Workshop for early career researchers on co-design and co-production

The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the Future Earth Secretariat will hold a workshop for early career researchers around the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting in December 2015The workshop will provide an overview of recent understanding of the earth system through the IGBP lens and insights from other GEC programmes; evaluate how this has led to the Future Earth agenda; assess how society is challenged by current and projected changes; and explore methods to co-design research and development approaches to meet end user and stakeholder needs.  

Over the past three decades, IGBP has built an incredible set of research findings in the quest to understand how human activities have contributed to our changing earth system. With the closure of IGBP at the end of 2015, Future Earth will welcome the huge IGBP research community, and will take up the mantle of supporting excellent science at the forefront of global change research. Through integration with other global environmental change research communities, Future Earth will continue to advance knowledge on the most pressing global challenges.

These challenges impact and are impacted upon by all of society, and responding effectively will require strong collaboration with the private sector, with policy makers, and with other users of the knowledge generated be the Future Earth community. For this reason, Future Earth is committed to the co-design and co-development of research activities to create innovative solutions and transformative pathways to sustainability.

The workshop will provide exposure to a number of principles and approaches useful in co-design efforts across disciplines and with multiple end users in mind, including:

• Providing guidance on implementing a co-design approach
• Enhancing the understanding of the research and engagement scope of Future Earth
• Developing collaborative skills to work across boundaries of disciplines and society

Workshop Structure

The workshop will include approximately 20 to 25 participants, in addition to 3 to 5 expert organizers, and sessions will be structured around a combination of team and plenary discussions.

Co-organizers

Dennis Ojima (Future Earth Secretariat Implementation Team), Cheikh Mbow (Future Earth Science Committee), Ninad Bondre (IGBP), Karen Smyth (IGBP), Kirsti Ashworth (University of Michigan) and others.

Application procedure

If you're interested in participating, please send a short biography (approximately 250 words or less/half page); research interest and recent accomplishments (~500 words); and details of your interest in one or more of the 8 challenges set out in the Future Earth vision to dennis.ojima@colostate.edu by August 28th 2015.

Applicants should have graduated within the last 7 years and be at the advanced stages of a PhD or be undertaking post-doctoral research.

Please note that participants will be expected to be self-funded, but may be eligible for AGU travel grant assistance for attending the AGU Fall meeting.

All questions about this workshop should be directed to dennis.ojima@colostate.edu.