U.S. Geological Survey risk research community of practice 2021 workshop report—Workshop on considering equitable engagement in research design

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Risk Research and Applications Community of Practice (Risk CoP) is a bureau-wide forum to share resources and discuss issues relevant to “conducting and applying scientific research in hazards—the dangerous processes or phenomena that may cause damage—to enhance the reduction of risk—the potential for societally relevant losses caused by hazards” (Ludwig and others, 2018). In 2021, this group held a workshop entitled “Considering Equitable Engagement in Research Design” as a part of its annual meeting. This report is a result of the workshop findings and includes additional input from the Risk CoP, other communities of practice, and subject matter experts across the USGS. The resources described in this report are intended to help guide USGS scientists aiming to include equity into their risk research but can apply to all USGS scientists, regardless of their research focus. This report shares key considerations for equitable engagement as identified by workshop participants, a discussion of the spectrum of engagement in equity-related research, and a toolkit that can help USGS scientists consider how to integrate equity into their work. Although this report is not comprehensive, it does seek to fill a gap that exists at the USGS; at the time of writing, there is no guidance on how to integrate equity into research design. The authors of this report believe that this document can serve as a foundation for future equity-related work at the USGS.