COVID-19 & GEOSCIENCES
Tracking the Impact of COVID-19 on the Geoscience Enterprise
Leila Gonzales, Ph.D. and Christopher Keane, Ph.D., American Geosciences Institute
The rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden dramatic actions taken by society to protect public health has led to massive economic and social disruption. The geoscience enterprise, which spans many economic sectors and indus- tries, is facing unexpected challenges and disruptions that are requiring organizations and universities to be agile. The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) has launched a one-year project to capture the nature and extent of COVID-19 impacts on the geoscience workforce and academic programs and track those changes through the period when businesses, educa- tional institutions, and citizens resume in-person interactions and strive to be back to “normal”. This longitudinal study aims to understand how geoscience employers and educational institutions are changing their workplace and instructional environments and to discover which of these changes will be remain in place once institutions and companies resume pre- COVID-19 operations.
The study is open to all geoscientists, including students, retired, and those not currently employed, who reside in the United States, and are at least 18 years old, as well as geoscience academic departments, and geoscience employers, especially those from private companies. The study will be accepting new participants throughout the entire study period so as to capture the changes over the coming year in relation to the ongoing response to COVID-19, such as from a second wave of the virus, release of a vaccine, and improved therapeutics.
Study participants will receive a brief online survey twice a month that will only take a few minutes to complete. Study participants who lead geoscience companies, organizations, or academic departments will be asked to provide information about impacts to their organization’s work or instruction- al environment, business operations, and other factors which may be impacted by the current crisis. Study participants who participate as individuals will be asked about their current employment or enrollment status, geoscience-related activities, and other factors which may be impacted by the current crisis.
Results from the study will be report- ed only in aggregate and in a manner that ensures the confidentiality of the responses. Participation is voluntary, and study participants may discontinue their participation at any time.
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Throughout the coming year, AGI will publish data briefs on a weekly to bi-weekly basis that will provide up-to-date information from the survey responses, including impacts to research activities, business operations, employment and enrollment, and changes to workplace and instructional envi- ronments. AGI will also publish a synthesis report detailing the changes each cohort experienced, including the duration and permanency of those changes to the work environment and work status of each cohort. This report will frame the survey results against the geoscience employment and economic indicators from federal agencies to assess any lags between federal data and survey responses.
For more information and to participate in the study, please visit
https://www.americangeosciences.org/workforce/covid19.
Funding for this project is provided by the National Science Foundation (Award #2029570). The results and interpretation of the survey are the views of AGI and not those of the National Science Foundation.
About the Authors
Leila Gonzales is a Technical Specialist at the American Geosciences Institute and is the principal investigator for this study. Christopher Keane is the Director of Geoscience Profession and Higher Education at the American Geosciences Institute and is the co-principal investigator for this study.
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