Science and Innovation in Chesapeake Bay Trust Grant-Making

The Chesapeake Bay Trust is committed to using the best available, objective natural and social scientific information to guide our actions.  One of our six core organizational values is Science and Innovation.  We strive to invest in projects and programs that will most effectively “move the needle” toward the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay, Coastal Bays, and Youghiogheny watersheds and have enduring positive impacts.

Where gaps in knowledge exist that present challenges for programmatic grant-making or barriers to advancement of restoration actions, the Trust will invest in applied research and discovery to remove the barrier in any scientific realm (natural, physical, or social science).  The Trust supports development and testing of innovative and efficient approaches to building the technical, social, and organizational capital needed to advance the Bay restoration effort.  Examples include a) the realms of behavior change social science, specifically research into barriers and benefits to certain behavior changes, b)  on-the-ground restoration practices, such as stream restoration, stormwater practices, and living shorelines, and c) impacts of climate change on restoration practice efficacy.

The Future: We envision a future in which our projects and programs have used the best available science to support our investments and in which the Trust helps answer questions about efficacy of a practice, technique, or theory.