National
Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center

Bridging boundaries for research & discovery.

The National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) brings together the science of the natural world with the science of social systems and decision making to solve problems at the human-environment interface. For 10 years, SESYNC has accelerated research and learning that seeks to understand the structure, functioning, and sustainability of coupled social and environmental systems. To further this work, we invite you to explore our research and learning resources.

Learn more about us.

Center Highlights

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Get to Know Our Resource Types

SESYNC’s collection of open-access resources is for anyone interested in learning, teaching or researching about socio-environmental (S-E) systems and sustainability. Learn more about each type to find which ones are right for you and your goals.

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Resources for Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling

This list of resources—including video tutorials, case studies, lessons, and publications—cover the ins and outs of modeling socio-environmental systems.

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Facilitating Interdisciplinary Meetings: A Practical Guide

This guide is intended to be a practical introduction to approaches and practices we use at SESYNC in facilitating synthesis meetings, trainings, and workshops to help improve teamwork processes.

Events

Upcoming

Event: Webinar/Panel

Use of Systems Thinking Archetypes in Socio-Environmental Modeling

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

WED. 15 FEB. 2023, 13:00 – 14:30 (EDT UTC -5)
WED. 15 FEB. 2023, 19:00 – 20:30 (CET UTC +1)
THUR. 16 FEB. 2023, 05:00 – 06:30 (AEDT UTC +11)

Sondoss Elsawah

Laura Schmitt Olabisi

Renee Obringer

et al.

Solving problems of sustainability requires understanding social and environmental systems as being tightly coupled. Each system’s individual components or parts interact in complex ways, and feedbacks—or how change in one part of the system affects other system parts—determine the dynamics of socio