Virginia Scientist-Community Interface: A multi-institutional graduate student group dedicated to providing scientific expertise for community-led activism and advocacy
Abstract
Community-led environmental advocacy is often supported by scientific information, but science expertise and resources are not always available to advocates, especially for state and local issues. Virginia Scientist-Community Interface (V-SCI) is a coalition of graduate students who provide advocacy-relevant scientific information to community partner organizations across Virginia and the region. These partnerships benefit community groups, who gain access to scientific resources that are relevant to their work, as well as graduate student participants, who gain real-world leadership, science communication, and community engagement experience. V-SCI was founded by graduate students at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech in 2020, and now includes active members from 8 universities with a broad range of academic backgrounds. V-SCIs science findings are delivered through public comments, presentations, peer-reviewed literature, and policy memos. Through coproduction of knowledge with community partners, V-SCI members take an interdisciplinary and issue-based approach to scientific inquiry. Group members have often found that working with V-SCI brings new perspectives to our graduate training, particularly through learning about science policy, exploring scientific careers in the nonprofit sector, connecting with scientists at other institutions, and participating in community-centered environmental problem solving. This presentation describes V-SCIs experience meeting community-based science needs, enriching the graduate student experience, and connecting with existing initiatives within both academic and advocacy institutions.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021AGUFM.U22B..05S