Q&A: Meet ISR’s New Program Manager 

February 3, 2025
by ISR Staff
Blog

The International Science Reserve (ISR) is pleased to announce that Christopher Moore has joined our team as Program Manager.  

Chris comes to the ISR with 15 years of international leadership experience in the public and private sectors ranging from international development and crisis response at the International Rescue Committee, aiding refugees from the Syrian Civil War, in addition to his service as a Special Operations Intelligence Officer in the United States Air Force and as an international volunteer in the Ukraine conflict.   

We recently spoke with Chris about his hopes and goals for the ISR in the next few years.  

Why does the world need the International Science Reserve at this moment?  

As the complexity and quantity of crises around the world increase, new challenges will emerge that will require continuous learning and adaptation to address them. Many governments and institutions lack the capacity or expertise to prepare and address all possible scenarios—especially crises that may be unforeseen. The ISR can help address this challenge by tapping into a deep bench of scientists on an as-needed basis without the cost and complexity that would arise if each institution or government tried to address all possible crisis scenarios with their own staff.  

No one institution can be everywhere, but via the ISR, institutions can be connected to ISR’s community of scientists who are ready around the globe and eager to be of assistance when the world needs their expertise.  The world needs the ISR to help create those relationships and foster a community of practice around continuous learning and preparation across disciplines and borders. 

What lessons will you bring from your prior work to help train scientists to act when a major, cross-border emergency hits? 

In any crisis, the time it takes to respond is the most critical factor in saving lives and reducing harm. When dealing with disasters, there are also snowball effects. If a situation becomes not just linearly worse, but exponentially worse, problems become intractable. Especially if problems are not addressed before a tipping point. Anything that can be done to shorten the response window during a crisis is worth resolving before a crisis happens.   For example, during the pandemic, governments delayed evidence-based mitigation efforts, such as reducing travel. This, in turn, allowed the pathogen to spread rapidly around the globe when it may have been possible to curtail its spread to a particular region. 

I have learned that preparedness exercises that teach you the basic skills of addressing a disaster become invaluable when a crisis hits. Even simple things like decision trees, templates, checklists, pre-identified groups and communication channels, and pre-existing relationships with institutions and practitioners can be invaluable in high stress and high stakes situations. 

Given the volatile nature of social media and online dialogue lately, what positive role can the ISR play in bringing scientists together online to collaborate in the ISR’s Digital Hub? 

Having a separate discussion environment for scientists to collaborate with each other can mitigate the volatility of other platforms and help them focus on the important tasks at hand. Part of fostering a focused crisis response community is making sure that everyone participating is there for the same goal: to learn and share resources. 

Further, given how easy it is to misinterpret complex data or draw conclusions from scientific studies, and the difficulty all institutions have with navigating the mass media environment, our network of scientists will likely find it more effective to collaborate amongst themselves. This is important before they address the wider public in a crisis scenario where it becomes even more important to practice good communication and establish trust that may be difficult to recover once a misinterpretation or misinformation has traveled around the world. 

What are your hopes and goals for the International Science Reserve in 2-3 years

My hope is for ISR to grow not only its network of scientists, but also its relationships with private and public institutions, so that no matter where in the world a crisis develops, we are ready to help via our access to the top minds and resources everywhere. Since we are relatively new, my goal is to develop a community of practice among the world’s scientists, with a library of best practices, case studies, realistic scenarios, planning exercises, and “serious games.” We want to become a go-to resource when a crisis requires scientific expertise. 

Isolationism Will Make Science Less Effective

December 23, 2024
by Mila Rosenthal
Blog

Increasing global scientific cooperation is fundamental to the mission of the International Science Reserve. Effective collaboration will positively impact how we solve global challenges.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a global human disaster. But the damage done could have been even worse had the spread of the virus not been countered by vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics, all developed by the medical and bioscience community at breakneck speed. In that success story, the people involved in the response tend to highlight one vital but often publicly overlooked ingredient: global scientific cooperation.

