This NSF-sponsored Research Coordination Network meeting, May 22-23rd, 2012 in Milwaukee, WI will bring together 40-50 practitioners (by invitation) to identify key strategies for moving the field of phenology forward. In doing so, we aspire to bolster the science and data-oriented goals of the USA-NPN as a mechanism for supporting the long-term relevance and sustainability of the Network and the field of phenology at large.  
Contact:  Carolyn Enquist

Specific workshop objectives include:

• Identification of a suite of ‘’grand challenges’’ related to phenology research and applications that are relevant to decision-making at the national scale
• Generation of a first-order phenology-linked data products catalogue
• Development of a plan for strategically growing the National Phenology Database to support basic and applied research and the development of data products and decision support systems

Workshop materials:

• RCN 2012 Invitation letter
• Meeting Logistics (March 20, 2012)
• Workshop Overview (May 17, 2012)
• Workshop Agenda (May 17, 2012)
• Participant List (May 17, 2012)
• Advisory Committee meeting agenda (May 17, 2012)
• UWM Expense Form (Instructions)
• RCN 2012 Meeting Report

Relevant reading:

• Predicting Phenology by integrating ecology, evolution, and climate science. Pau et al. 2011.
• Warming experiments underpredict plant phenological responses to climate change. Wolkovich et al. 2012.
• How well do first flowering dates measure plant responses to climate change? The effects of population size and sampling frequency.  Rushing-Miller et al. 2008. 
• USA-NPN 2011 Annual Report
• USA-NPN QA/QC Information Sheet
• USA-NPN 2011 Data and Participant Summary
• USA-NPN 2011 Evaluation of Observer Engagement Strategies for Nature's Notebook
• USA-NPN 2011 Plant and Animal Phenophase Definitions
  

Additional resources for participants:

• History of the USA-NPN  
• Products from previous meetings