APECS hosted an Early Career Arctic Policy Workshop on Monday, March 14 during Arctic Science Summit Week in Fairbanks, Alaska. This half-day workshop began with a keynote presentation from Bradley Moran, dean of the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. Following, participants heard five short presentations addressing the global effort to use best-available science in the development of Arctic policy from our workshop’s mentors: Carolina Behe, Terry Chapin, Henry Huntington, Amy Lovecraft, and Peter Winsor. Following the talks, participants broke into smaller, mentor-led groups to discuss strategies for incorporating scientific knowledge into impactful Arctic policy. The workshop had great attendance, with 34 participants from a range of countries and different career stages.
Bradley Moran spoke to the group about some of his experiences working in the policy world, including an opportunity to share Fukushima radiation data with the White House during his time serving as the assistant director of ocean sciences in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Carolina Behe’s small group discussion focused on understanding indigenous knowledge, and the importance of creating policies and management plans that incorporate both indigenous knowledge and scientific data. Peter Winsor and Henry Huntington led a joint small group discussion. Their group talked about relevant community based science, the importance of communicating science, and how to get into private consulting work. Terry Chapin’s small group discussed the value of interdisciplinary work, and the difference between working as a specialist in an interdisciplinary group versus being a solo interdisciplinary researcher. Amy Lovecraft’s group discussed ways to translate our work and research into practice, and the value of personal marketing.
Presentation Titles:
Keynote: Bradley Moran, Perspectives on ocean science, policy and lesson learned
Henry Huntington, Research, observations and outreach, or the production of science vs. the consumption of science
Amy Lovecraft, Scenarios as social learning: Community-scale anticipation of healthy sustainable communities in Arctic Alaska
Carolina Behe, Indigenous knowledge and monitoring: Applying a food security lens and co-production of knowledge approach
Peter Winsor, Managing science projects across the world with a keen eye to industry and the private sector
Terry Chapin, Interdisciplinarity: When, if ever, is the right time to embrace it?
