Sense Questions: Background information

This process was inspired by a similar initiative in the UK, which was dedicated to: The identification of 100 ecological questions of high policy relevance in the UK.
> Add your SENSE Question now!
> Read and comment on the already submitted Sense questions

What will be done with your contributed Sense Question and when?

• First of all, your contributed question(s) will be checked by us for basic clarity as soon as possible before publication on our website. The contributor him/herself may still further edit the contributed question later.
• The list of contributed questions will be open for comments and feedbacks from other visitors of the SENSE website.
• Before the first public meeting on the contributed sense Questions, another process will be started and communicated which will allow all visitors (after login) to give their own “rating” of relevance to the separate questions. In this way, an overview will result which gives a preliminary “rating” to the separate questions in terms of their “relevance” to the visiting scientists, policy-makers, stakeholders.
• The full list of contributed questions and their ratings will be input for expert meetings to be organized in the beginning of 2008 and after (to which meetings the question contributors and other relevant parties/stakeholders will be invited). In this meeting this rating will be used as a basis on which to grant a subsidy for writing a research proposal to the person who contributed the most highly rated Sense Question.

Your motivation to contribute to this process?

• The environmental sciences and their applications are perhaps more relevant for society now than ever before. But at the same time it is not always easy to bridge the distance between relevant scientific research on the one hand and its usefulness for society on the other.
• This knowledge gap is unfortunate for society as well as for science: relevant research questions in the environmental sciences may receive too little attention (or be overlooked completely), even though it could be beneficial (or maybe even paramount) to actually recognize and address these questions as part of our strategic knowledge development for a more sustainable society.
• Would you like your name to be listed as the contributor of one of these (highly) relevant (future) research questions which should not be overlooked? We hope so, since your contribution(s) will enrich our process!
• Last but not least: the contributed research question which receives the top highest rating from the participants in this questioning process, will receive funding to re-write that specific research question into a full research proposal.

Who is inviting you to participate in this process?

• The SENSE Research School for socio-economic and natural sciences of the environment, has been asked by the Netherlands Ministry of the Environment (VROM) to organize a process in support of its strategic knowledge development. VROM would of course very much like to know which environmental research questions should not be overlooked (now or in the near future). This implies that the VROM community will be very interested to learn the inputs and outcomes of the scientific and public questioning process that SENSE is now organizing for this purpose.

What is in it for you?

• Perhaps you are a (junior or senior) reseacher in the environmental sciences (ranging across the full spectrum of socio-economic and natural sciences of the environment) -- then perhaps you would consider it worthwhile to contribute the research question(s) that you are currently investigating to our process? This would be a welcome contribution: it would enrich our process and it would at the same time advertise you and your research as relevant to a large audience of researchers and general environmental stakeholders.
• Or perhaps your affiliation is more practical and perhaps you 'see' or envisage an environmental issue which is emerging now (or may soon) and which you believe merits scientific study: then your research question is of course also very welcome, as it will help us all to prevent that a (possibly) relevant research question will be overlooked (which could otherwise lead to unwanted consequences).
• Do you need more motivation to participate? Then perhaps you find it interesting that all those who are listed as contributor of a research question which will later be marked as highly relevant by your peers in this process (scientists as well as general stakeholders) -- those contributors will receive a very nice reward during the public presentation of this process.
• Finally, if you contribute your relevant research question(s), you will automatically receive all news and updates about this questioning process and you will also receive an invitation to the meeting(s) that will be organized as part of this process.

Any questions or comments in relation to this invitation? Please, contact Dr. Ad van Dommelen at: ad.van.dommelen@ivm.vu.nl