakers to improve sustainable forestry.
• The Wildlife Habitat Policy Research Program produces information and tools that can accelerate the conservation of wildlife habitat in the United States.
• The Outlook Forest Research Dialog enhances research coordination, collaboration, and partnership within the forestry community.

Each NCSE Science Solutions program is designed to meet the specific needs of participants and end-users, constraints of resources and time, and the real-world details of the particular environmental issue addressed. Often NCSE brings to bear its capacity to:

• Convene a range of stakeholders from different communities in forums where they can work together. This can mean a variety of funders addressing a shared challenge, an agency reaching out to a variety of communities, or communities in conflict over a particular issue. Such challenges often require a neutral forum with expert facilitation and carefully constructed processes that lead to the development of consensus and certain outputs, such as a prioritized research agenda.
• Develop decision-making tools that require scientific and technical ability outside of their own organizations and that is often scattered across disciplines, institutions and locations. This often requires the management of a grants and contracts program.
• Dissemination of knowledge and tools to decision-makers from a variety of organizations and locations in a form which can readily be used.

If you have an environmental challenge that would benefit from the expertise of NCSE Science Solutions please contact Chris Bernabo, Program Director, chris@ncseonline.org, or Peter Saundry, Executive Director, NCSE, psaundry@ncseonline.org.