Science for Society
The CLIMAS team works directly with communities across the Southwest on science that makes a difference.
The CLIMAS program is guided by a mission to conduct research that is responsive to community needs and contributes to meaningful societal change. Our work aims to make science more accessible by bridging the gap between academic research and real-world decision-making. Members of our team not only carry out science that is intended to have societal impact, we also study our research approaches to better understand how science can generate useful knowledge. This page highlights examples of our efforts to understand and improve the processes of knowledge co-production & collaborative research, the ways we evaluate the impact of our work, and our approach to ethical engagement with our partners.
CLIMAS Researchers: Alison Meadow, Dan Ferguson, Gigi Owen, Stephanie Carroll, Christina Greene, Michael Crimmins, Connie Woodhouse, Ben McMahan, Barbara Morehouse
Knowledge Co-Production and Collaborative Research
Cvitanovic, C., Karcher, D., Breen, J., Badullovich, N., Cairney, P., Dalla Pozza, R., Duggan, J., Hoffmann, S., Kelly, R., Meadow, A., & Posner, S. (2025). Knowledge brokers at the interface of environmental science and policy: A review of knowledge and research needs. Environmental Science & Policy, 163, 103973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103973
Ferguson, D. B., Meadow, A. M., & Huntington, H. (2022). Making a Difference: Planning for Engaged Participation in Environmental Research. Environmental Management, 69, 227–243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01585-5
Rozance, M. A., Krosby, M., Meadow, A. M., Snover, A., Ferguson, D. B., & Owen, G.. (2020). Building capacity for societally engaged climate science by transforming science training. Environmental Research Letters, 15(12), 125008. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abc27a
Cvitanovic, C., Howden, M., Colvin, R., Norström, A., Meadow, A. M., & Addison, P. (2019). Maximising the benefits of participatory climate adaptation research by understanding and managing the associated challenges and risks. Environmental Science & Policy, 94, 20–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2018.12.028
Lemos, M., Arnott, J., Ardoin, N., Baja, K., Bednarek, A., Dewulf, A., Fieseler, C., Goodrich, K., Jagannathan, K., Klenk, N., Mach, K., Meadow, A., Meyer, R., Moss, R., Nichols, L., Sjostrom, K. D., Stolts, M., Turnhout, E., Vaughan, C., … Wyborn, C. (2018). To co-produce or not to co-produce. Nature Sustainability, 1(12), 722–724. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-018-0191-0
Vano, J. A., Behar, D., Mote, P. W., Ferguson, D. B., & Pandya, R. (2017). Partnerships Drive Science to Action Across the AGU Community. Eos. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017EO088041
Meadow, A., Guido, Z., Crimmins, M., & McLeod, J. (2016). From principles to action: Applying the National Research Council’s principles for effective decision support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s watch office. Climate Services, 1, 12-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2016.02.002
Brugger, J., & Crimmins, M. A.. (2015). Designing Institutions to Support Local-Level Climate Change Adaptation: Insights from a Case Study of the U.S. Cooperative Extension System. Weather, Climate, and Society, 7(1), 18-38. https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-13-00036.1
Meadow, A. M., Ferguson, D. B., Guido, Z., Horangic, A., Owen, G., & Wall, T. (2015). Moving Toward the Deliberate Co-Production of Climate Science Knowledge. Weather, Climate, and Society, 7(2), 179-191. https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-14-00050.1
Ferguson, D. B., Rice, J., & Woodhouse, C. A.. (2014). Linking Environmental Research and Practice: Lessons from the Integration of Climate Science and Water Management in the Western United States. Climate Assessment for the Southwest, University of Arizona.
Lemos, M., & Morehouse, B. J. (2005). The Co-Production of Science and Policy in Integrated Climate Assessments. Global Environmental Change, 15(1), 57-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2004.09.004
Research Evaluation
Meadow, A. M., Owen, G., Joshi, N., & Lodge Otto, E. (2024). Combining impact goal and impact descriptor frameworks to elucidate the societal impacts of research: a pilot study. Research for All, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.14324/RFA.08.1.03
Owen, G. (2021). Evaluating socially engaged climate research: Scientists’ visions of a climate resilient US Southwest. Research Evaluation, 30(1), 26-38. https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvaa028
Meadow, A. M., & Owen, G.. (2021). Planning and Evaluating the Societal Impacts of Climate Change Research Projects: A guidebook for natural and physical scientists looking to make a difference. In The University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ). https://doi.org/10.2458/10150.658313
Ferguson, D. B., Finucane, M., Keener, V., & Owen, G.. (2016). Evaluation to Advance Science Policy: Lessons from Pacific RISA and CLIMAS. In Climate in Context: Science and Society Partnering for Adaptation (pp. 215-233). Wiley Ltd. & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118474785.ch10
Ethical Engagement Practices
Meadow, A. M., Wilmer, H., & Ferguson, D. B.. (2025). Expanding research ethics for inclusive and transdisciplinary research. In R. Lave & S. Lane (Eds.), The Field Guide to Mixing Social and Biophysical Methods in Environmental Research, 59–86. https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0418.05
Principles and Practices for Ethical Socially Engaged Research. (2024, March 14). CLIMAS.
Owen, G. (2021). Equity and justice as central components of climate change adaptation. One Earth, 4(10), 1373–1374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.09.008
Wilmer, H., Meadow, A. M., Brymer, A. B., Carroll, S. R., Ferguson, D. B., Garba, I., Greene, C., Owen, G., & Peck, D. E. (2021). Expanded Ethical Principles for Research Partnership and Transdisciplinary Natural Resource Management Science. Environmental Management, 68(4), 453–467. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01508-4
David-Chavez, D., Ferguson, D. B., Curley, A., Lane, T., Yezzie, S., LeRoy, S., & Carroll, S. R.. (2020). Policy Brief: Supporting Tribal Data Governance for Indigenous Community Climate Resilience. Native Nations Institute and Climate Assessment for the Southwest, University of Arizona.