Could we achieve that level of international collaboration again? There are plenty of reasons to worry that we couldn’t.  

First, over the past few years, we have witnessed intensifying economic and political competition between the United States and an increasingly assertive China. This rivalry is being played not just in tariffs, but in increased security restrictions on commercial technology exchanges and scientific collaboration.  

An article by Keisuke Okamura last year in Quantitative Science Studies, the official journal of the international association of researchers who study the metrics of science, analyzed the impact of these tensions on scientific collaboration. Using data from published papers, Okamura found that the United States and China, after rapidly moving closer together for decades, had been moving apart since 2019.

Adding to this seismic shift in global relationships will be the potential impact of the new administration and its “America First” protectionist approach to supply chains, international climate standards, and public health cooperation. This potentially threatens our collective ability to respond to new and unexpected crises, as well as those we know too well. A recent Rand Corporation assessment of Global Catastrophic Risk found higher risk levels for hazards from sudden and severe changes to Earth’s climate, nuclear war, artificial intelligence, and pandemics from natural occurrence or synthetic biology.

Whether it is climate change, the need to build ethical standards for AI, geoengineering, or gene editing— all are science-based challenges that can only be addressed by global level collaboration. Encouragingly, the Okamura paper shows that the overwhelming trend towards international scientific cooperation over the past 50 years has been positive, with scientists from many institutions and countries in multiple scientific disciplines routinely working together.

It is crucial to the future of science that we develop new ways of being proactive, operating cohesively to promote solutions, safety, and stability across borders even as official relationships between states become more difficult. At the International Science Reserve (ISR) at The New York Academy of Sciences (the Academy), we have been promoting pathways for scientific cooperation, building a community that I believe can help function as a communal safeguard in the face of the threat posed by the scientific isolationist model.

Tens of thousands of scientists from more than 100 countries have signed up to the ISR network to be ready to work together in response to future cross-border crises. We help train and prepare scientists and experts on how to handle disasters, crises, and instability—and how to identify and get access to additional resources when needed.

Doomsday Scenarios

Since it is our job to think about doomsday scenarios, let’s talk through one.

Another pandemic hits. Politics— whether institutional or governmental have blocked researchers and medical professionals from different countries from talking, collaborating, and sharing data. Such lack of collaboration results in it becoming harder for us to understand why some regions of the world are being hit harder than others, because we lack the data to understand why. Meanwhile, scientists in other regions have the answer, but they are not sharing it. Lives are lost, economies wrecked, and we are all less safe. This is obviously a scary scenario.

The ISR was developed with the express goal of circumventing the barriers to collaboration. We help researchers talk to each other to build trust and share ideas through our digital hub. We develop games and scenarios to help them better prepare for decision-making in their own contexts when crises hit.

Customized Digital Games

This year, for example, we partnered with the Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation (CAPTRS) to build customized digital games to test how policymakers make decisions based on evolving scientific information during a crisis. We run scenarios on different kinds of crises—from extreme heat, mega wildfires, and floods to crop failures and new pathogen outbreaks—and we have explored and increased access to the data modelling and analysis tools that researchers need to respond to those. We also celebrate the work of ISR network members and uplift the stories of those who understand firsthand science’s role in global crisis response and help the public to better understand why this matters.

In our hypothetical scenario, the ISR is one of the spaces where scientists are communicating, generating support for each other, and sharing insights. They then can take that research and information back to their local contexts to strengthen their response. Of course, this scenario is hypothetical and high-level and perhaps idealistic. But at this moment, we need a clear vision to work together across borders to reduce harm and save lives.

We can’t predict what will happen next. Science can’t tell us what the day-to-day decisions of world leaders will be. But what we do know is global problems can only be effectively solved through sustained scientific collaboration. To achieve that we need to turn outward, not just inward.

Mila Rosenthal, PhD is the Executive Director of the International Science Reserve

Ready, Set, Respond: How Playing an Outbreak Simulation Game Helps Scientists Prepare for the Next Pandemic

October 3, 2024
by Mila Rosenthal
Blog

The International Science Reserve’s new “serious game” puts players in the hot seat to test their decision-making skills.

