Planning and Evaluating the Societal Impacts of Climate Change Research Projects: A guidebook for natural and physical scientists looking to make a difference

Abstract

As scientists, we aim to generate new knowledge and insights about the world around us. We often measure the impacts of our research by how many times our colleagues reference our work, an indicator that our research has contributed something new and important to our field of study. But how does our research contribute to solving the complex societal and environmental challenges facing our communities and our planet? The goal of this guidebook is to illuminate the path toward greater societal impact, with a particular focus on this work within the natural and physical sciences. We were inspired to create this guidebook after spending a collective 20+ years working in programs dedicated to moving climate science into action. We have seen firsthand how challenging and rewarding the work is. We’ve also seen that this applied, engaged work often goes unrecognized and unrewarded in academia. Projects and programs struggle with the expectation of connecting science with decision making because the skills necessary for this work aren’t taught as part of standard academic training. While this guidebook cannot close all of the gaps between climate science and decision making, we hope it provides our community of impact-driven climate scientists with new perspectives and tools. The guidebook offers tested and proven approaches for planning projects that optimize engagement with societal partners, for identifying new ways of impacting the world beyond academia, and for developing the skills to assess and communicate these impacts to multiple audiences including the general public, colleagues, and elected leaders.

Hydrologic implications of projected changes in rain-on-snow melt for Great Lakes Basin watersheds

“…Also, extreme winter (0.95 quantile) daily water yields increase in magnitude +17% between the historic 1960-1999 period and mid-21 st century, but extreme spring daily water yields decrease -14% as high snowmelt floods become diminished, showing how climate change can affect the timing of extreme hydrological events. Finally, it is important that future work involve collaborations outside the academic realm so that the findings of climate change impacts to ROS melt can inform management of aquatic resources (Meadow and Owen, 2021) and engage communities with the research (Serreze et al, 2021). Implications of this work, specifically involving the influence of changing ROS melt on extreme hydrological events and future water availability, as well as the climate-related sensitivities to changing ROS melt, could help prepare the management of ecosystems and human water uses for the climatic changes of the 21 st century and beyond.…”

Stories as data: Indigenous research sovereignty and the “Intentional Fire” podcast

“…While all scientific research depends on rigorous and transparent research methods, actionable science frameworks also emphasize the importance of understanding the context within which decision-makers operate, the need to develop strong researcher-practitioner relationships and trust, and the multi-directional communication of roles, responsibilities, and commitments to the collaborative research process, outputs, and outcomes (Ferguson et al, 2014;Meadow et al, 2015). The anticipated result of use-inspired actionable science is to inform environmental management practice and policy-to have real impact (Meadow and Owen, 2021).…”

Cap. 31. Adaptación. En: La Quinta Evaluación Nacional del Clima

“…Los servicios climáticos pueden ofrecer numerosos beneficios a la sociedad y apoyar diversos resultados (consulte, por ejemplo, la evaluación regional del clima de las Islas del Pacífico 336 ) 246,248 . En las últimas dos décadas, las ciencias sociales han mejorado el desarrollo de los servicios climáticos mediante la evaluación de la usabilidad de los servicios 337 , mejorando prescriptivamente los productos de datos públicos 338,339 y, más recientemente, ampliando el grado en que los diversos esfuerzos de los servicios apoyan la adaptación y los beneficios sociales relacionados.…”