Heikkila, Weible awarded grant for research

Heikkila

Tanya Heikkila and Chris Weible, associate professors in the University of Colorado Denver’s School of Public Affairs (SPA), were awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grant for more than $325,000 for research titled, “Analyzing the Political Coalitions of Shale Gas Development in the U.S."

Through the grant, Heikkila and Weible will:

• Identify the actors involved in the politics of gas shale development, their interests, concerns, beliefs, and values regarding gas shale development, and how they are organized within political coalitions across different scales (e.g. local, shale formation, state, watershed, and national).
• Examine the types of actions and strategies that coalitions use to translate their interests into political outcomes, including issue framing in the media.
• Determine to what extent coalition actors have learned (e.g., change beliefs, concerns, and/or strategies) through their political involvement in the gas shale debate and what fostered this learning.
• Explore how the characteristics of coalitions and their interactions (e.g. beliefs, resources, learning) have influenced changes in shale policy or regulations and what actions might lead to policy change in the future across different venues and scales.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic, nonprofit grantmaking institution based in New York City. Established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., then-president and chief executive officer of the General Motors Corporation, the Foundation makes grants in support of original research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economic performance.