The Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation was established to support environmental protection research. It funds a variety of research areas related to the environment and global change. It prioritizes research that is scientifically rigorous, solution-oriented, and involves communication with stakeholders. The foundation recognizes the importance of interdisciplinary research and knowledge co-production to address complex issues like global change. It aims to support researchers moving outside their traditional disciplines to collaborate across fields and with decision-makers.

1. Funding
global
change
research
–
the
case
of
the
Nessling
Founda5on
Jari
Niemelä
Dept
of
Environmental
Sciences
University
of
Helsinki
and
Maj
and
Tor
Nessling
Founda5on

2. The
context:
history
and
aims
of
the
founda5on
• Tor
Nessling
(1901-­‐1971)
made
his
career
in
the
Finnish
motor
industry
• Tor
and
his
wife
Maj
(1901-­‐1974)
wished
that
their
estate
should
be
used
for
suppor5ng
research
on
environmental
protec5on
• Aims
of
the
founda5on
today:
• To
promote
environmental
protec5on
and
solu5on-­‐
oriented
(ratkaisuhakuinen/keskeinen)
research
on
environmental
issues
• To
support
dissemina5on
of
research
findings
to
decision
makers
and
the
general
public

4. Research
areas
supported
1. Atmospheric
research
2. Aqua5c
environment
3. Terrestrial
environments,
soil
ecosystems
and
groundwater
4. Research
and
development
of
environmental
technology
5. Environmental
social
sciences
(societal
impact)
6. Support
for
communica5on,
interac5ons
&
dissemina5on
of
environmental
research
7. Support
for
environmental
conferences
and
mee5ngs
• Special
thema5c
calls
• Water
and
water
ecosystems
in
circular
economy
• Altogether
about
2,5
million
€
annually

5. The
most
important
criteria
for
evalua5ng
applica5ons:
• High
scien5fic
quality
and
novelty
of
ideas
• Applicability
and
policy
relevance
of
the
research
results
in
advancing
environmental
protec5on
(solu5on-­‐orienta5on)
• Communica5on
and
interac5on
with
stakeholders
How
does
this
relate
to
global
change
research?

6. To
be
successful
in
global
change
research
we
need
to
consider
the
science-­‐policy
interface

7. Source: Future Earth Initial Design Report (2013)

8. Research
on
the
burning
ques5ons:
• ecosystem
services
• green
infrastructure
• climate
change
A
transdisciplinary
urban
ecological
research
framework
Societal
actors:
• decision-­‐makers
• planners
• managers
• ’embedded
ecologists’
(researcher
s)
• residents
Researchers:
• knowledge
produc>on
&
transfer
• coproduc>on
of
knowledge
with
(other)
societal
actors
Science-­‐policy
interface
Niemelä,
J.
2014.
Ecology
of
urban
green
spaces:
The
way
forward
in
answering
major
research
ques5ons.
Landscape
and
Urban
Planning
125:
298–303

9. Funding
&
conduc5ng
global
change
research:
the
role
of
founda5ons
Support
the
move
from
isola5on

10. to
happy
collabora5on

11. • But
’happy
collabora5on
’
(inter/transdisciplinary
research)
is
not
(always)
easy
because:
• it
is
not
a
priority
for
researchers
and
their
ins5tu5ons
• publica5on
policies,
funding
policies
and
career
developments
do
not
support
it
• inter/transdisciplinary
research
is
5me
consuming
and
we
are
so
busy
that
we
do
not
have
the
5me
to
leave
our
’comfort
zones’
• Founda5ons
could
support
researchers
leaving
their
’comfort
zone’
• Nessling
is
an
example
as
criteria
include:
• applicability
and
policy
relevance
of
research
results
(solu5on-­‐orienta5on)
• communica5on
and
interac5on
with
stakeholders
• Special
call
“Water,
water
ecosystems
and
circular
economy”
emphasizes
co-­‐crea5on

12. • Research
on
global
change
a
relevant
topic
for
Nessling
as
these
ques5ons
are
mul5/transdisciplinary
and
require
society-­‐science
interac5ons
• Founda5ons
could/should
also
support
boundary
organiza5ons
that
func5on
in
the
science-­‐policy
interface
(such
as
Future
Earth,
Forum
for
Environmental
Knowledge=Ympäristö5edon
foorumi)

13. Science-­‐policy
interface
is
fun
but
not
always
easy….
13
scien5sts
scien5sts