Through a consensus-based process, the Advisory Committee has developed a framework for developing its recommendation(s) for the SCoPEx project. The framework contains five elements that will serve as the primary inputs for the Committee to make final recommendations to the Vice Provost for Research at Harvard University and the SCoPEx Research Team. Each element is briefly described below with links to more information. The Committee will further develop each work area and share these developments with stakeholders through regular updates to the Committee website.
Focus Area | Goal | Process | Status |
Technical and Scientific Merit Review I: Engineering Integrity and Safety | Determine if the proposed experiment poses any significant or imminent safety concerns. | The AC recruited three scientists with expertise in flight dynamics to review the SCoPEx Experiment Plan. | The engineering and safety review was completed and published in January, 2021. Based on the external engineering and safety review, the AC determined that the proposed experiment poses no significant or imminent safety concerns. |
Technical and Scientific Merit Review II: | Assess the scientific merit of SCoPEx including the feasibility of the experimental approach and contribution to knowledge and understanding of stratospheric particle dynamics. | The AC recruited a Panel of 3 scientific experts to assist in the review process. The Panel identified five scientists with relevant expertise to review the SCoPEx experiment plan.The Panel summarized the review and presented their findings to the AC. | AC has received reports from the 5 peer reviewers and the Panel’s summary report. Both have been shared with the research team. The Panel report and research team response will be published together on our website once received. |
Financial Transparency | Ensure all funding sources for the SCoPEx project are publicly disclosed and reviewed by the AC for possible conflicts of interest. | The Advisory Committee will conduct an ongoing review all SCoPEx funding sources. | Initial review completed and published in November, 2020. AC confirmed that all funding sources are publicly disclosed and did not identify any COIs. When additional funds have come in, the AC has reviewed these sources and added them to the initial review. The AC will continue to do so. |
Ensure that the proposed experiment meets all regulatory requirements including permits and approvals in compliance with any potential location of a launch. | AC reviewed the experiment plan. | Initial review completed in February, 2021. The AC determined that the proposed flight in Sweden was in compliance with all local and national laws. Another review will be completed when any proposed experiment location is identified. | |
Ensure that different sets of public and stakeholders (e.g. potential local community where the experiment could take place as well as the larger global community) have opportunities to meaningfully engage with the RT on the proposed experiment. | AC has developed plans for a global engagement process. The AC has also consulted the public directly through an online comment opportunity and consultation with experts at various conferences. AC developed guidelines for a local engagement process for the RT. | AC will be publishing the global engagement process and plan. AC published initial Societal Engagement Plan for SCoPEx in January, 2021. AC is developing further local engagement guidelines for publication. |
The SCoPEx project plan includes two primary phases. The Advisory Committee is organizing its work around these two phases.
– Phase 1: Engineering and Platform Test Flight – During this first portion of the project, the Research Team is designing and building the balloon-launched aerial platform (i.e., the gondola) that would be used to conduct the experiment. The culmination of this phase is a Platform Test Flight, which would be conducted to test the durability and maneuverability of the gondola.
Assuming a successful Platform Test, the experiment would move into its second phase:
– Phase 2: Experimental Flight(s) – This phase would include experimental launches in which the platform would carry experimental equipment, including particle deployment and measurement equipment and the release of a small amount (<2 kg) of calcium carbonate into the stratosphere. This phase may include more than one experimental flight.
The Advisory Committee will focus its work on the first potential experimental flight, but consider activities over the course of long-term research, as appropriate.
Review Process Framework
- Technical and Scientific Merit Review
- Phase I: Engineering Integrity and Safety Review
- Phase II: Scientific Merit Review
- Financial Disclosure
- Regulatory and Legal Review
- Societal Engagement and Review
Each review activity is described, briefly, below. The Committee will further develop each work area and share these developments with stakeholders through regular updates to the Committee’s website.
1. Technical and Scientific Merit Review
a. Engineering Integrity and Safety Review – Complete
The Engineering Integrity and Safety Review assessed the first proposed platform launch for the SCoPEx project. The Advisory Committee recruited three scientists with expertise in balloon flight dynamics to review SCoPEx’s experiment plan. Based on the feedback from reviewers and responses from the research team, the Committee has found no significant or imminent safety concerns. In terms of this technical review, the Committee agrees the research team has successfully met the requirements of this review.
b. Scientific Merit Review – In Progress
The Scientific Merit Review will evaluate the project plan and scope of SCoPEx and its potential contributions to knowledge and understanding of stratospheric particle dynamics. Reviewers will be chosen from appropriate academic fields to assess the Research Team’s justification for this small scale field research project and data management plans.
2. Financial Disclosure – Ongoing
The Advisory Committee has worked with the SCoPEx Research Team to conduct a review of the project’s funding sources to ensure transparency and public disclosure of all funding information.The Research Team has also agreed to update the Committee with any additional donors over the course of the project.
We will update you as we continue to work with the Research Team on this ongoing process. We hope this information helps the public understand the financial review process and can provide guidance for assessing funding for future solar geoengineering projects.
3. Regulatory and Legal Review – In Progress (dependent on proposed location)
The Advisory Committee will also review applicable local, state, federal and international regulatory requirements for the experiment and evaluate that the experiment is consistent with all applicable regulations and requirements. Lawyers in any countries where outdoor experiments (including platform tests) will be conducted must be involved in this review.
4. Societal Engagement and Review – In Progress
The Committee shares a belief that societal engagement and review is a critical and essential piece of our work and one that we hope will serve as a model for others. To respect that importance, we are committed to an inclusive collaborative process to further develop and refine work in this area. The Committee has developed an outline for the Societal Engagement Process for SCoPEx based on feedback from the public as well as experts in the social sciences, including governance scholars. The Committee will recruit an engagement expert to finalize this process and carry out the engagement process for both the proposed platform launch and scientific flight.
With those considerations, the Committee will make recommendations for a robust engagement process that will provide the opportunity for mutual dialogue and create a pathway to connect the feedback from stakeholders to Harvard University and the Research Team’s decision making. We believe that such a process must be responsive to different perspectives, social values, and needs. The Committee’s recommended approach will include guidance for consultation with residents and stakeholders in the immediate vicinity of the planned balloon launch. The consultation will be informed by a global perspective.
The Committee will present its societal engagement and review recommendations to the Research Team and Harvard University and consider the implementation of the strategy and feedback from participants. The Committee will evaluate the extent to which the experiment aligns with the feedback and input collected using this strategy and make recommendations for improving that alignment.
The planning, scope and results for each of these review processes will be publicly available for stakeholders and other interested parties.We commit to carrying out this work throughout the duration of the SCoPEx project and we will continue to update our website to share where we are in that process.