Network Innovation Exchange
The Switzer Network Innovation Exchange is where Fellows developing a Network Innovation project can share the idea with other Fellows in the Network for feedback and potential collaboration. This is an essential component of the Network Innovation proposal process. The "Open Proposals" section is where ideas currently under consideration are posted. The "Previous Proposals" section lists all past Network Innovation ideas and discussions, including links to grants that were funded.
Previous Proposals
Increasing awareness of overfishing, habitat loss, pollution, labor abuses, and issues of equity and access in fisheries has created space for the emergence and proliferation of third-party sustainability certifications for seafood. Yet these "voluntary” measures, typically created by non-...Read more >
2020 has been a year of awakening; exposing the pervasiveness of inequity and codified discrimination in our nation and world. As our nation begins to reckon with its newfound understanding of injustice, its institutions have often placed the burden of diversifying and fostering equitable and...Read more >
We are seeking advice, input, and potential collaborators from the Switzer Network on a proposal to convene a working group focused on the conservation of Wilson’s and red-necked phalaropes at inland saline lakes. In the early 1990’s Switzer funding to one of us (Rubega) contributed to the historic...Read more >
Overview: Aquaculture represents an increasingly significant share of the global supply of freshwater and marine resources. According to the FAO (2016), aquaculture production for human consumption now accounts for 44% of worldwide fish supply and is expected to surpass wild-caught fish capture by...Read more >
Many of Hawaii’s remaining forest birds are experiencing significant population declines and facing extinction. As the climate warms, mosquitoes are invading the last strongholds of Hawaii’s native birds and killing them by transmitting avian malaria. Fortunately, there are new technologies being...Read more >
Overview: The national non-profit Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM) seeks the support of the Switzer Network of Fellows to strengthen its new project, which has been designed to reduce the impacts of linear oil and gas pipeline development on wetlands and streams in the United States...Read more >
Alison Cullen, Professor, Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington in Seattle; and Donna Vorhees, Senior Research Associate, Health Effects Institute in Boston are seeking input and participation from Fellows who are involved in assessing and managing human health risk...Read more >
Hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale in West Virginia has boomed in recent years, and this development has had significant impacts on communities and ecosystems in the vicinity of well pads and other infrastructure. Collaborative data collection through citizen science has proven effective...Read more >
More than ever, we are living in a data-driven world, where stories are enlightening but data drives the bottom line. Funders, policy makers, regulators, resource managers, and other decision makers rely on data to guide strategy. In this climate, environmental education, which has a rich history...Read more >
Switzer Fellows Carolina Balazs (2009) and Mike Antos (2013) are seeking a Switzer Network Innovation grant to support their leadership developing and implementing a working retreat of key people working to strengthen engagement between California’s Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM...Read more >
Switzer fellow Evan Hansen with Downstream Strategies, in partnership with SkyTruth, is seeking a Switzer fellow to collaborate on a Network Innovation grant proposal. These West Virginia-based organizations hope to study the impact of mountaintop removal (MTR) mining on public health and/or...Read more >
We are seeking input and participation from Switzer Fellows on a potential project focused on "salamander crossing brigades" as a tool for conservation of migratory amphibian species in the northeastern United States. If you have an interest in citizen science, amphibian conservation, or...Read more >
We are seeking a Switzer Network Innovation grant to co-fund a two-part event for indigenous practitioners that we are organizing in October 2013 – the North American Community Environmental Leadership Exchange , or NACELE. Switzer fellows Susannah McCandless of Global Diversity Foundation ,...Read more >
We are soliciting input and participation from Fellows savvy in communications and outreach to organizations involved in the conservation and management of seabirds. Our project seeks to connect the scientific method to conservation actions, and has high potential to have immediate and significant...Read more >
A team of Switzer fellows led by Lara Hansen and I are interested in developing the first national conference and professional development event around climate change adaptation and are seeking the input of other Switzer fellows. Because climate change adaptation is an emerging field with...Read more >
Hi everyone, Nancy L. C. Steele (Council for Watershed Health) and I (Christine Lee - Caltech-Jet Propulsion Laboratory) would like to submit a Switzer Network Innovation Proposal for consideration. We would love to hear your feedback on how to make this proposal not just a standalone project - but...Read more >
The relationship between flood risk and environmental justice has received increasing media and scholarly attention in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, drawing the nation’s attention to the potential for inequitable distribution of flood risk along lines of race, class, and other markers of...Read more >
Innovation Grant idea: Learn how filmmakers and conservationists connect people, nature and climate Video is a powerful communication tool with a global reach. For example, An Inconvenient Truth (2006) generated much debate in the public arena while shedding light on conservation science for a mass...Read more >
I would like to propose a concept for an Innovation Grant related to Marcellus Shale natural gas development. The Marcellus Shale is an extraordinary resource that promises to deliver significant amounts of natural gas over the coming decades. Drilling has been ongoing in West Virginia and...Read more >
Dear Switzer Fellows, My name is Colleen Callahan ('09), deputy director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation and founding board member of the Los Angeles Sustainability Collaborative (LASC). LASC has partnered with organizations such as Environment California and others on a new campaign...Read more >
Spotlight on Leadership
Nail salons offering “manis” and “pedis” have become a booming business in the United States, setting up shop on seemingly every corner and approaching $8 billion in annual sales. “You have numerous chemicals being mixed, new products coming out all the time, limited available data on health effects and weak accountability for the manufacturers,” says 2008 Fellow Thu Quach, who is a research scientist with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California and research director for Asian Health Services. “That would make it difficult for the workers to protect themselves even if there weren’t language barriers.” She is part of a grassroots effort that empowers low-wage, Vietnamese immigrant-dominated nail salon workers to fight for healthier conditions.Read more >
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