Resources for SESYNC Teams

Are you having issues with cleaning or harmonizing your data? Got data analysis problems? We’re here to help! SESYNC's Cyberinfrastructure (CI) staff are available to support SESYNC science teams and on-site fellows throughout the entire project life cycle. We engage with our supported researchers early and often to ensure that they know not only what support we offer but also to help them discover new possible resources and approaches for optimal project outcomes. We are available to help via email, or we can schedule a Zoom meeting to discuss your data science problems in depth. Common issues that the CI team can assist you with include:

• Managing participant and technology logistics during a remote meeting (e.g., Zoom video call)
• Processing/analyzing data on remote servers (e.g., “Slurm” computing cluster, Rstudio server, Jupyter server) 
• Sharing code and results (e.g., git, GitHub/GitLab, GitHub gists, data visualization, interactive visualizations)
• Sharing and managing data (e.g., SESYNC storage, SQL databases)

A summary of our CI policies and support services are available here:

Contact cyberhelp@sesync.org with your data science questions, or view our Frequently Asked Questions, guides describing how to use SESYNC resources, and full-length lessons on topics including text mining, creating maps, and agent-based modeling.

Need advice on designing efficient and effective virtual meetings? Having issues maintaining team engagement and momentum? Unsure how to facilitate certain team dynamics without the benefit of face-to-face interaction? Unclear how to integrate ideas or results into a broader synthesis narrative?  Contact us with team science questions or issues directly related to your SESYNC-supported work and we will happily connect you with one of our experts on staff. Help can take the form of:

• Q&A over email
• Live online coaching sessions over Zoom (up to 1 hour each)
• Feedback on meeting agendas, team documents, and other Pursuit materials.

Need help developing a communications strategy to promote your research outcomes? Know that you need to tailor your messaging to specific audiences but are unsure where to start?  Want help spreading the word about your latest publication? Contact SESYNC's communications team for any support related to science communications. Our team can help with:

• Creating a communications plan for your SESYNC project
• Identifying your key audiences and core messaging
• Writing for a lay audience
• Identifying the best communication channels to amplify your work.​​​​​​

Contact us at communications@sesync.org. 

SESYNC sends a request annually for new or not yet reported outcomes of your SESYNC project. However, please feel free to notify research@sesync.org whenever you have a new publication or other product resulting from your SESYNC project.

We are particularly interested in hearing from you well in advance of any high-profile papers, such as publications like Science, Nature, and PNAS, that have been accepted pending minor revisions.

All products generated as a result of SESYNC support should appropriately and conspicuously acknowledge SESYNC and the National Science Foundation. Given that SESYNC is supported through two NSF awards, please see below regarding acknowledgements. 

For all projects supported from SESYNC solicitations posted between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2016, please use the following language: 
(This includes projects supported from the October 2016 RFP and any prior to this date.)

“This work was supported by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) under funding received from the National Science Foundation DBI-1052875.”

For all projects supported from SESYNC solicitations posted from September 1, 2016 through the present, please use the following language:
(This includes projects supported from the May 2017 RFP to present.)

“This work was supported by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) under funding received from the National Science Foundation DBI-1639145.”

If you are unsure of which award you are supported from, please either refer to your support letter or reach out directly to research@sesync.org.

As an NSF-supported center, SESYNC is committed to public dissemination of data and to open source software development and distribution. To this end, investigators, fellows, collaborators, and others receiving financial or in-kind support from SESYNC acknowledge and agree to the terms below.

Data products resulting from SESYNC-sponsored activities will, insofar as possible, be made accessible with no restrictions for use and dissemination through explicit use of a Creative Commons Zero waiver or its equivalent and will be deposited in a public repository or established open database. Such data will be adequately documented for validation and reuse, including appropriate attribution of its original source.

All software source code developed with SESYNC funding or participation will be made freely available via an FTP or code repository service such as GitHub and will be licensed under an OSI-approved Open Source license (see opensource.org). Such source code is to be sufficiently documented, and at a minimum, state the purpose, copyright, and license, and acknowledge and attribute any other software or software libraries that the SESYNC-sponsored software uses or depends on, as required by the licenses of such software.

Both data and source code will be made available in a timely manner, no later than two years after the conclusion of the SESYNC award, or immediately upon publication of an associated article, whichever comes earlier.

As in the case with publications, datasets and software generated or created as the result of a SESYNC-supported activity will appropriately and conspicuously acknowledge SESYNC and the National Science Foundation by including the appropriate attribution (see previous section).

Due to the unpredictability of the current COVID-19 pandemic, many of our teams are opting to meet virtually rather than in-person. Meeting virtually allows teams to gather together from all over the world without the concerns of traveling, so they can continue to collaborate, communicate, and connect on their projects. However, SESYNC recognizes substituting in-person interactions with online-only exchanges remains a challenge for many. For these reasons, we offer several services to help overcome those challenges. For example:

• SESYNC’s cyber team is available to help with Zoom set-up or provide you with a Slack space for your team’s communication. PIs should email cyberhelp@sesync.org to set up this service and request any additional cyber resources.
• SESYNC can also provide facilitation support for your virtual meeting sessions. Please email research@sesync.org to request facilitation support.
   

  To schedule a virtual meeting, the project team’s PI(s) should submit their requested virtual meeting dates to travel@sesync.org, scheduling@sesync.org, and research@sesync.org. PIs will be notified when the online meeting planner is available to register virtual participants

All participants will receive a copy of SESYNC’s travel policies.

This document outline allowable expenses, how to book your travel, and the reimbursement process—and an email containing a link to use our online travel system approximately six weeks prior to their meeting. 

Read our Guide to Visiting SESYNC in Person for more details.

During the meeting, participants will receive expense reimbursement forms and instructions on how to submit them. For travelers not based in the United States or Canada, you will also be asked to complete this wire transfer form.  For a quick review of our travel reimbursement process, please watch this short video: https://youtu.be/MrlyMLbxc6g.

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