NNA Community Newsletter

April 2023 Issue

Message from NSF about the future of the NNA Program
Save the Dates: 2024 NNA Annual Community Meeting
Networking Meeting for Greenland Researchers
Convergence Working Groups Launched
NNA-CO Learn & Connect Series: Storytelling Webinar
As Rising Temperatures Affect Alaskan Rivers, Effects Ripple Through Indigenous Communities
Upcoming Events

Message from NSF about the future of the NNA Program

We are taking this opportunity to highlight important information from the recently published Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that announced the end of the active solicitation accepting new proposals to the Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) Program, as well as next steps for the NNA community.

Since 2017, the Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) Program--one of NSF's Ten Big Ideas-- has supported creative new directions for understanding and adapting to a rapidly changing Arctic. The Big Ideas were intended to span five years of investment and are planned to end as a unifying concept in FY 2023. To date, NSF has invested over $150 million in forward-looking Arctic research, making important contributions to community-engaged research and the co-production of knowledge.

As the DCL indicated, the NNA Community Office (NNA-CO) will continue to serve as an important resource for all NNA projects and community members for several more years. The NNA-CO will continue the important work of building awareness, partnerships, opportunities, and resources for collaboration and equitable knowledge generation within, among, and beyond the research projects funded by the NNA Program.

The NNA Program has been developing two important approaches to generating new knowledge: (1) empowering local and Indigenous voices in Arctic research and new ways of knowing through meaningful Arctic community engagement and (2) deepening convergent research. There is much work to be done in both areas. Investigators and community members interested in conducting work in these areas may submit proposals to relevant core programs at NSF and are encouraged to contact cognizant Program Officers to discuss the scope of proposed research activities.

We would like to take this opportunity to highlight NSF Resources for the

NNA Community including programs that may provide relevant opportunities

for proposals to build upon work started in the NNA Program.

The Arctic Sciences Section in the Office of Polar Programs.
This list of Relevant Funding Opportunities that support co-production of knowledge and include Indigenous people and organizations in Arctic research.
The Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems (DISES) program supports convergence research at the intersection of the natural environment and social systems.
NSF’s Office of International Science & Engineering also engages in funding opportunities that focus on international activities to promote innovation among the U.S. research community through access to international knowledge, infrastructure, and capabilities.
NSF is also a participant in the Belmont Forum and the Trans-Atlantic Platform efforts.

As always, investigators and community members with questions about their NNA Project should reach out to their managing NSF Program Officer, who are happy to answer more general questions about this update to the program. For more general inquiries, please direct those questions to the NNA Working Group at nna@nsf.gov.

Save the Dates: 2024 NNA Annual Community Meeting

Please mark your calendars for the next NNA Annual Community Meeting! The meeting will be held March 5-7, 2024 at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Networking Meeting for Greenland Researchers

May 10, 2023 | 12pm-1pm AKT / 2pm-3pm MT / 4pm-5pm ET

Are you part of an NNA project that is working in Greenland or interested in working in Greenland? Join us for the first Greenland researcher and community networking event organized by the NNA-CO. The meeting will bring together those who work in Greenland across different research interests and geographic focus areas to identify synergies, leverage efforts and coordinate across our work. One group goal will be coordinating around participation in the 2023 Greenland Science Week.

Convergence Working Groups Launched

The NNA-CO is excited to announce the launch of three Convergence Working Groups. These groups will work across three themes:

Fostering Indigenous-Lead Research
Infrastructure Futures
Arctic Observing Systems & Technology

The Convergence Working Groups (CWGs) will bring together diverse experts and perspectives that engage with the Arctic to work together towards newly formed and shared goals. Through June, the co-leads will work together to identify group members, who together will plan the group's activities and outcomes. Find out who these co-leads are and connect on the topics that resonate with you.

Would you like to share your interest in participating as a Convergence Working Group member? Or perhaps you have other ideas for how you might like to interact with the CWGs as their work continues? Complete this simple form to share your interest by 11:59pm MT on May 5, 2023.

NNA-CO Learn & Connect Series: Storytelling Webinar

April 27, 2023 - 11am-12:30pm AKT / 1pm-2:30pm MT / 3pm-4:30pm ET

The NNA-CO invites you to the next Learn & Connect Series meeting, which will focus on integrating your research with digital media technology through storytelling to support collaboration and convergence. This 90-minute webinar will help you explore and evaluate how the facilitation, creation and sharing of stories as digital stories can lead to a more powerful, deeper and more expansive sense of knowing.

As Rising Temperatures Affect Alaskan Rivers, Effects Ripple Through Indigenous Communities

Streamflow is increasing in Alaskan rivers during both spring and fall seasons, primarily due to increasing air temperatures over the past 60 years, according to new CU Boulder-led research, funded by the NNA program.

This increased volume of free-flowing water during the shoulder seasons is compounded by earlier snowmelt and thawing permafrost, also driven by increasing temperatures; all of which are affecting the formation and safety of Alaska river ice in winter, and the timing of when rivers “break up” in response to seasonal warming each spring.