As part of the initial vision for CIRPS, under the umbrella of a unifying collaborative, key programs of the University of New Hampshire, regional non-profit organizations, government agencies, active citizens and other decision-makers would work with the northern New England community to find solutions to the most critical problems of the region. Our initial focus is on bringing the scientific and social implications of conservation to bear on development decisions during this time of increased growth in the region.

The Collaborative would tackle the most critical issues of the rapidly growing ecoregion comprising southern New Hampshire, southern Maine, and northern Massachusetts. Regional change and its impact on the environment is the guiding focus. CIRPS seeks collaborators for all of our projects, including public forums and symposia, multi-disciplinary scientific investigations, outreach tools, and other initiatives. We someday envision housing our collaborators as temporary project-based residents of a physical home for the center at the University of New Hampshire.

Collaborators on CIRPS projects have access to the central office for CIRPS, created to facilitate the interdisciplinary work between the partners, fundraise, and plan for future initiatives and partnerships. Benefits to partners and collaborators include:

• Collaboration between various sectors is facilitated by the Center and the combined expertise of CIRPS partners is available to projects.
• Organizational and development support is available via the services of the CIRPS Project Director.
• University expertise in teaching and research are available to regional stakeholders. Also, the expertise of regional stakeholders in outreach and knowledge of the region is available to university researchers.
• A CIRPS project is supported by the University of New Hampshire and therefore has a respected, institutional home and increased funding potential.