Building Capacity for Collaborative Interdisciplinary Research on Water and Society

Portland State University, Portland OR

Investigators

Abstract

Water and society are inherently interconnected, making the topic well-suited for interdisciplinary research that brings together social and natural science research approaches. This research uses an interdisciplinary approach to investigate water-society interactions, focusing on questions of governance, environmental justice, socio-environmental change, and infrastructure systems. The research supports participation of underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students by providing student training and career development. The project cultivates research partnerships and community-based networks, including hosting an interdisciplinary conference on water and society. This project enhances research productivity through a cross-disciplinary research collaboration between scholars in the fields of geography, environmental studies, applied linguistics, and anthropology. Scholars collaborate around four research themes: water values, water histories, water futures, and water risks. The project uses an interdisciplinary approach that views water as a complex system that has interrelated social, ecological, and technological aspects. The research supports graduate and undergraduate students from underrepresented communities by recruiting a cohort of research interns to form an interdisciplinary lab group. Undergraduate students will be supported through team-taught interdisciplinary coursework and graduate student mentorship. Graduate and undergraduate students will gain hands-on research experience, present research findings, build networks and professional development skills, and gain understanding of interdisciplinary studies. Students will learn a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods such as interviews, Q-sorts, document analysis, surveys, and other social science techniques. Additionally, the project cultivates research partnerships with other research institutions in the region and with the broader community. The project includes an interdisciplinary conference on the topic of water and society in which students, early-career researchers, and community-based organizations will be invited to present their work and develop research synergies among participants. A Community Advisory Board will be formed to advise students and ground the project within the broader community. 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.