Discoveries are of little use if they fail to meet the needs of decision makers. Our efforts to promote a sustainable environment depend upon our ability to disseminate the results of our work to those who make and implement decisions that affect the environment.
Strategic Collaborations
Through a series of Strategic Collaborations, Stanford research teams are working with private and public institutions on engineering advances and inventions, as well as new scientific concepts, social-science discoveries, management systems, and policy tools. Through these collaborations, Stanford scholars make sure their work is relevant and accessible. These collaborative teams generate new ideas, test them in practice, develop needed infrastructure, and train students by engaging them in this work. The Woods Institute already has launched several exciting efforts:
Natural Capital Project. This international project, a partnership among the Woods Institute, The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund, seeks to find innovative ways to give property owners and resource users financial incentives to protect and restore natural habitats.
Program on Food Security and the Environment. This collaboration with Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies addresses the critical global issues of food security, poverty, and environmental degradation by generating innovative and policy-relevant solutions.
Center for Ocean Solutions. A partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute to find sustainable solutions for ocean challenges.
Uncommon Dialogues
Beyond research and education, the Woods Institute is playing an important role in helping public and private leaders find workable solutions to sustainability problems through Uncommon Dialogues. The institute can serve as a neutral forum where a range of organizations can meet to seek solutions. The expertise that Stanford's scholars and researchers bring to debates can also frame issues in ways that avoid traditional polarization. Through dialogues with public and private stakeholders, Stanford has already developed new approaches to protecting endangered species and to enhancing the environment through U.S. farm policy. Stanford faculty participate in these sessions as experts, contributing new ideas and helping to keep the focus on science-based problem solving rather than partisan posturing.
Business Affiliates
The Woods Institute also is launching a Business Affiliates program to help businesses meet sustainability goals. Multidisciplinary teams of Stanford experts will work with participating companies on issues ranging from end-use energy efficiency to sustainable land-use management. The program will support a variety of activities, including exploratory research into novel solutions to issues of common concern, strategic problem-solving workshops, PhD support programs that match students with company mentors in areas of mutual interest, and opportunities for company scientists to visit campus to interact with Stanford researchers.
Related Pages
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