External Expertise
Activities affecting the basin’s ecosystem are becoming increasingly distant in space and time from the shores of the lakes. The problem-solvers and their solutions will be as well.
The Fund is always on the lookout for individuals who are willing to give the Fund strategic, tactical, and technical advice. We use external experts to improve the proposals submitted by prospective grantee teams and to vet ideas.
Technical Review
All proposals are independently reviewed by outside technical experts. Through generous donations of time and expertise, these reviewers provide valuable insight on proposed projects and help shape the work of project teams.
Reviewers offer suggestions to improve and strengthen a proposed plan of work. They also offer the Fund insights as to the ecological importance of the work proposed, the risks embedded in potential projects, the challenges teams might face, and ways the Fund can help teams overcome those challenges.
Typically, the Fund seeks three reviewers for each proposal. While reviewers often have different areas of expertise, they review, and where possible suggest improvements to, all aspects of the proposed work including:
- the impact the work is likely to have on the health of the Great Lakes,
- the technical and scientific adequacy of the proposed work,
- the ability of the project team to work at the scale required to impact the basin ecosystem, and
- the likelihood that the proposed plan of work will lead to the expected ecological results.
Reviewer’s names and affiliations are not disclosed to applicants. Similarly, reviewers are asked to hold their status as reviewer, their review itself, and their impressions of the proposal in confidence.
If you are interested in contributing to our technical review process, if you feel you have expertise that you are willing to share, or if you would like to know more about our review process, please contact us.
Technical Advisory Committees
The Fund uses expert advisors to identify opportunities to match key problems with ripe-for-testing strategies. Over the last six years, the Fund has involved over 100 external experts on strategies as diverse as the use of internet technology to protect the Great Lakes, 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.
Current topics for discussion include, but are not limited to:
- Stopping invasive species and new synthetic life forms 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.
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.