Funding  global  change  research  –  the  case  of  the  Nessling  

Founda5on  

Jari  Niemelä  Dept  of  Environmental  Sciences    

University  of  Helsinki  and  

Maj  and  Tor  Nessling  Founda5on  

The  context:  history  and  aims  of  the  founda5on    

•  Tor  Nessling  (1901-­‐1971)  made  his  career  in  the  Finnish  motor  industry  

•  Tor  and  his  wife  Maj  (1901-­‐1974)  wished  that  their  estate  should  be  used  for  suppor5ng  research  on  environmental  protec5on    

• Aims  of  the  founda5on  today:    

•  To  promote  environmental  protec5on  and  solu5on-­‐oriented  (ratkaisuhakuinen/keskeinen)  research  on  environmental  issues    

•  To  support  dissemina5on  of  research  findings  to  decision  makers  and  the  general  public  

Research  areas  supported  1.   Atmospheric  research    2.   Aqua5c  environment  3.   Terrestrial  environments,  soil  ecosystems  and  

groundwater  4.   Research  and  development  of  environmental  technology  5.   Environmental  social  sciences  (societal  impact)  6.   Support  for  communica5on,  interac5ons  &  dissemina5on  

of  environmental  research    7.   Support  for  environmental  conferences  and  mee5ngs  

•  Special  thema5c  calls  •  Water  and  water  ecosystems  in  circular  economy    

•  Altogether  about  2,5  million  €  annually    

The  most  important  criteria  for  evalua5ng  applica5ons:  •  High  scien5fic  quality  and  novelty  of  ideas  •  Applicability  and  policy  relevance  of  the  research  results  in  

advancing  environmental  protec5on  (solu5on-­‐orienta5on)  •  Communica5on  and  interac5on  with  stakeholders  

How  does  this  relate  to  global  change  research?  

To  be  successful  in  global  change  research  we  need  to  consider  the  science-­‐policy  interface  

Source: Future Earth Initial Design Report (2013)

Research  on  the  burning  ques5ons:  •  ecosystem  services  •  green  infrastructure  •  climate  change    

A  transdisciplinary  urban  ecological  research  framework  

Societal  actors:  •  decision-­‐makers  •  planners  • managers  •  ’embedded  ecologists’  (researchers)  

•  residents  

Researchers:  •  knowledge  produc>on  &  transfer  

•  coproduc>on  of  knowledge  with  (other)  societal  actors  

Science-­‐policy    interface  

Niemelä,  J.  2014.  Ecology  of  urban  green  spaces:  The  way  forward  in  answering  major  research  ques5ons.  Landscape  and  Urban  Planning  125:  298–303  

Funding  &  conduc5ng  global  change  research:  the  role  of  founda5ons  

Support  the  move  from  isola5on  

to  happy  collabora5on  

•  But  ’happy  collabora5on  ’  (inter/transdisciplinary  research)  is  not  (always)  easy  because:  •  it  is  not  a  priority  for  researchers  and  their  ins5tu5ons    •  publica5on  policies,  funding  policies  and  career  

developments  do  not  support  it  •  inter/transdisciplinary  research  is  5me  consuming  and  

we  are  so  busy  that  we  do  not  have  the  5me  to  leave  our  ’comfort  zones’  

•  Founda5ons  could  support  researchers  leaving  their  ’comfort  zone’  

•  Nessling  is  an  example  as  criteria  include:  •  applicability  and  policy  relevance  of  research  results  

(solu5on-­‐orienta5on)  •  communica5on  and  interac5on  with  stakeholders  •  Special  call  “Water,  water  ecosystems  and  circular  

economy”  emphasizes  co-­‐crea5on  

•  Research  on  global  change  a  relevant  topic  for  Nessling  as  these  ques5ons  are  mul5/transdisciplinary  and  require  society-­‐science  interac5ons  

•  Founda5ons  could/should  also  support  boundary  organiza5ons  that  func5on  in  the  science-­‐policy  interface  (such  as  Future  Earth,  Forum  for  Environmental  Knowledge=Ympäristö5edon  foorumi)  

Science-­‐policy  interface  is  fun  but  not  always  easy….  

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scien5sts   scien5sts