Climate Change Institute Fieldwork, Safety and Communications Checklist

(Revised February 2023)

CCI Administration is regularly called upon to help in various aspects of CCI field research.  On some occasions CCI Administration has been called upon to provide critical services related to reporting injury, communication, travel planning and more.

Completion of this checklist and submission of the Fieldwork Hazard Assessment and Safety Plan is the responsibility of the field leader. Field leaders can be faculty, staff or students. All student field leaders (e.g., Churchill Exploration Fund recipients) must have a faculty/staff mentor with prior field experience. In addition, CCI Administration must be given notice of student projects by the student field leader or their faculty mentor so that, if determined by CCI Administration, any extra planning, safety, and communication support needed can be made available.

Any CCI member (faculty, staff or student) who serves as a field leader for off-campus activities must:

  1. Read, understand, and follow the guidance in the UMS Fieldwork Safety Program
  2. Read the CCI Field Code of Conduct
  3. Check whether emergency medical and medivac are covered by UMS insurance for your project location. If the necessary polar and/or high-altitude coverage is not available through UMS, enroll all team members in a policy that does cover emergency medical and medivac such as Global Rescue.
  4. Complete the UMS Fieldwork Hazard Assessment and Safety Plan and save as a pdf that includes the CCI modifications below:
    1. Use the following naming convention for the file: [Year_LeaderLastName_Location_version] [e.g., 2023_Jones_Kilimanjaro_v1.pdf].
    2. Be sure to include with item d Communications: documentation of at least two communication devices (for reporting of emergencies, issues related to decision making,  Preferable contact phone # or other project specific items. Form will allow you to enter multiple phone ##, names and contacts.
    3. Be sure to include with item d Description of Fieldwork: unique circumstances (e.g., altitude, crevasses, local issues) or conditions of your field site; if you are requesting to do fieldwork alone, please explain the reasoning.
  5. Register travel with Concur to be sure that you are covered under UMS liability and insurance policies. Concur training and travel arrangement https://mycampus.maine.edu/group/mycampus/travel. Concur travels requests will be approved only after a Fieldwork Hazard Assessment and Safety Plan has been submitted and approved (item d).
  6. Share and discuss in advance the Fieldwork Hazard Assessment and Safety Plan, including the section on communication plans, with team members, emergency contacts, and home academic units.

Once you complete the checklist and have all necessary information, please click here to submit your Fieldwork Hazard Assessment and Safety Plan (Item d).  

Once your safety plan has been submitted, you will receive a Google Form that you will need to forward to Paul Mayewski & Betty Lee. 

NOTE:  Submission is completed only when you receive confirmation from Paul Mayewski that your Fieldwork Hazard Assessment and Safety Plan has been reviewed and accepted.