Session Lead: Elizabeth Van Dolah (The Nature Conservancy)
Co-Lead(s):
Session Format: Panel discussion
Session Description:
Low-capacity communities (i.e., socially vulnerable communities with limited agency to plan, respond, and adapt) struggle with the cost and complexities of increasing their resilience to environmental hazards, including flooding, urban heat, and contaminated sites. Technical assistance is one way many universities, government agencies, and non-profit organizations are supporting capacity-building in these communities. However, the usability of scientific and technical resources is often challenged by other systemic social barriers in these places, including limited human and financial resources, weak coordination and partnership networks, and limited political power. As a result, those most socially vulnerable to environmental challenges may still be left behind despite these good intentions. Co-production offers a valuable approach for increasing community capacity by increasing economic, social, and human capital. It is also one approach that can be effectively integrated into technical assistance projects to support more holistic resilience-building for those most in need across the Chesapeake region.
This special session will share case-studies where co-production has been used to enhance technical assistance delivery to low-capacity communities across a range of Chesapeake socio-environmental contexts. We will explore approaches for facilitating co-production and discuss how they improved technical deliverables and contributed to capacity-building on the ground in other ways. Through presentations, a panel discussion, and audience engagements, researchers, practitioners, and community partners will be given the opportunity to share their reflections on the value-add and challenges of engaging in co-production processes, as well as lessons learned and considerations for effectively integrating co-production into technical assistance projects. Case studies will showcase projects where co-production has been used to support climate resilience planning, activate nature-based decision-making, enhance the delivery of co-benefits, and empower communities in charting their own environmental futures. These case studies will highlight applicable frameworks for facilitating and evaluating the impact of co-production, illuminate key enabling conditions for effectively leading co-production processes and sustaining resulting benefits, and raise new insights to improve the delivery of science and technology to better meet the complexities of today’s socio-environmental challenges.