Planning Grant: Advancing Justice-centered Community Science

American Geophysical Union, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This activity will develop a curriculum, learning materials, and participant model that will introduce 100’s of geoscientists each year to the theory and practice of justice-centered community science. Justice-centered community science is when scientists collaborate with community leaders, especially from communities that have been historically marginalized, neglected, exploited, and underserved by science, and design and carry out projects that use science to advance local priorities. The curriculum will incorporate guidance from minority serving institutions and leaders who have strong records of doing justice-centered community science to expand existing content from AGU’s Thriving Earth Exchange that introduce geoscientists to the principles and practices of justice-centered community science and help them identify and improve fundamental skills. The curriculum and learning materials will contribute to an emerging body of knowledge about community science. Community science, including justice-centered community science, expands science – it contributes new research questions, new methodological approaches, and new data sources. The most transformative community science projects explore the very epistemology of science, which enlarge the conception of what counts as science, and build respectful bridges between science and other ways of knowing or traditions of knowledge. The Community science is designed to be societally relevant and contribute science to concrete solutions; successful projects translate science into action by informing community plans, guiding infrastructure and development, influencing policy, or helping individuals act or make decisions. Community science also contributes to science literacy and public engagement with science. In justice-centered community science, scientists learn new strategies and practices for diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice from their community partners. The focus of this work is developing the concept of justice-centered community science, advancing the theory and practice of community science, and contributing new research questions and approaches to the geosciences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.