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Skilled candidates with graduate training are in critical need in the wind energy industry. To prepare for employment in the industry requires both general training (e.g., an engineering degree, a business degree, etc.) and specialized training (e.g., wind energy resource assessment, wind turbine design, environmental impacts training, etc.). Consequently, it is challenging for one educational institution to provide the depth and breadth of course offerings and educational opportunities required. This challenge exists in many multidisciplinary and rapidly evolving fields. WindU is a collaborative National Science Foundation funded effort to respond to this need, by developing and testing a model to establish an expandable, multi-university, multi-disciplinary consortium in STEM graduate education. The consortium consists of multiple universities across the United States who have expertise in wind energy and share distance learning courses. The goal is to both broaden learning opportunities for current students, and to open up the pool of possible students interested in this field. Expanding educational opportunities by developing online delivery of wind energy graduate courses is one strategy to address much needed diversity in the field. Building upon the literature of previous successful consortium development, a new replicable model for setting up a consortium was created, called the Rapid model, with the name reflecting the goal to implement a new consortium within one year. Researchers conducted a study to determine the effectiveness of the model, through observing program meetings, interviewing faculty, staff and administrators engaged in the consortium development work, and examining course sharing outcomes. Researchers identified a number of aspects of the model most important for establishing the consortium, including the importance of external facilitation, committed faculty, staff and administrators, and useful tools and procedures. The research also identified some areas for model modification. This replicable model adds to the knowledge base concerning establishment of an expandable university consortium in graduate STEM education 

Local business leaders, policy makers, elected officials, city planners, emergency managers, and private citizens are responsible for, and deeply affected by, the performance of critical supply chains and related infrastructures. At the center of critical supply chains is the food-energy-water nexus (FEW); a nexus that is key to a community’s wellbeing, resilience, and sustainability. In the 21st century, managing a local FEW nexus requires accurate data describing the function and structure of a community’s supply chains. However, data is not enough; we need data-informed conversation and technical and social capacity building among local stakeholders to utilize the data effectively. There are some resources available at the mesoscale and for food, energy, or water, but many communities lack the data and tools needed to understand connections and bridge the gaps between these scales and systems. As a result, we currently lack the capacity to manage these systems in small and medium sized communities where the vast majority of people, decisions, and problems reside. This study develops and validates a participatory citizen science process for FEW nexus capacity building and data-driven problem solving in small communities at the grassroots level. The FEWSION for Community Resilience (F4R) process applies a Public Participation in Scientific Research (PPSR) framework to map supply chain data for a community’s FEW nexus, to identify the social network that manages the nexus, and then to generate a data-informed conversation among stakeholders. F4R was piloted and co-developed with participants over a 2-year study, using a design-based research process to make evidence-based adjustments as needed. Results show that the F4R model was successful at improving volunteers’ awareness about nexus and supply chain issues, at creating a network of connections and communication with stakeholders across state, regional, and local organizations, and in facilitating data-informed discussion about improvements to the system. In this paper we describe the design and implementation of F4R and discuss four recommendations for the successful application of the F4R model in other communities: 1) embed opportunities for co-created PPSR, 2) build social capital, 3) integrate active learning strategies with user-friendly digital tools, and 4) adopt existing materials and structure.