National Science Foundation announces Climate Change Education Partnership awardees
On September 10, 2010, National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the 15 awardees of their Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) program. The goal of this program is to connect climate scientists, experts in theories on how people learn science, and formal and informal education experts to increase public understanding of global climate change and preparing the next generation of scientists and educators.
Since climate change has varied effects in different parts of the country, the program is organized around both environmental themes and geographic regions. Lead primary investigators for each partnership will issue sub-awards in order to increase the breadth of the project and to meet the educational needs of each environmental theme or geographic region. Phase I of the program is a two-year strategic planning period during which each awardee will conduct a needs analysis and identify key stakeholders and effective educational resources. Full implementation of the plans in Phase II is expected to begin in fiscal year 2012.
Public broadcasting stations can be beneficial partners for these projects. Over the next two years, each grantee will be seeking local and strategic partnerships. Stations that are interested in collaborating on a climate change education project should begin reaching out to grantees. Grants were made to organizations and institutions in Maryland, Delaware, California, Kansas, Illinois, Washington, DC, Virginia, Arizona, Mississippi, the Pacific Islands, New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Colorado. See the press release for more detailed information about and contact information for the funded organizations and projects. The NSF awards database provides even more information on funded projects.