Since COVID-19 hit in 2020, there have been hundreds of articles in journals and mainstream news outlets analyzing the shortcomings in the global response to the pandemic, and how we can learn from our collective mistakes. One of those articles last year, an op-Ed by Bill Gates for The New York Times, called on the world to think about what we can do now to better prepare the world for future outbreaks.  

His advice? Prepare for outbreaks like firefighters tackle blazes: run drills, have dedicated teams of volunteers on standby, and build on existing expertise across institutions and specialties. The International Science Reserve (ISR), an initiative of The New York Academy of Sciences, has been working to build this exact model.

We have spent the last few years cultivating a reserve of over 11,000 scientists across 100 countries in nearly three dozen specialties who want to prepare and act when the next big crisis hits. We support them for future crises by building tools that break down borders and help them collaborate before the fire starts.

Gaming for Good

This August, we proudly launched a new digital game that simulates a pathogen outbreak, just like a fire drill. The Pathogen Outbreak Game, available with free membership to the ISR, puts our network in the hot seat. In the game scenario, players act as a public health director as an unknown pathogen emerges. The game asks you to consider: What would you do differently if we experienced a crisis of the same scale and scope? What decisions would you make if you could call the shots during the next pandemic?

Developed in partnership with the Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation (CAPTRS), the game challenges players to navigate an evolving, hypothetical public health crisis, evaluating new information that is shared as the game progresses. When a crisis hits, there are complex decisions that leaders must make to protect people and reduce the impact on society and the environment. To simulate real-world situations, players are presented with dynamic information and surveillance data about an unknown pathogen outbreak.

In a series of game rounds, players are asked to practice their decision-making skills using data to identify outbreak trends and better prepare for and reduce the public health threat. This trailer demonstrates the basics of the Pathogen Outbreak Game:

The Next Pandemic and Building a “Culture of Readiness”

So, why games? Our research found that simulating real-life scenarios or drills can improve the capacity to collaborate, communicate, and make informed decisions in high-pressure crisis situations. Gamification also makes the experience of learning crisis preparedness skills more engaging for participants, encouraging wider participation and contributing towards a culture of readiness.

Our gamification-related literature review found that points, badges, and leadership boards are the best way to turn these drills into games. After they complete the game exercise, players are then encouraged to discuss their experiences with fellow scientists and experts in the ISR’s network and promote their achievements through digital badging on social media.

We do not know when another outbreak will happen, so in the meantime we need to quickly learn and grow from our mistakes, and better collaborate across disciplines and borders to save lives and reduce harm. The digital pathogen game can help build a “culture of readiness” and accustom policymakers to assessing different sources of scientific information to make decisions. It can also help scientists explore how their research could be prioritized and adapted when most needed. Together, we could build a more resilient future, one game at a time.

Are You Ready for the Challenge?

Ready to jump in? Then join us and play the ISR’s new Pathogen Outbreak Game! Earn badges, climb the leaderboard, and be recognized as a top player and top contributor in a global scientific community.  

Not a member of this inclusive and impactful community? Join the ISR today.

Crisis Response Journal

September 16, 2024
by ISR Staff
Article

Play pretend: Crisis response meets gamification

The International Science Reserve and CAPTRS

August 12, 2024
by ISR Staff
Press Release

Serious Game Launches to Advance Emergency Responses to Public Health Threats

Scientists and experts can help prepare for record shattering heatwaves

August 5, 2024
by ISR Staff
Blog

Last year, the world shattered a record we never should have hit: our warmest year ever.  In response, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres remarked that we are in an “era of global boiling,” as he called for swift action on human-induced climate change.  So far in 2024, global temperatures have continued to break monthly records as prolonged heatwaves are impacting millions of people worldwide, from India to Mexico. 

