Introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis Workshop (Undergrads encouraged!)

Ever wonder how governments and organizations decide whether an environmental project is worth doing? Join us for an engaging introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis, where you'll learn the practical steps for evaluating projects - from saving endangered species to building green infrastructure - and discover how economics can help make better decisions for society and the environment.

The NIU Department of Economics and the Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability, and Energy invite you to an introductory Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) Workshop on November 13 and 14, featuring environmental economist Dr. Allen Bellas from Metro State University. Co-sponsors of the event include the Northern Illinois Center for Community Sustainability (NICCS) and the School of Public and Global Affairs, and will be hosted by 71 North Innovation Partnership Studio.

 

BCA Basics – How to Do an Honest BCA in Ten Steps

Wednesday, 3:30-5 pm

1^st floor of the library, the large open space past Einstein Bagels

This session is open to all, and will be accessible to anyone interested/BCA beginners. Undergrad students and community members interested in about BCA are highly encouraged to attend!

 

The session will take place in the 71 North Innovation Partnership Studio, in the first floor of Founders Library. Registration ahead of time is appreciated; here is the link: https://forms.office.com/r/vqBWwQB5Tn

 

NIU Events Calendar Link: https://calendar.niu.edu/event/benefit-cost-analysis-workshop

Fully funded PhD opportunity at Macquarie and St Andrews: "Migrant and Refugee Welcome" - deadline Dec 9

 On behalf of Dr Andrew Burridge (Macquarie) and myself, we would like to share a fully funded opportunity we now have for a Global PhD studentship. The successful candidate will share their time between St Andrews in Scotland and Macquarie in Australia. Please do share with your networks, consider applying if of interest and at the appropriate career stage, and of course feel free to direct any questions to myself and/or Andrew. Project info and links below, deadline for expressions of interest is Dec 9. Thank you!

 

Migrant and Refugee Welcome: Achieving Social Sustainability through Local Migration Governance

 

Australia and the UK are both among the top 10 recipient countries of people on the move (migrants and refugees) globally, while migration control is also high in their respective national policy agendas. Local and city-level governing bodies in the two countries are often at the coalface of migrant and asylum seeker/refugee engagement, yet have little sway in national- level decision making and migration programs.

 

This project asks how the two countries can move toward more socially sustainable migration policies that are led by their respective local governments, building on existing sanctuary and ‘welcome’ programs, and working alongside community, NGO and third-sector organisations. The project will directly contribute to our understanding of social sustainability through migration: while an inevitable – and desirable – feature of all developed societies, migration is often misconceived in public discourse and policy. The anti-immigration riots that shook parts of the UK in mid-2024 are an acute reminder of the dangers lurking in such misconceptions. As the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute’s annual Australian Cohesion Index (2023) has found, key to social cohesion and sustainable communities, is a sense of belonging for migrants within their communities. The role of local-scale migration governance, through forms of welcome and sanctuary, is therefore crucial.

 

Methodologically, our project will comparatively examine the role of local- level initiatives in creating socially sustainable forms of settlement, sanctuary and/or ‘welcome’ across Australia and the UK. Specifically, the successful doctoral candidate will conduct:

 

(a) a literature review of relevant academic approaches to cross-scale (national/ local/ urban) approaches to migrant integration;

 

(b) comparative analysis of national policies of migrant and asylum/refugee welcoming programs in the two countries; and

 

(c)  field-based, ethnographic investigation of selected programs in both Australia and the UK.

 

The project innovates at the level of scale, and in its internationally comparative approach. Specifically, the  project builds on the  burgeoning literature on local government level initiatives of migrant reception in the two countries (including Australia’s Refugee Welcome Zones and  Welcoming Cities initiative, and the  UK’s City of Sanctuary).

 

While there is extensive academic work examining sanctuary city programs, notably in North America, there is little by way of an understanding of how these localised initiatives may contribute more broadly to social sustainability either at a local, or an international level. Our proposed internationally comparative perspective will provide novel and valuable insights for local authorities and communities, both in Australia and the UK, as well as internationally, examining best practice policy, and contributing to the social sustainability for local communities regarding migration and refugee settlement, reception and integration.

 

The project’s research focus promises significant societal impact and thereby, added value: it is fully expected that the research process and findings alike will directly engage local governments and key local stakeholders, informing best practice in migrant and refugee settlement and social sustainability. The successful student will be guided to develop a Migration and Social Sustainability Information and Policy Network featuring academics and key stakeholders in the two countries, thereby strengthening its potential societal impact and ensuring its legacy, while helping establish the candidate as a future leader in their domain.

 

The project will be managed jointly between the School of Geography and Sustainable Development at St Andrews and the School of Social Sciences at Macquarie. The student will be supervised by Dr Antonis Vradis (St Andrews) and by Dr Andrew Burridge (Macquarie).

 

Informal enquiries regarding this scholarship may be addressed to Dr Antonis Vradis (antonis.vradis@st-andrews.ac.uk) or Dr Andrew Burridge (andrew.burridge@mq.edu.au).

 

https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/scholarships/scholarships-catalogue/global-office/global-st-andrews-and-macquarie-doctoral-scholarship---sustainable-development/

 

https://www.mq.edu.au/research/phd-and-research-degrees/how-to-apply/scholarship-opportunities/scholarship-search/global-phd-in-achieving-social-sustainability

 

With all best wishes,

 

Antonis

F24 Anth Graduate Colloquium with Eli Suzukovich III | Friday November 15, 2024 | 3:30 – 4:30 pm in SB 173

 "Seeds, Ceramics, and City Streets: Community Co-Curation in the Native Truths Exhibition at The Field Museum"

Dr. Eli Suzukovich III (Little Shell Band of Chippewa-Cree/Krajina Serb)

Northwestern University and the Negaunee Integrative Research Center at the Field Museum of Natural History

Friday November 15, 2024 | 3:30 – 4:30 pm 

Stevens Building 173

Dr. Suzukovich III is an anthropologist with a focus on cultural resource management, ethnography, religion, oral history, and ethnobiology. Through his academic and professional careers, Dr. Suzukovich's work has included community level research, archival collections research and management, applied ethnography, forensic research, and community-based research. 

His talk will focus on the community co-curation with the Meskwaki Nation of Iowa, the Iowa Tribe of Kanas/Nebraska, and the Chicago Urban Indian Community during the development of the Native Truths: Our Voices/Our Stories exhibition at the Field Museum. This topic is in advance of the exhibition catalogue publication, The Future is Indigenous: Stories from the New Native North America Hall at the Field Museum, by Alaka Wali and Tom Skwerski, and will focus on the development of three of the exhibits in the hall and what was learned from the experience. 

Following the talk will be a Q&A and chance to chat informally with Dr. Suzukovich.

Best wishes, 

Dana

Emerging Planners Network October Webinar Recording and Resources

 Emerging Planners Network: First Year Planning Students. We hope the session helps gain tangible insights on the planning profession and the many ways to get involved with APA. 

The recording and slide presentation:

• First Year Planning Students Webinar Recording
• First Year Planning Students Slides