2002 ARCSS Community Leadership Teleconference | Summary

Teleconference Goals:

• Begin discussion about what the ARCSS Committee wants to accomplish
• Begin to set the agenda for fall 2002 face-to-face ARCSS Committee meeting

1. Introductory comments:
2. 1. Jonathan Overpeck, ARCSS Committee chair
   2. Neil Swanberg, Acting ARCSS Program Manager
      
      
   1. ARCSS planning and ARCSS Committee processes are accessible and
   2. open. The ARCSS community leadership will be invited to participate in
      ARCSS Committee meetings and other ARCSS Committee discussions.
      
      1. update program plan approximately every five years
      2. establish criteria for setting research priorities
      3. in conjunction with the research community and the NSF,
         identify research priorities
      4. review and evaluate the progress of the Program
      5. reach out to the research community to find new ideas and help
         nurture the development of those ideas
      6. keep track of "the big picture," particularly with regard to
         modeling and synthesis
         
         
   3. No formal terms of reference for the committee exist, rather it has an
      evolving charge. Current responsibilities of the committee include (in
      summary fashion):
3. ARCSS Committee Responsibilities:
   1. The focus of this synthesis should be on the intellectual content and
      the science, not a programmatic reorganization.
   2. The synthesis effort does not necessarily mean a major change or
      restructure of the ARCSS Program, but the synthesis , if done right,
      should guide the direction of the future ARCSS.
   3. This is a unique opportunity because there are resources available to
      support an arctic system synthesis effort.
   4. The ARCSS Committee will play a major role in defining "synthesis"
      and making a concrete plan to implement this effort. The AC will
      hopefully also play a central role in guiding the effort to completion.
   5. Structuring of a synthesis effort will require a substantial amount of
      careful and creative thought. This effort will require more than a
      workshop/series of workshops. It also should not be limited to current
      ARCSS-funded researchers, or even Arctic researchers.
      
      
4. Arctic System Synthesis. ARCSS is at a critical juncture. The Program has
   new initiatives ramping up as well as initiatives that are mature, making this
   an important time to initiate synthesis of ARCSS research—in order to
   describe the whole arctic system in an integrated fashion. This would not be
   a review of ARCSS research, but rather a substantial intellectual effort to
   synthesize our knowledge of all the components of the arctic system and how
   they fit together.
   1. Important to get the report published. It contains valuable information
      from the workshop, as well as poster and presentation abstracts.
   2. The report should focus on recommendations from workshop, and not
      on the structure of the ARCSS Program.
   3. The report will be a significant input to the synthesis effort.
      
      
5. All-Hands Workshop report
   1. Integration of human dimensions research into other ARCSS activities.
   2. Relationship between SEARCH and ARCSS needs to be articulated.
      
      
6. Outstanding issues. Call from the chair for any outstanding issues within
   ARCSS that need to be addressed by the ARCSS Committee at the face-toface
   meeting this fall. Teleconference participants raised:
   1. Reinstitute three year (extendable for another 3 in some cases) terms
      for AC members.
      1. important to build AC that will provide intellectual leadership for
         the ARCSS Program, and also play an active role in carrying out
         the arctic system synthesis
      2. nominees can come from within or outside of ARCSS community
   2. Chair calls for nominations from teleconference participants.
   3. Chair plans to create a small executive committee within the AC to
      allow for better responsiveness and flexibility.
   4. Face-to-face meeting of AC in Washington, DC in the fall.
   5. At least four or five committee slots are open.
7. Composition of the ARCSS Committee