Researchers from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) also found that for the average person on Earth, there would be 26 additional days of extreme heat this year, compared to if climate change was not happening. In certain regions of the world, that number reaches as high as an extra 120 days.  

Urban residents, who represent more than 55% of the world’s population, are particularly at risk from these warmer temperatures due to urban heat islands (UHIs), which occur when a city’s infrastructure, like roads, parking lots, and rooftops, absorb and remit heat more than natural landscapes like forests. In effect, UHI makes urban environments hotter than rural locations. 

The greenhouse gas emissions that humans have already emitted into the atmosphere means that extreme heat is not going away anytime soon, even if we rapidly reach climate targets and zero emissions. That’s why, as a network of scientists and experts concerned about crisis, we can be thinking of new ways to collaborate to inform, prepare, and reduce harm to humans and ecological systems during extreme heat waves.  

The Limits of Heat on the Human Body 

Climate change is already affecting human health. There are risks to human bodies from extreme heat, particularly for residents in cities, and within communities that are more vulnerable to its adverse impacts.  Extreme heat is more dangerous for children, older adults, and outdoor workers – particularly those who do not have labor protections to keep them safe. 

Of particular concern to human health is when heat and humidity remain high in combination, especially at night. It becomes difficult for the body to rest, relax, and stabilize – and that can put the body under significant stress.  

More and more experts are calling for decisionmakers to gauge upcoming risks to the public by using a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) reading versus temperature alone. WBGT is measured through temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle, and cloud cover. Tropical and coastline cities, for example, are already reaching critical “wet bulb” temperatures, where the human body cannot cool down through its normal sweating process because sweat is not able to evaporate in high humidity. Dry heat is cooler for the body, for this reason. 

Experts define 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) as the upper limit of WGBT for young and healthy people. During India’s recent heatwave, the WGBT reached at least 100 degrees (37.8 degrees Celsius), making the chances of heat exhaustion, stroke, and even death much higher for vulnerable populations. 

Cities in China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, the Arabian Peninsula, and the African Sahel are among the highest risk zones for dangerous levels of WGBT.  Jacobabad, Pakistan is often called one of the hottest cities on earth and has experienced at least four extreme wet bulb events in recent years. Many cities lack the infrastructure or resources to deal with extreme heat, in some cases because in the past they did not need it. 

Understanding the Toll of Extreme Heat 

Unlike hurricanes, earthquakes, or tornadoes, heat disasters often go unseen by decisionmakers because the public health impacts often happen inside homes or go undiagnosed by health professionals as heat related.  

In the US, the National Weather Service (NWS) cites that heat has been the deadliest form of extreme weather over the last decade. But many researchers believe current counts of heat illnesses death are vastly underestimated. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, there is little to no accurate tracking of heat deaths.  In 2022, a groundbreaking study found that approximately 70,000 people died in Europe due to the summer’s extreme heat. Europe is considered the fastest warming inhabited continent, and many countries lack common cooling mechanisms, such as air conditioning, in older buildings.   

Additionally, the burden of heat is not often shared equally. In India after recent heatwaves, schools closed, agricultural supply chains were disrupted, and workers lost significant income. According to a recent report by the UN, the rising temperatures in India will reduce daily working hours by at least 5.8 percent by 2030. Loss of economic opportunity also acutely impacts women and girls

 
What Experts Can Do to Respond and Save Lives 

Just like with a hurricane or earthquake, the world’s most vulnerable cities need stronger preparation and mitigation measures to prevent and reduce severe health impacts. First and foremost, the rapid phaseout of fossil fuels is the most critical step to take to reduce harm.  

Second, if scientists and health experts begin to treat extreme heat like other disasters, the public will be equipped with more tools to take the proper steps to help prepare for it. Early warning systems remain as one of the most effective ways to keep people safe, and countries with “limited early warning systems” are experiencing heat-related deaths at a rate eight times higher than countries that have comprehensive warning services. 

