ESEE board is pleased to open call for series of transdisciplinary and collaborative training institutes on Ecological Economics aimed at early career researchers, practitioners and decision-makers in Europe. Events can be focused on any of the diverse range of topics associated with ecological economics, but will share a common participatory approach and structure. Local organisers can (annually) bid for up to 2000 euro for events that meet a number of criteria, as detailed below:
Event criteria
- Highly collaborative and participatory; not just a series of lectures and presentations.
- Transdisciplinary: including participants beyond academia, e.g. decision-makers, practitioners, community representatives, etc.
- Students are heavily involved in organising the event.
- Zero or low cost for participation, with some kind of bursary opportunities for those in a low-income situation.
- The organisers have to record participant feedback on the event and make this available to ESEE.
- Environmental awareness: a plan to minimise (and potentially compensate) the carbon footprint and other environmental costs.
- Involvement of one or more ESEE board members to guarantee criteria are met and to further year-on-year learning regarding format and engagement.
Further guidelines and suggestions
In addition to mandatory criteria, ESEE suggests the following guidelines for the events. These guidelines will also be used to decide between competing applications if more than one application is made for sponsorship in an annual round.
- Duration: 2 days for pre-conference events, 3-5 days for other events
- Number of participants: 20-30 participants; a relatively small group of students helps to build group cohesiveness and identity.
- A mix of student and post-doc with at least a third post-docs.
- Provide opportunities for publication of outputs.
- Provide opportunities for ECTL credits associated with courses.
- Remote locations preferred to maximise engagement.
- Family friendly with childcare options available.<
- As the decision on competing proposals is taken by the ESEE Board, active ESEE Board members are excluded from submitting applications for competition. However, they are still free to submit applications, but these will only be considered in the case of no other eligible application(s) available from applicants outside the ESEE Board for the next year to come.
Procedure for applications
Candidates can apply annually with ESEE for up to 2000 euro towards the cost of an event to be held within the following two years, provided it meets criteria, but are responsible for the remainder of funding. Applications will include a short rationale for the meeting including a description of the meeting format (max 2 pages), a budget, an indication of what budget posts ESEE funds will be spent on, and an overview of other (potential) funding sources.
Applications for 2015 can be made at any time by 31 October 2014, but will be decided upon the November 2014.