Social-Ecological Systems Research
in the Delaware EPSCoR RII-2
Alaska NSF EPSCoR Social-Ecological Systems Workshop
May 10-13, 2009
Jurisdiction: Delaware
Names of Project Director and (if different) person completing the survey:
Stephen Borleske, University of Delaware, Delaware Biotechnology Institute, 15 Innovation
Way, Newark, DE 19711. Borleske@dbi.udel.edu; 302-831-3430
Contact information for person qualified to answer questions related to the survey:
Steve Fifield, University of Delaware, Education Research and Development Center, 109
Pearson Hall, Newark, DE 19716. fifield@udel.edu; 302-831-4437
(Fifield is attending the SES workshop)
Please describe SES research that is currently taking place in your jurisdiction.
We do not currently have SES research underway, but we are developing partnerships and
building on our research in environmental science, ethics and public policy, and the social
dynamics of cross-disciplinary research to catalyze SES research on sea level rise in the midAtlantic region.
Research under the Delaware EPSCoR RII-2 is focused on environmental research themes,
including particle transport and release, metal-microbe-carbon interactions, and environmental
observation and sensing. Research in these areas is relevant to environmental issues with social
and economic dimensions, such as air and water quality, preserving coastal ecosystems and
promoting brownfield redevelopment. This research involves interdisciplinary collaboration
among biologists, chemists, engineers, soil scientists, geoscientists, ethicists, social scientists and
policy analysts.
Two areas of research in the humanities and social sciences are important steps toward the fuller
integration of research specialties in SES research. First, the Delaware EPSCoR Science, Ethics
and Public Policy (SEPP) program (http://sepp.dbi.udel.edu/index.html) combines ethics and
public policy inquiry with scientific research, undergraduate and graduate education, private
sector innovation, and government policy-making. Ethics education for future scientists, energy
and environment, and nanotechnology are among the key topics in SEPP. Looking toward SES
research, the study of and policy responses to sea level rise need to incorporate thoughtful ethical
analyses. Second, an NSF funded study of the social dynamics of cross-disciplinary research
collaboration is using ethnography and social network analysis to explore how scientists work
with each other across disciplines. This research may inform ways to nurture cross-disciplinary
communities for SES research. More broadly, studying the dynamics of cross-disciplinary
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research interactions offers insights about fostering adaptive responses to complex socialecological events like sea level rise.
What are the SES areas of research that your state may be interested in moving toward or
enhancing at this time?
Delaware EPSCoR has recently joined with the state of Delaware in a 5-year effort to develop a
statewide Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan. Because of Delaware’s proximity to the coast and
coastal plain, the state is highly susceptible to rising sea levels. No part of the state is more than
8 miles from tidal waters and Delaware’s coast has played a significant role in the history,
culture, and economy of the state. Sea level rise has the potential to significantly impact
Delaware’s economy, coastal resources and communities over the next several decades. As a
result of rising sea levels, low lying coastal areas could be inundated, storm events could cause
more severe flooding and coastal erosion, and areas that were previously not flood prone could
experience flooding. Rising sea levels can also contribute to salt water contamination of
groundwater and increase levels of salt in our waterways. A Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan is
being developed to better evaluate and, when needed, address these impacts. This statewide plan
will include an analysis of the issues affecting Delaware and will provide recommendations to
ensure that Delaware pro-actively plans for these effects.
Delaware EPSCoR will be a partner in this process to bring investigators in the natural and social
sciences and humanities together with policy-makers, the business community and the public to
address issues needed to thoughtfully respond to sea level rise. Potential SES research topics
include the expected nature and extent of sea level rise in Delaware; ecological and social
effects; public policy responses; and the economic, social and ecological costs of sea level rise
and responses to it.
What are the SES areas of research that your state may be interested in pursuing in the
future?
Our focus at this time is to develop SES research around sea level rise. Future topics might
include the interactions of ecosystem and human health.
Is there ongoing collaboration with other jurisdictions or neighboring states?
We plan to pursue partnerships by contacting other coastal states to learn about their research
and policy activities regarding sea level rise.
Please list funding sources (including EPSCoR and non-EPSCoR) for this SES research.
1. NSF Delaware EPSCoR RII-2 (EPS-0814251)
2. Partnering with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control,
with some funding from NOAA.
3. We plan to seek NSF funding under the SBE and GEO initiative in Environment, Society and
the Economy (http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503387).
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4. We are looking for other funding opportunities and would appreciate any recommendations on
upcoming opportunities.
Does your jurisdiction have specific goals for SES research as defined by your State Science
and Technology Plan or other statewide initiative?
Although Delaware's Science and Technology Plan does not define specific goals for SES
research, one of its six strategic initiatives is to "achieve a sustainable environment while
ensuring a prosperous economy." We believe that SES research can advance this S&T initiative
by developing approaches in which environmental and economic well-being are interdependent
and complementary, rather than zero-sum trade-offs that are necessarily in conflict.
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