The North Carolina Collaboratory as a State-level Science and Evidence-Based Policy Tool

This talk presents the North Carolina Collaboratory as a model of science policy and research/development funding. Since its authorization by the NC General Assembly in 2016, more than 600 research projects on topics including PFAS, COVID-19, opioids, and flood resiliency have been funded through the Collaboratory. The talk will highlight operational lessons learned from the Collaboratory as well as strategic priorities.

Speaker Jeffrey Warren is Adjunct Professor of the Practice, at the Department of Public Policy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Warren serves as executive director of the North Carolina Collaboratory. Formally trained as a marine geologist and geophysicist, for which he was awarded the Antarctica Service Medal, since 2004 he has been a practitioner of state-level science policymaking.