In the US, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and NWS recently created a new scale that helps the public gauge health risks associated with extreme heat. HeatRisk considers several factors, such as time of year and length of heatwave, and models where elevated risks exist to help leaders better communicate on a clear scale of 1-4.  

Scientists and health experts can also help the public better understand what to do once a warning about elevated risk occurs, including educating them on action steps like:  

  • Having a plan to acclimatize your body safely over time by gradually increasing activity outdoors,  
  • Staying in cool environments, 
  • Hydrating quickly and drinking electrolytes, when possible, 
  • Removing restrictive layers and wearing light layers, 
  • Taking a cold shower or bath when overheated, 
  • Avoiding alcohol and caffeine, and 
  • Reducing work in the sun. 

Several major cities have also taken to hiring Chief Heat Officers who create Heat Action Plans, or roadmaps to help urban dwellers deal with heat. The World Economic Forum and Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock) also created the Heat Action Platform, a free online resource that provides cities with tools to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate their heat plans.  

Energy supply is also critical to preparations. Given the pressure on the energy grid in many countries, there has been an increase in rolling or prolonged blackouts due to high demand during heatwaves. Air conditioning therefore cannot be seen as the only stable solution to cool down. In just one month in Mexico, for example, over 32 states including Mexico City experienced blackouts. The loss of power can lead to life-threatening situations for people with disabilities, health conditions, and older adults. In the mid- to long-term, in order to reduce harm in many countries, there needs to be major updates to the power grid that are powered by renewable energy and stabilized through weatherizing of buildings for energy efficiency and planting more trees for shade and cool roofs. 

If you want to learn more about how to collaborate with other researchers on scientific issues related to heatwaves, please join the International Science Reserve and RSVP for our upcoming heat webinar at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)’s Science Summit this September. 

Bloomberg Green Festival 2024

July 11, 2024
by ISR Staff
Partner Event

Scenario Planning: Collaborating in Crisis

Q&A with Chike Aguh: ISR’s newest Advisory Council Member  

November 2, 2023
by ISR Staff
Blog

The International Science Reserve is pleased to announce that Chike Aguh, former Chief Innovation Officer at the U.S. Department of Labor, has joined ISR’s Advisory Council. 

Under the Biden administration, he led efforts to use data, emerging technologies such as AI and quantum computing, and innovative practice to advance and protect American workers. We sat down with him to talk about what he learned from previous crisis response experiences and why it’s not a time for business as usual.   

As an advisor to the ISR, you are applying your expertise in data innovation to ensure that scientists worldwide have the resources to prepare for and respond to the next crisis, such as climate-related disasters or the next pandemic. What role do you believe data and innovation can play in crisis response? 

Data and innovative technology or practice are critical to crisis responses, respectively. During the fast-moving times of a crisis, data that can tell us what is happening and what has happened previously can be scarce. Who has access to data can be a life-or-death situation: people or governments who have it will weather the storm and those who don’t will be swept away by it. Whether it is mapping what symptoms people are searching on Google to determine what type and where pandemics may spring up, to analysis of large research data sets to mitigate these crises, data helps increase the confidence interval of the interventions that leaders must take to keep us all safe.  

Whether practice or technology, innovations are also indispensable during a crisis because the general operating procedures generally do not have the scale or speed required to stay ahead of the crisis. Innovations allow us to operate at “the speed of the fight” as my old boss, US Army General Stan McChrystal used to say.   

At ISR, we help researchers connect to emerging technologies and resources for collaboration across borders to address the worst impacts of crises. What are some lessons from your time in the Biden administration that could apply to researchers in ISR’s network?  

The lessons I learned were elegant and devastating in their simplicity. One, even the most cutting-edge technologies are not a replacement for strategy. Leaders must do the hard intellectual work of identifying the key problems and questions to be solved in a crisis. Only then can these technologies be applied intelligently and effectively.  

Two, sociology will overwhelm technology every time.  In the space of collaborative research, we can only achieve the collective brilliance of all involved if we have the goodwill and effective means of working together.   

