N.C. Collaboratory publishes report marking five year anniversary

In early February, the North Carolina Policy Collaboratory released a five year report, commemorating its fifth anniversary and reflecting on the program's work.

The Collaboratory is an institution founded to create and distribute policies regarding natural resources and public health. The Collaboratory conducts research and provides data to the state to help inform its environmental and health decisions. Much of this information is reported to the N.C. General Assembly.

Since its start in 2016, the Collaboratory has received $145 million in legislative appropriations, Jeff Warren, the program's executive director, said in the report.

“This University belongs to everybody in the state, not just the students, staff and faculty that are here," Warren said. “We’re just mere short-term stewards of this awesome institution, so it’s really cool to be able to help the state.”

When the the Collaboratory was first established, it received skepticism from the community, as this type of research model and institution structure was new and unfamiliar to the field of science, Warren said.

“There was a lot of concern in the beginning, why organizationally, we were on the finance and operations side of the University and not answering to the Provost,” Warren said.

Some of the program's most significant research includes projects on flood resiliency and water contamination by Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, also known as PFAS. These contaminants are chemicals that are applied to products to resist heat, and repel water and oil.

Water contamination is especially prevalent in pockets of North Carolina, and many residents are unaware that their drinking water is being affected by it, Al Segars, chairperson of the Collaboratory's Advisory Board, said.

“We had to figure out where the it [the contamination] was, so we put tracking devices in rivers and waterways to try to figure out where it was. Then, we started to remedy it and once you know how bad it is, then you can go and remedy it,” Segars said.

In preparation for the COVID-19 vaccine distribution and storage, the Collaboratory received an urgent call from the state about the public health crisis. Representatives from the Collaboratory acted quickly to liquidate funds and provide freezers to universities all across the state, Segar said.

“It was sort of an awakening when they said you're not just looking at PFAS. You're not just looking at environmental issues," Segars said. "We're going to put you in the realm of public health, but we quickly adjusted."

The General Assembly gave the Collaboratory $29 million to fund its work at the beginning of the pandemic. It has since received additional funding for COVID-19 research.

Part of the program's success story is that legislators are in more direct communication with researchers, and they are building a mutual respect with each other, Warren said.

Gabrielle Schust is a graduate research assistant for the Collaboratory. She said that in five years, the program has been able to establish itself as a research arm of the state legislature, proving that it is a viable model for policy work.

“It’s something that most other states don’t have," Schust said.

The institution has announced plans to move part of their procedures to Kenan Laboratories on UNC's campus, where personnel can hold meetings with legislators and researchers can work on projects.

“Having a larger physical space will be really important for increasing our profile as an organization,” Schust said.

In the future, the Collaboratory plans to focus on aiding communities in recovery from the pandemic, providing resources to underserved communities and rebuilding infrastructure.

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