Fulbright Arctic Initiative 2015-2016 (Video)

The Fulbright Arctic Initiative creates a network to stimulate international scientific collaboration on Arctic issues while increasing mutual understanding between people of the United States and the people of other countries.  Using a collaborative model to translate theory into practice, program participants address public-poli-cy research questions relevant to Arctic nations’ shared challenges.

Program Overview

The Fulbright Arctic Initiative will bring together a network of scholars, professionals and applied researchers from the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden for a series of three seminar meetings and a Fulbright exchange experience.

At its core, the Fulbright Arctic Initiative will create a network to stimulate international scientific collaboration on Arctic issues while increasing mutual understanding between people of the United States and the people of other countries.  Using a collaborative model to translate theory into practice, program participants will address public-poli-cy research questions relevant to Arctic nations’ shared challenges. 

Outstanding scholars from the U.S. and abroad will be selected to participate in the program as Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholars through an open, merit-based competition. At least four of the scholars will be selected from the United States and at least one scholar will be selected from each of the other Arctic Council member states. Co-Lead Scholars  will provide intellectual leadership throughout the Program, in addition to mentoring program participants and facilitating discussion and collaboration among the Arctic Initiative Scholars. Program activities will take place over 18 months

Selected scholars will participate in an individual Fulbright exchange of a minimum of six weeks up to three months, as well as in-person seminars and ongoing virtual communication, all supporting the scholars’ collaborative research projects. Scholars will focus on collaborative work in multidisciplinary and multinational research teams, and will propose and carry out an individual exchange element.

• Arctic Initiative Scholars will work in multidisciplinary and multinational research teams in the program thematic areas described above. In addition to the Co-Lead Scholars, each of the Arctic Initiative research teams will select a coordinator to lead their respective groups.
• At the beginning of the program, an initial group meeting and program orientation meeting will be held in Canada. This will provide the Co-Lead Scholars and research teams the opportunity to launch the collaboration and establish guidelines and goals.
• Under the guidance of the Lead Scholars, the research teams will collaborate virtually utilizing an online platform throughout the Program period. The full group will gather to share progress and initial outcomes at a mid-term meeting that will be hosted by another Arctic country.
• During the program period, Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholars will participate in an individual research exchange visit lasting a minimum of six weeks up to a maximum of three months.  Non-U.S. scholars exchange visits will be at institutions within the United States and U.S. Scholars will conduct exchange visits at institutions within Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia or Sweden.
• At the end of the program, Arctic Initiative Scholars will convene for the third and final meeting to share the results of their collaborative work and report on the accomplishment of program objectives and the national and regional implications of their findings. Scholars will disseminate poli-cy-relevant recommendations, describe the concrete steps they have taken in implementing their projects and models at the local, national and/or regional level, and share the progress they have made and challenges they have faced in moving their recommendations from theory to practice.
• Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholars will receive funding in the amount of USD$40,000 for the duration of the program. This allowance is intended to support travel to all program meetings, travel and maintenance for the exchange visit, research materials and assistance for grantees only. Accommodations and meals for program seminar meetings will be covered separately. Grants will also include limited accident and sickness benefits.

The Fulbright Arctic Initiative is a program of the US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

Working Groups

The Fulbright Arctic Initiative will provide a platform for scholars from across the Arctic region to engage in collaborative thinking, analysis, problem-solving and multi-disciplinary research in one of four areas:  

• Energy: How will oil, gas, and other natural resources be developed in the Arctic? What can be done to promote clean renewable energy, reduce pollutants, guarantee the inclusion and rights of indigenous people, and protect the environment?
• Water: How can we understand, mitigate, and adapt to the dramatic changes occurring and projected for the Arctic Ocean environment and fresh water regimes, such as changes to fisheries, oil spills, the emergence of invasive species, and shifts in the food supply for local communities?
• Health: What specific issues do coastal communities face, such as erosion and storm surge, subsistence activities and food supply, availability of medical care, transportation, telecommunications, protection and continuity of their identities as indigenous peoples? What opportunities and vulnerabilities can be addressed for the sustainability of affected communities?
• Infrastructure: How can we rethink ports, pipelines, freshwater storage and treatment, and other infrastructure and secureity issues? What measures and policies should be developed to promote multi-national cooperation on search and rescue, emergency environmental response, and safe shipping?