And three, the most important power of these technologies is to help us think outside the parameters of normal practice and try things we would never attempt in normal times.  We should not simply use these technologies to do the same old things with incrementally better speed or effectiveness, but rather use them to take quantum leaps in impact. 

You once said that for any problem we are solving, “Those problems cannot be solved by any one person, one organization, or one sector alone.” Do you believe that more people are thinking and operating through a lens of collaboration in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis? What more could we do to implement this new way of working within crisis response?  

I do. Some of the greatest successes of the COVID-19 response, from vaccine development, testing innovation, treatment deployment, to the High-Performance Computing Consortium (HPCC) show what is possible when traditional siloes are sublimated for the sake of helping everyone.   

The key question is: how do we make this new collaborative lens not simply a feature of crisis response, but a key part of operating procedure for all of us?  My biggest recommendation is to keep the institutions that we have created like the HPCC running.  Then, they can be applied not simply when responding to crises but can help prevent crises before they ever start.   

ISR pre-positions resources, like high-performance computing, remote sensing, and geospatial models, so that scientists can connect to them quickly across borders to address the worst impacts of a crisis, without a long wait or extensive application.  Why should businesses make data innovations more available to researchers worldwide during crisis? 

When crisis events like COVID-19 occur, we have seen the impact on the economy and how it hits the bottom line of businesses. It is in a company’s best interest to do anything it can to fight and end these crises as quickly as possible, and that means making data and cutting-edge technology available to the scientists who are working on just that.   

Secondly, I also believe that business and business leaders feel a sense of duty to their communities and their countries.  This is a tradition that we have forgotten but one can go back to businesses like Bell Labs, who helped develop critical technologies like radars that helped during WWII.  We need to remember and keep this tradition alive now.  Business and the world will benefit as a result. 

We Don’t Have Time

September 21, 2023
by
Partner Event

Climate Week NYC 2023: “The Road to COP28”

Q&A: Meet ISR’s first Science Community Manager 

August 17, 2023
by ISR Staff
Blog

Earlier this year, the ISR launched a Beta version of a free, digital hub for the 4,000+ scientists in the ISR network. The ISR Community builds on the learnings from our first readiness exercise in 2022, a test case around wildfires, where we asked scientists to submit proposals for how they would manage a cross-border wildfire crisis and consider what tools and resources they would need.   

In the wildfire test readiness exercise and throughout our ongoing conversations, ISR members were clear about the need for interdisciplinary, cross-geographic collaboration, and for easier and faster ways to engage in preparedness. We heard you. That’s why we built the ISR Community and have been working closely with Beta testers to ensure it is effective across disciplines and regions. A full, network-wide launch is expected in Fall 2023.  

Recently, we sat down with Jadson Jall, the ISR’s first Science Community Manager to learn more about the digital hub’s progress. Jall is a geneticist from Brazil and has a passion for bringing scientists together to unlock the power of scientific collaboration as a key to solving humanity’s greatest challenges.  

Why do you think the global science community needs a network like the ISR now? 

The global science community needs a network like the ISR because we live in a world with many compounding crises, such as pandemics and climate-related disasters. These crises are huge, affecting people and the environment in different countries and regions, and they are complex. That means they need lots of different kinds of responses and resources. So, one country’s scientific capabilities, or a single national science policy, can’t begin to resolve crises at that scale. An open, global network of scientists, such as the ISR, means individuals and institutions can pool resources and solve problems together, leading to faster and more effective responses to crises. Furthermore, the network’s principles, such as bringing together Scientists Without Borders and ensuring fair resource access, promoting collaboration, and including different voices, make it a much-needed platform for the current global scientific community. 

What would you like the ISR’s digital hub to look like a year from now, and how would scientists be using it?  

