@article{8e4ec88998084dee8efe13f8a29c24e3,
title = "Integrating programmatic expertise from across the us and canada to model and guide leadership training for graduate students in sustainability",
abstract = "It is critical that future sustainability leaders possess the skills and aptitudes needed to tackle increasingly {\textquoteleft}wicked{\textquoteright} challenges. While much has been done to identify this need, inadequate Leadership Training for graduate students in Sustainability (LTS) continues to plague even the most highly-resourced institutions. Collectively, the authors of this paper represent the small yet growing number of LTS programs across the United States and Canada working to close this training gap. In this paper, we describe the integrative approach we took to synthesize our collective knowledge of LTS with our diverse programmatic experiences and, ultimately, translate that work into concrete guidance for LTS implementation and design. We present a framework for the suite of key LTS aptitudes and skills yielded by our collaborative approach, and ground these recommendations in clear, real-world examples. We apply our framework to the creation of an open-access curricular database rich with training details, and link this database to an interactive network map focused on sharing programmatic designs. Together, our process and products transform many disparate components into a more comprehensive and accessible understanding of what we as LTS professionals do, with a view to helping others who are looking to do the same for the next generation of sustainability leaders.",
keywords = "Aptitudes, Graduate program, Higher education, Interdis-ciplinary, Leadership, Skills, Sustainability, Training",
author = "Nicole Motzer and Weller, {Aleta Rudeen} and Curran, {Kathleen Dietrich} and Simon Donner and Heustis, {Ronald J.} and Cathy Jordan and Margaret Krebs and Lydia Olandar and Kirsten Rowell and Linda Silka and Wall, {Diana H.} and Abigail York",
note = "Funding Information: Example: The Graduate Pursuit Program at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), University of Maryland, College Park The Graduate Pursuit program is a cohort-based research opportunity open to PhD students from diverse fields and universities around the world. The program is designed to provide students with genuine interdisciplinary collaboration and scientific leadership experiences outside of their doctoral programs. To apply, students must first assemble a diverse team of peers—with the possibility of also recruiting external experts—who together have the skills and expertise needed to address a socio-environmental question or topic of interest (skill 6.8). Student teams must refine and articulate their collective idea as a compelling research proposal, in line with the mission and conditions of SESYNC (skills 6.7, 6.9). During the proposal development stage, students negotiate competing interests and views into a cohesive end-product while also planning roles and responsibilities around individuals{\textquoteright} needs and availability (skills 6.2, 6.9). Meeting the demands of one{\textquoteright}s own research as well as the expectations of SESYNC and one{\textquoteright}s interdisciplinary team requires that students learn to balance multiple commitments as well as design research projects that equally maximize meaningful outcomes and feasibility (skills 6.1, 6.2). With access to a diverse suite of support services, teams are treated as independent scholars with full control over their research direction, but also with full responsibility for maintaining momentum, interacting effectively, and delivering outcomes within a project{\textquoteright}s 18-to24-month timeline (skills 6.3, 6.4, 6.5). Students must manage the financial support they receive in the forms of travel, lodging, and meal costs for three in-person meetings at SESYNC; open-access publication fees; and an honorarium upon program completion (skill 6.6). Funding Information: With the support from Canada{\textquoteright}s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the “Ocean Leaders” program prepares graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to translate technical knowledge into management and policy innovation for the marine environment. The spine of the program is a two-semester “Grand Challenges” course, in which students work with community partners to take a local marine issue from the research and analysis stage through to the response and action stage. This learning-by-doing approach gives students real-world experience in the strategic thinking, planning, and collaboration skills necessary to solve the multifaceted challenges facing the world{\textquoteright}s oceans. In the research semester, student groups work with relevant community partners and the program faculty to identify research needs, and then complete a written scholarly research project (skills 5.2, 5.4). In the action semester, the groups develop and document a public or policy legacy product that addresses the previously-identified pressing challenge at an appropriate scale (skills 5.6, 5.7, 5.9). Project work is supported by workshops on collective leadership (skill 5.1), scenario planning (skills 5.2, 5.4), risk analysis and decision-making (skill 5.3), organizing for change (skills 5.5, 5.9), and entrepreneurial thinking (skills 5.7, 5.8). For example, in the entrepreneurial thinking workshop, students learn to arrive at well-supported policy recommendations through stakeholder mapping and value proposition development activities. Legacy products to date include guidance to a local First Nations community on marine spatial planning and a report for municipal government on improving coastal water quality. After the course ends, students can choose to continue working with community partners whose goals match their own with the support of undergraduate research assistants hired by the program (skill 5.6). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.",
year = "2021",
month = aug,
day = "2",
doi = "10.3390/su13168950",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "13",
journal = "Sustainability (Switzerland)",
issn = "2071-1050",
publisher = "Mary Ann Liebert Inc.",
number = "16",
}