Facilitating Increased Engagement Between the Research Communities of Greenland and the US

Project Abstract

Greenland is an important research site for scientists from around the world. Because of its unique physical environment and geographic location between North America and Europe, the United States has a significant research presence in Greenland. This presence provides opportunities to strengthen bilateral cooperation with the research community of Greenland. At the ''Facilitating Engagement'' workshop, leading Arctic researchers from the US and Greenland will discuss and develop guidelines and frameworks for cooperative work, including knowledge co-production, community engagement, Indigenous perspectives, and student training and education. This workshop has the potential to build the national capacity of the US for conducting ethical research in domestic and international locations, particularly when work is undertaken in Indigenous homelands. Outcomes also include an international and diverse network of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scientists from the US and Greenland. This will facilitate cross-cultural and interdisciplinary Arctic research that includes Indigenous perspectives and meets the needs of Arctic communities at home and abroad. This workshop aligns with NSF's Strategic Objective 1.2: Advance the Practice of Research, which states, ''NSF will promote a research culture that is broadly inclusive in its demography and range of intellectual ideas...is globally engaged, with increased opportunities for exchanging ideas and collaborating on an international scale. NSF will increase opportunities for broadening the training of US graduate students and early-career researchers through international exchanges and partnerships with industry.''

Currently, many US scientists pursue a western model of research, for which they conduct science but have little, if any, contact with Greenlandic researchers and communities. To explore a new model for research in Greenland, 20–24 researchers from the US and Greenland will meet for two days in Nuuk, Greenland to co-develop a bilateral model for collaborative research, outreach, and education that involves: (1) knowledge co-production by members of the US and Greenlandic research communities; and (2) increased community engagement and student education. Participants will represent a range of research disciplines, experiences, and backgrounds. The workshop will include presentations and discussions about research infrastructure in Greenland and US government agency support of Arctic research. Participants will share and discuss personal experiences within the workshop topics. In addition to forming a bilateral network of researchers who have an interest in future collaborations, these activities will lead to a report that includes a set of recommendations from the US and Greenlandic research communities about priorities and needs for increased research, outreach, and education collaborations.

Logistics Summary

To explore a new model for research in Greenland this project will host a science research workshop in Nuuk, Greenland that will bring together researchers from Greenland and the United States to discuss how to increase and facilitate successful scientific collaborations. Expected outcomes include: (1) a strong bilateral network of researchers who have an interest in future collaborations; and (2) a report that includes a set of recommendations from each of the US and Greenlandic research communities about priorities and needs for increased research, outreach, and education collaborations. The two-day workshop will take place in Nuuk, Greenland from 27–28 August 2018, hosted locally at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. The PI and her co-PI, Ross Virginia, plus 14 US participants and 30 Greenlandic participants will travel to Nuuk to attend the workshop. Day 1 of the workshop will focus on the co-production of research, while Day 2 of the workshop will focus on outreach, education, and community engagement.

Season Field Site
2018 Greenland - Kangerlussuaq
2018 Greenland - Nuuk

Keywords

research collaborations, US-Greenland, workshop, co-production, outreach, education