CBFS News and Forest Report Jan 20 additional details

Objectives that have been identified for the Planning Committee to consider include: 

  • Research
    • Adopt priorities and protocols for measuring and monitoring ecosystem variables at CBFS
    • Articulate SHSU & Texas State University System research goals for CBFS
    • Comprehend the focus and scope of research at other organizations in the region and determine how CBFS will participate in the growing networks
    • Consider trending research targets and how CBFS will participate in the broad effort to address the related challenges and opportunities:
      • Increasing interest in global climate change
      • Increased molecular techniques in the field
      • Increasing interest in long-term studies
      • Increasing interest on larger spatial scales and/or cross-site research
      • East Texas water resources
      • Protected species status in Texas
      • Ecological impacts, challenges and opportunities related to urban sprawl
    • Implement a program that will promote collaborative research across disciplines, “convergent research”.
    • Promote serendipitous discovery
    • Plan to maximize CBFS’s ability to provide access to model ecosystems and logistical support to researchers working at CBFS
  • Education
    • Plan for expanding field based learning opportunities across disciplines, convergent education
    • Reverse the trend for declining natural history skills in college graduates
    • Promoting broader scientific literacy for all students
    • Reinstate and expand the REU program
    • Develop P&P to promote program development, execution & assessment
  • Outreach
    • Increase STEM Literacy in the local citizenry
    • Work with Citizen Scientists programs & contributions
    • Interpret science to policy makers
    • Develop collaboration with the SHSU Center for Rural Studies
  • Sustainability
    • Plan for evaluating and managing invasive organisms and novel ecosystems
    • Plan for declining species preservation
    • Understanding the dynamics and management of social-ecological systems
    • Habitat restoration and creation
    • Resource management
  • Networking
    • More collaborative research
    • Determine how to maximize the website and other social media
    • Participate in  resource sharing
    • Determine how to best interact with potential partners
      • Other universities
      • Resource managers
      • Non-university scientists
      • Other field stations
  • Contemporary Infrastructure
    • Increasing use of automated sensors
    • Cyberinfrastructure and capabilities
    • Contemporary communications and social media
    • Zero footprint buildings
  • Data Management and Sharing
    • Building a Data Legacy
    • Greater emphasis on data mining and access to external data sets
    • Archiving dark data
    • Participation in regional, national, and global data cooperatives
  • Operations and Management
    • How and by whom equipment, facility, data management and communications systems are to be operated and maintained
    • Managing the landscape for the provision of model ecosystems
    • Biological and climate monitoring program providing a foundation for future research
    • Infrastructure maintenance
    • Storage
    • Policies and procedures
      • User access
      • Priorities for use in high demand periods
      • Risk management
      • Record keeping
      • accountability
    • Staffing

Planning for management of operations must specify. Information should include expenses, plans for user access, and priorities for use in high demand periods and plans for sustaining the items in the future.

  • Business Plan that promotes stability and increases the ability to support & promote research
    • Development of diverse revenue streams
      • Developing the SHSU support
      • Philanthropic contributions
      • Use fees
      • Grants
      • Contracted research
    • Minimizing expense
    • Endowment and funds management
    • Branding and marketing
  • Desired broader impacts
  • The best governance model for execution, monitoring and adjusting the plan
    • Policies and procedures for review and accountability
    • Strategies for sustainability of CBFS in a dynamic political and economic environment
    • Metrics of performance, impact and value
      • Attendance
      • Type of Use
      • Publications
      • Collections
      • Data sets
      • Financial records
      • Stakeholder feedback
      • Recruitment of alumni in the job market

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