Science Hub

What is the Science Hub?

The SCC Integrated Science Hub for Agriculture and Ecosystems (“The Science Hub”) advances SCC’s strategic goals and enhances the scientific foundations of agency programs and projects at the nexus of agricultural activities and ecosystems.

The Science Hub will generate, distill, and amplify approaches that protect and enhance natural resources and agricultural viability, advance climate resiliency outcomes within agency programs and cultivate collaborative partnerships that foster holistic, multi-benefit solutions within the voluntary conservation framework.

The Science Hub will serve as a conduit for collaborations – e.g., staff at federal, state, county, and Tribal governments, conservation districts, universities, businesses, and non-governmental organizations.  Science and data frameworks developed within the Science Hub will inform adaptive management opportunities for the SCC, conservation districts, and external partners.‍

‍The goals of this work are to:‍

• Help improve ecosystem functions on agricultural land at the watershed level through strategic implementation of agricultural conservation practices and watershed planning, prioritization, and monitoring.
• Assess incentive approaches for conservation practices and determine which have the greatest impact on voluntary conservation.
• Utilize adaptive management to maximize positive impacts of voluntary conservation.

These efforts will be collaborative and complementary to the science performed by other agencies and partners. Another key goal of the Integrated Science Hub is to reduce the gap between existing science used and developed by multiple state agencies (often separately) and on ­the­ ground results desired by many stakeholders statewide (e.g., improved ecosystem functions).

In 2023, one-time proviso funding was appropriated for the formation of the Science Hub.

Ag Science Program (Ecosystem Monitoring): "One-time funding ($1,000,000) is provided solely to connect scientists, practitioners, and researchers and coordinate efforts to monitor and quantify benefits of best management practices on agricultural lands, and better understand values and motivations of landowners to implement voluntary incentive programs."

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