Problem Curation Workshop Helps Identify Alaska Energy Focus Areas

On Aug. 28 and 29, ACEP's Gwen Holdmann, Mariko Shirazi, Nickole Conley, Tom Marsik and George Roe joined stakeholders from multiple Alaska energy sectors for a problem-curation workshop. Three representatives from the BMNT company facilitated. Participants brought energy-related challenges important to their organizations’ work. They used BMNT’s tools to help them understand key issues, describe the most desirable outcomes and select near-term actions. NANA Development Corp. donated use of its Anchorage facility for the workshop.

Workshop results will help shape the focus areas and objectives for a new five-year program that will be proposed for funding by the Office of Naval Research. This effort, the Alaska Regional Collaboration for Technology Innovation and Commercialization (ARCTIC), will seek to enhance the sustainability of Alaska communities by building capacity across a wide range of human and technological dimensions. The ARCTIC team draws from ACEP, the Center for Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Economic Development, Launch Alaska, and the Renewable Energy Alaska Project.

Workshop participants gain new "lenses" for seeing the challenges they face. Photo by George Roe/ACEP.