AGI Launches Study of COVID-19 Impacts on the Geosciences

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) has recently launched a year-long study to capture the nature and extent of impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the geoscience workforce and academic programs. This study aims to understand how geoscience employers and educational institutions are changing their workplace and instructional environments and to discover which of these changes will become permanent.

Keri Nutter, former and incoming AGI Executive Committee member and past president of the American Institute of Professional Geologists, said, “As our society moves forward through this pandemic, and potentially similar situations in the future, it is critical to understand how our educational system, workforce, and the geoscience profession responded to sudden remote work and how to better prepare and respond in the future. The current pandemic has changed the way we approach our daily lives and collecting data on the response can aid academic institutions and professional workplaces for success among these adjustments.”

The study is open to those who lead geoscience companies, organizations, or academic departments, and to all geoscientists, including students, retired, and those not currently employed, who reside in the United States, and are at least 18 years old. A brief online survey will be sent to study participants twice a month and will only take a few minutes to complete. Results from the study will be reported only in aggregate and in a manner that ensures the confidentiality of the responses.

By establishing a baseline of pre- and post- COVID-19 workplace environments and an understanding of the types, magnitude and permanency of changes to geoscience academic programs, departments, employers, and the workforce, this study will aid academic institutions, employers and decision makers to both effectively move forward in the changed environment post-COVID and in improving response and recovery planning for future crises of similar nature.

AGI is reporting findings as they become available through its Geoscience Currents that are published on the study’s website. For more information about the study and to participate, please visit https://www.americangeosciences.org/workforce/covid19

Funding for this project is provided by the National Science Foundation (Award #2029570). The results and interpretation of the survey are the views of the American Geosciences Institute and not those of the National Science Foundation.