MIT-USGS Science Impact Collaborative (MUSIC)

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology established MUSIC -- MIT-USGS Science Impact Collaborative -- to test new ways of incorporating science in environmental decision making. MUSIC advocates adapative management, “joint fact finding”, and collaboration in resource management.

Currently, eight MUSIC researchers are enrolled in the two-year Masters of City Planning (MCP) program at MIT. USGS supports two, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supports one, Department of the Interior Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution with the Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance support one. MIT matches each agency-sponsored MCP researcher. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is supporting a PhD student. The researchers engage in activities in support of the agencies. Their work has included:

(*) NEPA and the public involvement process
(*) Collaborative approaches to mountain top mining
(*) Joint fact finding approach to a water dispute in Hawaii
(*) Case studies of adaptive management
(*) Negotiated rule making as an approach to offshore wind energy permitting.

The researchers, with guidance from MIT faculty and agency staff, produce action memos and other products suggesting ways in which joint fact finding and collaborative processes can be used to meet agency objectives.

MUSIC offers two kinds of courses and develops teaching materials that can be used in a wide range of university-based and community-based educational programs. At MIT, we have developed a year-long seminar on Joint Fact Finding that helps to teach graduate level students in a range of professional degree programs about the best ways of handling scientific and technical controversies surrounding public policy decisions of various kinds. We also offer training for governmental employees who get involved in these kinds of controversies (see Courses). MUSIC has also developed Teaching Simulations that can be used to help community residents learn more about the scientific or technical issues being debated in various public policy controversies, like the decision to build American's first off-shore wind farm in federal waters.

MUSIC graduate interns are involved in scoping possible Joint Fact Finding Projects in various parts of the country. At the moment we are looking at five possible JFF projects, including the the Cape Wind Project in Massachusetts and the Long Island Power Authority in New York. MUSIC faculty and interns work closely with the Consensus Building Institute so that once a potential JFF project is identified a team of experienced environmental mediators will be availble to move forward with the project.