Call for applications: Early career workshop on nature-based solutions in an urban context

You are invited to participate in the Future Earth Europe Early Career Workshop on 23 to 24 October 2017 in Tallinn, Estonia. The deadline for applications is 10 September at midnight CEST.

The workshop

The Future Earth Europe Early Career Workshop is a Future Earth contribution to Nature-Based Solutions: From innovation to common use, a flagship conference of the Estonian Presidency of the European Union. The conference takes place on 24 to 26 October 2017 in Tallinn. The purpose of the Future Earth Early Career Workshop is to promote interdisciplinary exchange and learning between leading early career researchers and practitioners in Europe, who are working on the theme of Nature-Based Solutions for Cities and Urban areas.

Participants will work together to develop policy recommendations for sustainable urban management. This will be combined with hands-on lessons learned from case studies of transdisciplinary research projects on urban sustainability topics. They include how to achieve science and policy integration and how to manage the tradeoffs of providing resources and services, such as food, energy and water, and other ecosystem services, such as recreation, pollination and watershed stabilisation, while remaining within the ecological redline. The workshop will limit the number of early career professionals to around 30 to guarantee intensive dialogues and exchanges.

The workshop is generously funded by the British Academy and Future Earth and organised through the Tyndall Centre, University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom and Future Earth.

The side event at the conference

All workshop participants will work together to present the outcomes of the workshop at a three-hour side event at the Nature-Based Solutions Conference on 24 October.

The outcomes of the workshop

The workshop is strongly outcome-oriented and thus aims to create products that are useful for both scientists and practitioners. Participants will jointly work on an academic and a non-academic publication.

The workshop is a joint activity with the Early Career Researchers Network of Networks.

Future Earth’s offer

Successful applicants will receive two nights of accommodation in Tallinn, their travel fare from a European country and meals, paid for by the University of East Anglia/Future Earth. The selection of funding for successful applicants will be merit-based.

Staying some additional nights in Tallinn for the Nature-Based Solutions Conference from 24 to 26 October would be at participants’ own cost. We understand that there is no registration fee for the conference itself.

Future Earth strongly welcomes participation from early career practitioners who can cover their own travel and accommodation costs. If you or your company/organisation/institute can cover your costs, please send an email with a short cover letter to tallinn.ecr@uea.ac.uk.

Who can apply for the workshop?

• Researchers in the early stages of their careers (maximum 6 years after Ph.D. or maximum 10 years after master’s), who are located in Europe and working on different aspects of urban sustainability and ecology, with a strong interdisciplinary focus.
• Practitioners in the early stages of their careers (maximum 10 years after obtaining their highest professional/academic degree), who are located in Europe, particularly in Estonia (i.e. the city authority of Tallinn), and working on different aspects of urban sustainability and ecology; implementing environmental actions and/or policies, within or in close dialogue with government, business and civil society. We specifically encourage applications from practitioners working in the private and the public sector, as well as with civil society organisations or NGOs.

How to apply for the workshop

To apply for participation in the Future Earth Europe Early Career workshop, please write a cover letter of around 350 words on the following questions:

• How will your participation benefit the workshop?
• How will your expertise contribute to the workshop?
• How will the workshop advance your career?
• How does interdisciplinarity relate to your work?

Please send your cover letter and your CV to tallinn.ecr@uea.ac.uk.

If you have any enquiries or encounter technical difficulties, please contact anastasia.cojocaru@futureearth.org.

The deadline for applications is 10 September 2017, at midnight CEST.

Useful links

Draft Workshop Agenda

Conference site: Nature-Based Solutions: From innovation to common use