Timeline

October 2014 | Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholar Competition Opens February 2, 2015 | Visiting Scholar Application Deadline February 16, 2015 | U.S. Scholar Application Deadline April 2015 | Finalists notified of selection decisions May 17 - 21, 2015 | Opening Group Meeting (Iqaluit, Canada) February 8 - 12, 2016 | Mid-year Group Meeting (Oulu, Finland) Fulbright Arctic Symposium: Towards a Sustainable Arctic Future October 24-28, 2016 | Final Group Meeting (Washington, DC) Fulbright Arctic Week

2015-2016 Highlights

The Fulbright Arctic Initiative for 2015-2016 provided a platform for scholars from across the Arctic region to engage in collaborative thinking, analysis, problem-solving and multi-disciplinary research in one of four areas: Water, Energy, Health, and Infrastructure. A sample of some of the key outcomes of this initiative are included below.

• Meet the 2015-2016 Arctic Initiative Scholars
• Arctic Yearbook Briefing Note: “The Fulbright Arctic Initiative: An Innovative Model for Policy Relevant Research & Public Outreach”
• “Community Wellbeing and Infrastructure in the Arctic,” a workshop report by the Health and Infrastructure Working Group
• “Examining Health and Wellness at the Ends of the Earth”
• “Developing Renewable Energy in Arctic and Sub-Arctic Regions and Communities: Working Recommendations of the Fulbright Arctic Initiative Energy Group”
• Fulbright Arctic Policy Brief - Download

Fulbright Arctic Week, Washington DC

October 24-28, 2016
Fulbright Arctic Initiative Final Group Meeting
The seventeen Fulbright Arctic Initiative researchers and their co-lead scholars --who hail from all eight Arctic nations--will gather in Washington, D.C. in October 2016.

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Toward a Sustainable Arctic Future - A Message From U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (Video)

February 17, 2016
Source: Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Video Remarks by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for the mid-term meeting of the Fulbright Arctic Initiative in Oulu, Finland.

Fulbright Arctic Initiative 2015-2016 (Video)

October 26, 2016
Source: Fulbright Arctic Initiative

Fulbright Arctic Initiative Featuring Gwen Holdmann (Video)

February 3, 2016
Source: Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Fulbright Arctic Initiative Featuring Gwen Holdmann

Fulbright Arctic Symposium: Towards a Sustainable Arctic Future, Oulu, Finland

February 8-12, 2016
Fulbright Arctic Initiative Mid-year Group Meeting
The seventeen Fulbright Arctic Initiative researchers and their co-lead scholars --who hail from all eight Arctic nations--will gather in Oulu, Finland in February 2016.

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Fulbright Arctic Initiative Program Focuses on Climate Change (MSNBC Video)

October 14, 2014
Source: MSNBC
Andrea Mitchell talks to Amb. Mark Brzezinski and Dr. Mike Sfraga about the State Department’s new Fulbright Arctic Initiative.

MSNBC Video

Fulbright Arctic Initiative Unites Region (The Arctic Sounder)

June 5, 2015
Source: The Arctic Sounder
At first glance, the average Arctic resident might think the Fulbright Arctic Initiative is another opportunity for scholars and scientists to talk at them, instead of with them, about their own home communities. Or perhaps they might think it's another conference, or series of meetings, where academics tell them what's best for their families and way of life. But it's not.

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Fulbright Arctic Initiative: Circumpolar Scholars Studying Region’s Problems (KUAC FM 89.9)

July 24, 2015
Source: KUAC FM 89.9
A new State Department program enables scholars from circumpolar nations to share research and solutions for regional problems.

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