Best Practices for Project Design: Effectively Addressing Natural Resource Management Needs

The challenges and uncertainties facing societies around the globe as they plan for and adapt to climate change are so large that usable, research-driven recommendations to inform management actions are urgently needed. We sought to understand factors that influence scientific innovation and use of collaborative research on climate change. We surveyed researchers and stakeholders from projects supported by a federally funded network across the USA with the goal to deliver science that natural resource managers can use. Our results suggest that the steps needed for projects to be impactful in science are distinct from those needed to be useful to stakeholders. Our quantitative results can inform future requests for proposals and enable researchers using collaborative and transdisciplinary approaches to conduct science that is more often used by stakeholders.

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Hyman, A.A., Lalasia Bialic-Murphy, Steph Courtney, Karen McNeal, Cari S. Furiness, and Paul R. Armsworth. In press. Distinct pathways to use versus scientific impact in climate adaptation research. Conservation Letters. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12892

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Courtney, S., Hyman, A.A., K.S. McNeal, and P.R. Armsworth. In press. Development of a survey instrument to quantify individual and organizational use of climate adaptation science. Environmental science and policy.