Co-producing Climate Research and Adaptation through Partnerships with Alaska Native Communities

Climate change is impacting the land and resources that Alaska Native peoples rely on for food security, resource management, and cultural continuity. In Southeast Alaska, communities face increased weather variability due to climate change, which impacts subsistence food resources in streams and coastal ocean waters. Alaska Native communities are asking for co-production models of scientific research that involve authentic partnerships and provide direct and tangible solutions to pressing climate adaptation challenges. Co-production of knowledge is broadly recognized as a valuable approach to climate research, but there is a lack of information about how to successfully implement and evaluate the co-production processes, especially in partnership with Indigenous communities.  

The goal of this project is to develop and expand climate adaptation partnership research with direct benefit to two Southeast Alaskan Native communities. The team will support local and regional capacity by assisting communities in identifying and fulfilling community research needs, developing skills in competitive grant-writing, offering training and professional development opportunities, and mentoring youth in opportunities in higher education. This capacity building sets the stage for long-term resilience of these communities. The research team will also synthesize the community-based work to create a guidance framework for research co-production partnerships, regional networking, and capacity building that can be applied and tested to meet climate adaptation challenges in Indigenous communities in other regions. Lastly, researchers will partner with Indigenous evaluators to develop robust metrics and processes for evaluation of co-produced research.  

This research has the potential to yield cascading benefits, from increased local awareness of climate challenges to locally-led fieldwork and research that drives and informs management solutions. Partner communities and academic collaborators can use the results from this work to develop and support stronger science partnerships and provide direct, tangible, and actionable benefits from scientific research.