2.1.5: Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

Drawing on faculty expertise and its core group of professional staff, the institute will focus on the translation of this knowledge to guide decision makers in the public and private sectors.

Other Information:

The environmental policy dialogue has become polarized, with most participants perceived to be aligned with one or other political party. The NIEPS will work to catalyze progress on environmental problems in ways that work toward a consensus or common understanding of the problems, thereby reducing adversarial debate. The NIEPS builds on the strength of the Nicholas School. Nicholas faculty are enthusiastic about interdisciplinary cooperation across campus and working collaboratively on policy-relevant projects. Because of the close partnerships between the NIEPS and various schools, the institute's work will have the credibility that comes from an exhaustive faculty review process, yet be produced on a schedule that comports with the decision-making cycles of government, industry, and other institutions. Drawing on faculty expertise and its core group of professional staff, the institute will focus on the translation of this knowledge to guide decision makers in the public and private sectors. Because the institute's ability to access the relevant decision-makers will evolve from leveraging established relationships; a permanent presence in Washington, D.C., the location of many of the environmental debates with which the institute will concern itself, will be strategic. Not only will this enable the faculty and staff associated with the NIEPS to build and maintain relationships with policymakers, but it will afford important research learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students interested in environmental policy.

Stakeholder(s):

• Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions: The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions (NIEPS), launched in the fall of 2005, is to be the translational arm for environmental research on campus, and by doing so, to become a unique and distinct broker in the often divisive debates that characterize the arena of environmental policy.

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

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