Science to Action Fellowship: Supporting Graduate Students to Apply Science to Decision Making and Adaptation Completed

The mission of the US Geological Survey’s National Climate Adaptation Science Center (NCASC) is to provide managers, policy-makers, and other stakeholders with information and decision-making tools to respond to effects of climate change on natural resources. In support of this goal, the NCASC wishes to support an exceptional mentoring experience for graduate students from select partner institutions in developing policy-relevant products related to managing climate change impacts on fish, wildlife, and/or ecosystems. For many graduate students conducting research on the impacts of climate change on natural resources, disseminating results of their research to managers, policy-makers, and/or other stakeholders is not required as part of the training they may receive from their academic institutions. Consequently, results of their research that could directly aid in developing adaptation strategies may go unused by those stakeholders most in need of such information. This project supports a mentoring experience that attempts to address that limitation. Students selected for the experience will be paired with a mentor from the NCASC network. Together with their mentor, the student will develop a project that enhances their graduate research results and ensures that results are shared with stakeholders who may benefit from such information. Students will receive additional benefits from the mentoring experience including gaining exposure to the NCASC, its approach to supporting scientific research, and its dedication to providing needed information to natural resource managers, policy-makers, and other stakeholders. Students will also enhance their professional networks through this experience, and they will learn effective strategies for ensuring that results of their scientific research will be used.