The Fund uses expert advisors to identify opportunities to match ripe-for-testing strategies to key problems and the audiences that need to be empowered to act. Over the last 6 years, the Fund has involved over 100 external experts in this fashion on strategies as diverse as the use of internet technology to protect the Great Lakes, designing new monitoring methods, reframing water conservation strategies, and using genetic tools to manage invasive species.
Often, these experts meet face-to-face; other times they conduct targeted research on contract to the Fund; and sometimes they are involved iteratively in developing and revising white papers, requests for proposals, or offering expert opinion.
When there is an alignment of available talent, a potentially game-changing strategy, and an important threat or problem, the Fund’s Board and staff prepare a solicitation strategy. Based on the expert advice we gather, the Fund estimates whose participation is needed for meaningful projects, what could be launched, the critical success and failure factors for projects, what might be achieved, what level of investment is required and how long projects would need to run.
If you are interested in putting your expertise to work for the Great Lakes, please contact us to discuss your areas of interest and our current needs.
Current topics for discussion include, but are not limited to:
- Stopping invasive species and new synthetic lifeforms from entering the basin prior to approval.
- Protecting water dependent natural resources from unsustainable water uses.
- Creating economic tools to manage the basin's water and related ecosystem services.
- Discovering new ways to manage legacy issues such as contaminated sediments and outdated infrastructure.
- Making restoration impacts transparent to actors throughout the economy and creating feedback systems that can drive ecosystem restoration.
