IPY Facilitation Initiative
International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA)
For further information about the facilitation initiative, please go to:
http://www.uaf.edu/anthro/iassa/ipysubmit.htm
Dear IASSA members and other interested arctic social scientists,
As you may be aware, preparations are underway for a new large-scale
international program in polar research known as "International Polar
Year 2007-2008" or IPY. IPY will include several months of intense
research activities, followed by data analysis, publication, policy, and
public discussions. IPY will be organized jointly by the International
Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO). Several international science bodies, including IASSA, have
endorsed the IPY initiative and are engaged in its planning.
This will be the fourth IPY; the first one was in 1882-83, the second in
1932-33, and the third in 1957-58. This IPY, however, will be the first
one with a clearly defined socio-cultural and humanities component,
thanks to the efforts of an IASSA taskforce of twenty social scientists,
which was formed at the 5th International Congress of Arctic Social
Sciences (ICASS V) in Fairbanks in May. IASSA has also nominated Igor
Krupnik and Grete Hovelsrud-Broda to serve on the main planning body,
the IPY Joint Committee (IPY JC).
On 5 November 2004, the ICSU Secretariat issued a letter inviting the
submission of expressions of intent (pre-proposals) from scientific
groups and individual scholars for reviewing and prospective endorsement
by the IPY JC. The deadline for this submission to ICSU is Friday, 14
January 2005 - two months from now. The time span is very tight and the
requirements are mounting, as applicants are required to fill out a
six-page submission form.
A key motivation for this call is to encourage larger, more complex
logistics-dependent research projects, such as physical science research
in the Antarctic, to move forward in planning. Whereas arctic social
science research does not require complex logistics infrastructure such
as icebreakers, submarines, and satellites, some of our projects may
need intensive international coordination and communication, local
observational networks in distant communities, significant travel and
local expenses, and participation of many local experts, assistants, and
observers. Some social science projects may include substantial
outreach, educational, and publication efforts. It is critical that we
stay involved in IPY planning from this early stage.
The IASSA IPY Facilitation Initiative
In order to create a larger footprint for social sciences and humanities
in IPY, IASSA is encouraging its members and all interested social
scientists to be actively engaged in this process and to consider
submitting expressions of intent (pre-proposals) to ICSU or to
respective national IPY committees by Friday, 14 January 2005. You may
follow the ICSU IPY preparation process via its web site
(http://www.ipy.org), where the required forms and other documents are
posted.
To facilitate the submission of arctic social science and humanities
expressions of intent (pre-proposals) to the ICSU by the deadline, IASSA
is offering its services as a facilitator. What we need most at this
stage is a vigorous exchange of ideas, discussion, and active
communication among social scientists both internationally and across
disciplines. IASSA is eager to create such a discussion forum for the
IPY and to stimulate an intellectual market for all interested parties.
To do this, we invite you to post your idea statements, pre-proposal
drafts, and/or any calls for prospective partnership on our web site:
http://www.uaf.edu/anthro/iassa/ipysubmit.htm
When you post information about your IPY plans on our web site, other
interested researchers may contact you and discuss the prospects for
collaboration. We may also offer our advice and guidance on the
pre-proposal process, as members of the IASSA IPY task-group will be
regularly reviewing the web site. They may help connect you to
prospective partners in other countries or other institutions that may
not be on your personal radar screen.
Please note that you still need to submit your expressions of intent
(pre-proposals) to the ICSU at http://www.ipy.org and/or your respective
national IPY committee. Also, please note that you are free to opt out
of this IASSA project. Nevertheless, we would be grateful if you send us
a short note informing IASSA about your intent.
IASSA representatives on the IPY JC, Igor Krupnik and Grete
Hovelsrud-Broda, will be involved in reviewing the whole body of
submitted social science and humanities proposals and in advising the
committee on further strategies. Once the JC accepts the proposals
(which will not happen before summer 2005), the projects may officially
use the IPY imprimatur. Project leaders and individual investigators
will be responsible for securing their own funding.
We invite all interested scholars to read the section on the IPY
prospective agenda for social sciences and humanities
(http://www.ipy.org) that was prepared by the IASSA IPY task-group and
has been included in the main IPY program document.
Sincere thanks to the U.S. National Science Foundation for its support
to the IASSA effort to increase the role of social sciences and
humanities in IPY.
-- Anne Sudkamp
Executive Officer
International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA) Secretariat
University of Alaska Fairbanks
P.O. Box 757730
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7730
Phone: 907-474-6367
Fax: 907-474-6370
E-mail: fyiassa [at] uaf.edu
URL: http://www.uaf.edu/anthro/iassa