Sponsored by the Paleoclimate Program, Division of Atmospheric Sciences, National Science Foundation.

Summer Policy Colloquium Frequently Asked Questions

Hotel Accomodations

Washington Marriott at Metro Center
775 12th Street NW · Washington, District Of Columbia 20005 USA
AMS has secured a room block at the above hotel for participants. Paying participants will be required by the hotel to provide the first night's deposit to secure the room. Room prices have yet to be determined.

Be prepared for your first session

Come prepared to give a self-introduction. It should include your name, institution and job title, your current job responsibilities/interest, what you hope to get out of the Colloquium, and some personal fact about you that is essential background knowledge for the rest of us. Plan on doing this in 60 seconds (it can be done!).

Agenda

A final agenda will be provided to you at check in, a preliminary agenda is will be available in early spring.

Please note, participants are expected to attend all sessions. During lunch participants will have the pleasure of dining with the speakers and often times use this time to work on group exercises assigned during the 10 day intensive. Multi tasking during the sessions is highly discouraged and will lessen the impact of the course.

When will I receive my reading materials?

The following are books that were read by previous groups. (click here to read about the books):  

• Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship Is Poisoning the U.S. House of Representatives,, by Juliet Eilperin

• High Noon,  by J. F. Rischard

• Environment and Statecraft, by Scott Barrett

• Storm World, by Chris Mooney

• Beyond Sputnik By Tobin L. Smith, Homer A. Neal, and Jennifer B. McCormick

• The Honest Broker, by Roger Pielke

• CRS Primer (PDF)
  

In addition, you will receive, at a later date by e-mail, two case studies.

You may decide there’s far too much to read before the Colloquium starts.  Welcome to the Washington policy world!  Best way to sift through the material is to use your own paradigm.  Failing that, perhaps you could adopt an approach like the following for dealing with the “information saturation problem”:

1. Prioritize – focus initially on the preliminary schedule.  Get a feel for what we’re going to cover and how we’re going to do it.

2. Make sure you read the case studies once you get them. You’ll be quizzed on your understanding of these.

3. Read Eilperin and Rischard.

4. Read chapters 14 and 15 of Barrett; go back over the earlier material in his book as time and inclinations allow.

Getting around DC

The website for the Metro is http://www.wmata.com/default.cfm .  The trip planner is very useful if you are not familiar with the area.   A Metro Pocket Guide as well as a guide to using the Metro will be provided to you when you arrive in DC.

Meals - how to plan

To assist you in your planning please note that each weekday, breakfast and lunch will be available for our speakers and participants in a private room. Dinners will be on your own with the exception of the following dates: (information coming soon)

Those attending the SPC through NSF funding will receive upon arrival, a stipend of $175 (2010 rate, may change) to cover those meals not included as part of the agenda.  Any other expenses you incur – local transportation, transportation to and from the airport -- will be reimbursed to you after the meeting.  Please keep your receipts as they will be needed for reimbursement, an envelope and expense form will be provided in your notebook. 

What to wear?

For Colloquium sessions: proper business casual
For the Symposium Sunday evening : coat and tie for the gentlemen and corresponding attire for the ladies
For the weekend: casual attire

Brunch & Mount Vernon Tour

Information available shortly.

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