Membership

Membership in NEER is open to individuals of agencies, associations, private companies and consultants, professional institutions or societies, and universities, who agree with the vision and mission of this association, and who accept the obligations described in the Member Manual. Members will receive communications from NEER and have access to NEER resources. All Regular Members (RM) will have the opportunity to participate in NEER home and field teams, as eligibility permits. However, per NSF guidelines, only members formally associated with academic institutions can receive NEER travel funding.

Benefits of Membership

All NEER Regular Members will be eligible to participate on Home and Field Teams to obtain measurements before, during, and after extreme events to address interdisciplinary science needs. In addition, NEER members will be able to benefit from the association organization, including

Event Coordination

The NEER Association will work together to coordinate multi-disciplinary teams and to obtain access to conduct reconnaissance and deploy instruments. NEER members will assist with pre-identifying potential field sites, listing existing data resources, recommending local housing options, and providing contact information for local researchers, permitting sources, and emergency managers. This extensive database will be available to NEER members.

Support

In addition to providing travel and equipment support, NEER will coordinate Home Teams that can assist Field Teams find housing, obtain permits, and target sites and relevant science questions. Home Teams also may be able to assist with data quality control and data dissemination.

Opportunities

NEER’s goal is to bring together a diverse group of nearshore researchers, potentially leading to new ideas and collaborations extending beyond NEER activities.

Membership Process

To join NEER, members should complete the online membership request form. Applicants should:

Have formal training or experience in research related to natural nearshore system processes, the nearshore built environment, or social and economic responses to nearshore events (including, but not limited to oceanography, geology, geomorphology, hydrology, hydrogeology, meteorology, coastal engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, wind engineering, social sciences, economics, data or computer science).
Complete the NEER membership application

Applicants will be asked to provide a description of their interest in nearshore storm reconnaissance, to agree to support to the Vision and Mission of NEER, and to identify the membership status for which it is applying.

Applicants will need to obtain a DesignSafe account and associated Slack account. DesignSafe will be used to distribute data, and the NEER Slack channel on DesignSafe will be used for communication and coordination.

If individuals do not yet have a DesignSafe account, please visit DesignSafe.org (see the FAQs for more detailed instructions).
If individuals already have a DesignSafe account, but have never activated or used the NEER Slack account on DesignSafe, please contact the DesignSafe support team to verify that this Slack account is active.

Applicants will be considered for membership based on their qualifications. The Steering Committee (SC) of the NEER Association will review and act on applications for membership within sixty (60) calendar days following receipt.

Members may withdraw from the NEER by sending a letter to the Chair of the SC stating their withdrawal and its effective date.

Membership Levels

Regular Members

Regular Members include individuals who agree with the vision and mission of this association, and who accept the obligations described in this manual. Individuals and Entities who are not Regular Members may be associated with NEER as Organizational Partners (OP).

Regular members (RM) are asked to participate fully in the functions and guidance of the association. In particular:

The RM will provide information about potential (regional) deployment sites, science needs, and equipment.
The RM will help develop and update the Mission, Vision, Organization, and Science Plan of NEER as needed.
The RM will call the attention of the Steering Committee (SC) to opportunities and situations that are likely to advance nearshore reconnaissance and/or the NEER vision and mission.
The RM will communicate knowledge about nearshore reconnaissance and use of collected information.
The RM shall be eligible to serve on committees, working groups, advisory panels, and councils to draft standards and policies.
The RM may recommend suspensions of rights and privileges when members do not comply with purposes, principles, and provisions of NEER.

Eligibility for event responses is dependent upon relevant expertise and experience doing nearshore event reconnaissance. Current membership levels are:

Team Leader – has significant prior field and reconnaissance experience, and has a strong commitment to leading interdisciplinary teams. Team Leaders are required to have specialty safety training (CPR, AED, etc) and training on cultural sensitivity.
Core Member – has some prior field and reconnaissance experience, and desires to obtain observations during extreme events to address interdisciplinary, team goals.
Emerging Member – has little or no prior field, reconnaissance (including training such as that from the NHERI RAPID-EF), or Home Team experience.
Student Member – a current student associated with an academic institution.

Student members will need to obtain written support from their advisors, including a recommendation regarding support and suitability for participating on Home Teams, Field Teams, or both. Emerging Members without prior field experience or repeated substantive participation on Home Teams can advance their membership by:

Active participation on Home Teams.
Conduct training through the NHERI RAPID-EF
Conduct non-NEER associated field work.

Membership level assignments will be reviewed annually and updated based on each member’s evolving experience conducting field reconnaissance and interest on being on Home or Field Teams, with official communication to the member by email. Those desiring to be on Field Teams will be asked to acknowledge that there may be uncomfortable field conditions and limitations regarding accommodation.

Organizational Partners

Organizations and Agencies that conduct research relevant to nearshore extreme events may become Organizational Partners (OP). The OP will liaison with NEER to develop coordinated responses to nearshore events. Each OP will be asked to identify an individual within its organization to serve as a point of contact who can work with NEER to coordinate reconnaissance activities. These individuals may also serve as members of the Advisory Panel (see Leadership).

NEER is a partnership between academia, agencies, industry, and stakeholders interested in coasts and coastal communities.

FUNDING PROVIDED BY NSF AWARDS 1848650 & 1939275