In my dream world, a year from now, the International Science Reserve (ISR) hub would be a globally recognized and effectively functioning platform facilitating seamless personal connections and collaboration among scientists worldwide. It would have grown beyond its current network, and its resources would be even more diverse and plentiful. Scientists would use the hub to conduct and participate in readiness exercises and explore crisis scenarios, helping them prepare for various kinds and aspects of disasters and emergencies. The hub would also be a place where scientists would know where to go and how to apply to connect to different scientific and technical resources in different situations. Ideally, the hub would have a track record of successful crisis response efforts. That will demonstrate its effectiveness and reinforce its value, most importantly, by having a positive impact. 

Can you share more about how you see early adopters using the online community, and their feedback? What do they want to see more of?  

Active community pioneers – our earliest testers – engaged in discussions on diverse topics, from climate change crisis simulations to challenges in research collaboration. Our testers from varied locations and research backgrounds provided invaluable feedback, helping us to consistently refine our virtual environment to better foster scientific engagement and collaboration. For example, they helped us figure out which formats could work for the ISR’s Readiness Exercises and helped us try out various types of activities and collaborations. During the current Beta phase of the ISR Community, we continue to learn from our early adopters. It is clear that our community is eager to collaborate across borders, and I am doing my best as Community Manager to facilitate these connections and collaborations. 

Why did the ISR choose to use “serious games” as an approach to crisis readiness? And how will the readiness exercises work in the ISR Community? 

The ISR chose to use serious games as part of crisis readiness because it’s a fun way to learn about and improve the decision-making process, so that participants can feel they are undertaking the process themselves. Role-playing puts the participant in the position of learning about the crisis in real time and actively experiencing the dilemmas and decisions of how to respond, rather than learning about it afterward. These scenario-based simulation exercises allow researchers and decision-makers to practice analyzing available, often limited, information and making the best decisions, as quickly as possible.  

Serious games will help members of the ISR Community explore decision making around issue areas such as water resource management, climate change adaptation, weather disasters, public health crises, and urban planning. These games serve as a hands-on and immersive way to understand the complexities and nuances of various crises and try different strategies for dealing with them. 

The ISR’s serious games will be conducted online, in a collaborative, interactive format. These exercises will simulate various real-world crisis scenarios, and participants will devise and implement strategies to manage these crises. The activities are being designed to help participants better understand how resources will be deployed and managed in future crises and explore related decisions, helping to prepare us for scientific work in times of global crisis. 

What kinds of resources are available to researchers in the ISR Community? 

 The ISR Community offers a rich suite of resources to its community of researchers and other stakeholders. They can be organized around two main areas. The first of these consists of specialized scientific resources such as high-performance computing, remote sensing, geospatial-temporal mapping, and databases. The ISR partners with organizations like IBM, UL Solutions, Google, Pfizer, and the National Science Foundation, offering various technical tools, data, and other resources. During a declared crisis, researchers will be able to log on to the ISR Community to gain access to resources like IBM’s Geospatial Discovery Network

The other key resource of the ISR Community is our global network of over 4,000 scientists who have come together around a common goal. The ISR Community provides a space for this growing network to prepare, learn, collaborate, and be ready for crises. We will be offering different types of preparedness activities to help facilitate some of the community’s collaborations, and we are also planning special features for the fall based on the interests of the community. 

One last question: why should your fellow scientists join you on the ISR Community 

I recommend that my fellow scientists join me in the ISR Community for a multitude of reasons, including: 

  • Joining is completely free, and you will receive global exposure and appreciation for your contributions to crisis resolution. Being part of the ISR is a unique opportunity to apply your research in a real-world context, contributing to tangible crisis solutions. 
  • As a member of the ISR Community, you will be part of a borderless network of experts, allowing for valuable collaborations and exchanges of ideas. It’s also an excellent space for professional development, offering opportunities for knowledge sharing, networking, and building community connections. 
  •  Being part of the ISR Community ensures that you stay in the loop, with critical crisis communication updates.  

So, the ISR Community is not only an opportunity to contribute to global crisis resolution but also a chance to grow professionally and expand our scientific horizons. 

Researchers are invited to join our science community - a borderless global network of leading scientists from around the world. Join the community today to stay updated and learn how you can participate.