About SEEKCommons

How can Open Science (OS) contribute to the present and future of socio-environmental research? Why is this question worth pursuing through a distributed network of STS researchers, OS practitioners, and socio-environmental researchers working with climate-impacted communities?

The “Socio-Environmental Knowledge Commons” (SEEKCommons) project seeks to respond to these questions by promoting the “commons” in science and technology with an emphasis on collaborative socio-environmental research.

Traditionally, biological and geo-physical studies of environmental dynamics have been siloed from social research. To create conditions for meaningful interdisciplinarity, we are building a network with socio-environmental organizers working on participatory knowledge-making, OS technologists designing common tools and infrastructures, and STS researchers studying (and supporting) community-driven research. To accomplish our goals, we are conducting the following activities as a reseach network:

  • STS Research: Empirical study of the current state of “Open Science” in socio-environmental research. This is one of the key components of the project that informs all the others.

  • Network Convenings: Virtual and in-person meetings are frequently organized with network members, fellows, and guest speakers to share research findings and challenges, but also to discuss how to sustain common tools and infrastructures for collaborative work.

  • Fellowships: Graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and community organizers are invited to apply for fellowships that are meant to help them integrate OS practices with socio-environmental research.

  • SEEKCommons Hub: Our common and publicly-editable Hub houses tools, resources, and curricular modules for integrating data management and stewardship guidelines with collaborative research.

SEEKCommons is a collaboration between the University of Notre Dame, University of Michigan, University of California Davis, University of Virginia, and the HDF Group.

The project is made possible by a National Science Foundation FAIROS RCN grant (Award 2226425). This award was jointly supported by the NSF Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences and the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure.