SNRI Community Engaged Climate Action Research

Project Background/Rationale

The increasing urgency to address “wicked” (socio-environmental) problems associated with climate change requires a shift for many researchers: increasing transdisciplinary of teams and including communities and partners at early stages in authentic community-engaged research (CER)1,2. Likewise, state, federal, and other research funders require clear links to identified state & federal climate action research priorities and benefits for - and inclusion of - disadvantaged community (DAC) perspectives. Together, these approaches have the potential to generate actionable climate solutions to mitigate climate change threats and create greater resiliency for Californians and other areas similarly vulnerable to climate-change impacts.Model for Community Engaged Climate Action Research

Vision and Aim(s)

Advance SNRI capacity for team science and Community-Engaged Research to create climate solutions

  1. Increase SNRI faculty/PI success in Climate Action Research proposals
  2. Promote Community-engaged research approaches that increase benefits and reduce  impacts to  DACs (figure 1)
  3. Create clear connections to State Climate Research and Funding priorities3
  4. Support new and early-career faculty in research funding and networking success

Process

Collecting Information on Community Engaged Research

  • Surveyed faculty to characterize exiting community engaged research efforts and partners

  • Met with faculty teams and individual faculty (SSHA, SNS, SOE), and select industry, agency, and Community Based Organization (CBO) and Non-Governernmental Organization (NGO) partners interested in pursuing community engaged Climate Action Research

  • Listening sessions with ORUs, campus  entities, around CE efforts (Box 1)
  • Met with ORED & other campus leadership
  • Created network maps of CBOs, partners for specific projects
  • Researched sponsor Request for Proposal (for UC Climate Action and other grants) to better understand details of partnership requirements
  • Researched current SNRI award portfolio to better understand mix of current partners (Cayuse)
  • Surveyed internet and other resources for additional CBOs, government and non-government organizations that engage in climate justice, climate action, and other environmental issues

Assisted faculty in developing research teams, partnerships, LOIs, proposals 

  • Mapped partners for select research proposal efforts (example network map 1)
  • Assisted select teams with supporting information to make clear links between their proposed research and identified state Climate Action Research priorities (example Table 1).
  • Started database for mapping community engaged research for SNRI website (in progress)

UC Climate Action Research 

  • 9 Climate Action Research Seed Grant Proposals submitted! 
  • 3 Climate Action Research Match Grant Proposals submitted!
  • Multiple campus proposals supported!

Outcomes

  • Significant progress on all aims, UC award status TBD
  • Greater SNRI engagement with current, developing CE efforts
  • Impact

Impacts

  • Supported SNRI faculty, including new and early-career, in developing proposal concepts, research teams and partnerships
  • Increased diversity & quality of assembled teams, alignment with sponsor priorities
  • Networking will enhance complexity and capacity of research teams, campus and external and partnerships into the future