National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis

Resources for Working Groups

Synthesis Science, Step by Step

Welcome to the NCEAS community! We can't wait for your working group to visit Santa Barbara and conduct exciting synthesis science. This page contains guidance and resources to help you get your newly funded working group from concept to action, from scheduling your first meeting, to setting up support, to communicating your products. 

Working group leads should begin with these priority resources.

Primary Working Group Resources

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    Interdisciplinary Science Collaboration Guide

    This guidance is designed to walk you through the steps of setting up an interdisciplinary science working group, planning for your first in-person meeting, running your first meeting and carrying on the momentum until you meet again.

    Read the Guide
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    Checklists for Successful Working Groups

    Check out our checklist for running a successful scientific working group from start to finish.

    Get the Checklists
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    Scheduling Working Group Meetings

    Your guide for scheduling your working group meeting, reserving meeting space, initiating a hotel reservation block, and confirming your group participation in our a working group at NCEAS.

    Read the Guide
  • Cheat Sheets

    Working Group Cheat Sheets

    This collection of cheat sheets is designed to support interdisciplinary teams tackling complex environmental challenges. Whether you're launching your first group conversation or navigating project management in a hybrid setting, these quick-reference guides offer practical tips, conversation prompts, and technical reminders to help your group run smoothly and effectively.

    Get the Cheat Sheets

Additional Resources

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    Room Availability

    Please check the availability of our meeting rooms before polling your team and emailing our events coordinator. The Manzanita Room seats up to 14 people and the Monarch room seats up to 20.

    NCEAS Calendar
  • View of part of the NCEAS third floor lounge, featuring a sea-themed mural by Leila Youssefi.

    NCEAS Facilities

    Our spaces are your spaces. This webpage includes photos and details of what you can expect when you come to visit. We look forward to hosting you!

    See our facilities
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    Code of Conduct

    All visitors to the NCEAS community, including working group participants, are expected to fully comply with the NCEAS code of conduct. Please be sure to share our full code of conduct with all members of your working group prior to the first meeting.

    Read our Code of Conduct
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    Working Group Trainings

    We offer a series of trainings to prepare working groups during the early stages of the collaboration process with tips on facilitation, data management and communications. You can see all of our curriculum and recordings of previous trainings on our website. To register, contact learning-hub@nceas.ucsb.edu.

    Browse Working Group Trainings
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    Reimbursements - Through Spring 2025

    Through Spring of 2025 Reimbursement forms are emailed to all participants and are available online. Hotels are billed directly to NCEAS, but participants can claim a maximum of $62/day for food expenses. Forms should be submitted by 15 days after the meeting. After Spring 2025 NCEAS will be implementing a new Stipend system and reimbursements will no longer occur.

    Reimbursement instructions
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    Participation Stipends - Starting Spring 2025

    All flight and hotel costs will be directly billed to NCEAS. For daily meals and other costs, NCEAS issues a stipend calculated on the numbers of days you are traveling and participating in the working group. During your visit to NCEAS, you will be asked to complete the necessary forms to facilitate payment after the meeting.

  • Text reads: UC Santa Barbara The Current. In the background is a faded image of the beach.

    Press Releases

    Are you ready to publish a working group paper? Congratulations! NCEAS communications and UCSB's press room The Current team up to share research news with the public. Please fill out this Google form to start the process. Responses will be sent to both NCEAS and UCSB communications teams and they will follow up with you.

    Google form
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    Science Communication Resources

    The NCEAS communications team has developed a series of resource guides to support your journey in science communication. From getting started on social media to diving into data visualization to talking with the media, we've got you covered.

    SciComm Resources
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    Data Policy

    NCEAS is committed to making ecological data widely available to the broader community. We ask working groups to abide by our data and information principles and management strategies, including having all data in repositories.

    Read our policy
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    Acknowledgement of Support

    It's important to acknowledge NCEAS in all of your working group's publications and products. This resource provides ready-to-go text for each working group type. Please see below for details about reporting products.

    Read our guidance
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    Reporting Products

    We require working groups to report to us all of the publications and research products, such as datasets or software, they produce as a result of their NCEAS support. This applies to all NCEAS working groups including ones with partners.

    Read our guidance

Suggested Project Organization Platforms & Tools

Favorite Places to Eat

Program Specific Information

At NCEAS, we often house synthesis science under multi-year initiatives. Currently, we have the Morpho Initiative, Gulf Ecosystem Initiative, and Long Term Ecological Research synthesis projects active. Below, you can find more details on each of these initiatives including contact information, data science support, and image assets.