To propose a new EREN Project, please prepare a 1-2 page proposal following this template. Send it as a PDF attachment to erenteam@gmail.com.

To help us learn more about you, also attach a brief description of your professional work (such as a CV, NSF biosketch, or something similar you have on hand). The EREN Board will review the proposal based on the guidelines below and may reach out by email with questions or comments during the review process. A final decision will be reached within one month. Proposals that are declined will have the opportunity to resubmit based on the Board’s feedback. Thank you for your interest in EREN. We look forward to collaborating with you!

EREN projects have focused on a wide range of topics and taxa, but all have certain traits that make them suitable for the EREN platform. We provide this list of traits as a way to show how the EREN philosophy is embedded in our research, to inform and support the development of assessment tools, to measure student learning associated with EREN, and to guide the development of future EREN projects.

EREN Project Scientific Traits

   EREN Projects:

  • Address relevant and often emerging scientific questions
  • Are designed to encourage collaboration across multiple institutions and with faculty possessing complementary specialties, although many projects welcome and train faculty from outside the project specialty
  • Collect data in multiple sites that may represent an environmental gradient, such as different levels of disturbance, different levels of resource availability, or other forms of environmental variability
  • Use common study designs and data collection protocols across sites
  • Often focus at regional to continental scales
  • Connect to ecology and/or environmental science

EREN Project Pedagogical Traits

   EREN Projects:

  • Usually engage undergraduate and/or high school students in authentic research by involving them in data collection, sample processing, and/or analysis
  • Have clear student learning goals associated with the research activities that can be assessed within and across institutions
  • Usually address learning goals related to collaborative ecological science, including but not limited to introducing students to hypothesis testing and experimental design for multi-site studies; techniques for sharing and managing large, multi-site datasets; techniques for collaboration; and analysis and interpretation of multi-site dat

EREN Project Infrastructure Traits

   EREN Projects:

  • Welcome students, faculty, and other project participants from diverse personal backgrounds, career stages, institutions, and geographic regions
  • Facilitate networking through the project context
  • Are open to participation by scientists at institutions with limited resources
  • Have project leader(s) who direct project logistics, including but not limited to facilitating communication among participants and contact with the EREN Board; gathering, archiving, and making the project data available to participants; and coordinating the generation of deliverables related to the project
  • Are designed to result in peer-reviewed publications, presentations at conferences, and/or outreach materials
  • Provide appropriate acknowledgement and crediting of all project participants through a clearly defined authorship policy defined at the project outset

Proposing and Managing a New EREN Project

  1. The prospective Project Leader(s) generate(s) an idea that will fit with the EREN project traits described above, creates a 1-page proposal for initial review, and submits the proposal to erenteam@gmail.com. The proposal should describe the main aims of the project, general protocols, and timeline, and should identify any additional requirements for participation.
  2. The EREN Research Coordinator, in consultation with the full Board of Directors, will review the proposal, ask questions, and offer feedback. The aim of this review is to ensure that the project is aligned with the EREN mission to facilitate connections within the network and to offer suggestions that best promote success of the project. Once approved, Project Leader(s) may email the broader network to recruit participants.
  3. Before beginning the data gathering phase, all projects will need clear descriptions, protocols, data sheets, data management plans, and authorship policies; examples are available on the Active Projects link. These documents may be fully developed before or after recruitment of participants, depending on the stage of development of the project idea, but must be provided before the project is classified as an Active Project. In some cases, projects first run a pilot year to hone these protocols before recruiting more broadly and declaring active status.
  4. Project Leaders curate and share data as they become available in accordance with their data management plan and coordinate the dissemination of findings and curriculum materials, adhering to the authorship guidelines they established at the outset of the project. Project Leaders agree not to share participant emails or data beyond the scope of their project and agree to follow the EREN code of conduct. Project Leaders manage the research group relatively independently but are invited to consult the EREN Research Coordinator, who will assist in solving problems and act as the liaison with the Board of Directors as needed. EREN cannot provide funds for the project itself but can write letters of support for project leaders applying for external grants and can provide mentorship and experience to support project success.
  5. Project Leaders of Active Projects are asked to generate a short status report to the EREN Research Coordinator by June 30 each year to identify progress over the last year and to note whether the project is still recruiting members, actively collecting data, analyzing already collected data, or preparing manuscripts. Information in these reports will be used to keep the larger EREN membership updated and for reporting to granting agencies as appropriate.