Social Ecological Systems Training and Education Program (SESTEP)
Initiated by the NSF-funded Mountain Social Ecological Observatory Network (MtnSEON)

Is SESTEP a program for you?

SESTEP is a new training program for professionals, who work with complicated natural resource management issues. Managers and professionals will learn to use social, ecological and economic information in an integrated way to improve their decision-making and management strategies. They will also learn how to systematically engage stakeholders and communitiesforbetter collaboration and reduction of conflict.Participants will gain atoolbox of interdisciplinary approaches and methods to apply to their diverse work settings and resource management challenges.

Recent mandates to the agencies from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Science & Technology Priorities Memos call for increased integration of social and biophysical sciences among practitioners, scholars, and policy makers.Additionally, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, tribal consultations, and other agency specific programs further require integration of both social and ecologicalassessments. To assist the federal workforce in meeting these mandates, SESTEP will provide practical training for agency personnel and other resource management professionals to develop new skills, using an integrative social-ecologicalapproach to decision-making and problem solving.

What is a Social-Ecological System approach for management?

A social-ecological systems (SES) approach for management integrates human systems with theenvironment. The benefit of an SES-based approach is that it simultaneously considers human and ecosystem dynamics, allowing managers to take into account a broader set of variables,drivers, and feedbacks in a system for a richer and more robust analysis.Thisapproach more accuratelyrepresents complex real world dynamics to improvemanagement and decision-making. SESTEP training will include SES management skills such as social ecological systems mapping, stakeholder analysis, social and ecological monitoring techniques, data integration methods, and GIS tools for spatial integration.

About the SESTEP course

SESTEP participants will earn a professional certificate, with the option of 5 academic credits, through University of Montana in a self-paced, 6-week course. This course includes:

  • 1 week in-person: Foundational knowledge
  • Choice of two 2-week online modules (See modules list below)
  • 1 week in-person: Independent project presentationsand lessons learned

This training includes in-person, virtual, and field-based learning modules. Throughout the program, real management cases and scenarios will be used to facilitate learning. Additionally, participants will complete an independent project by applying a social-ecological systems (SES) approach to a management scenario of their choosing. The multi-faceted design of the program will develop each unique participant’s skills and knowledge of SES-based techniques for management. The program is also designed to leverage the experience and knowledge of participants and to foster team-based learning among the cohort members.

The following SESTEP course facilitators are nationally recognized experts in their field:

  • Dr. Libby Metcalf, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana
  • Dr. Lilian Alessa, Director, Alaska EPSCoR and President’s Professor of Resilient Landscapes, University of Idaho
  • Dr. Andrew Kliskey, Director, Center for Resilient Communities, University of Idaho
  • Dr. Michael Barton, Director, Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity, Arizona State University
  • Dr. Jonathan Ozik, Computation Institute, University of Chicago
  • Dr. Morgan Zedalis, Heritage Program - Payette National Forest, U.S. Forest Service
  • Dr. Ed Galindo, Natural Resources Tribal Cooperative Director, University of Idaho

SESTEP course details

Participants will learn the following during the two, weeklong, in-person sessions:

●Social Ecological Systems mapping and problem solving process

●Terminology and approaches used in both social and biophysical sciences

●Tools and methods that are used to collectdiverse social and biophysical dataand why these approaches and data types matters

●Data management and synthesistechniques used in Social Ecological Systems

Course modules (2-week online courses) and learning outcomes:

Engagement and Conflict Resolution / Introduction to SES Data: Synthesis and Analysis / Social and Political Context of Decision Making / Social Science:
A Deeper Dive / Biophysical Science:
A Deeper Dive
Stakeholder engagement strategies, multidisciplinary collaboration approaches, and conflict resolution skills will be taught /
  • Making sense of models: how they are made, what they mean
  • Understanding data: collection, management, and analysis
/ Learning to bridge:
  • Interactions between top down and bottom up governance
  • Policy, legal, and jurisdictional context and across boundaries
  • Value systems
  • Treaty rights
/ Basics of social science methods, data, and analysis, including:
  • Common research questions and approaches
  • Methods for gathering data
  • Data quality
  • Data analysis
/ Basics of biophysical science methods, data, and analysis, including:
  • Common research questions and approaches
  • Methods for data collection
  • Data validity
  • Data analysis

Course Logistics:

When and Where?In-person: August 17-21 at Flathead Lake Biological Station, MT

Virtual: August 24 – October 30, 2015

In-person: November 2-6, 2015 at University of Montana-Missoula, MT

Cost?There is a $250 registration fee for SESTEP

How do I apply?Contact Sarah Dengler () for more information