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The Science Program is working to build a community of researchers, resource managers, and other resource users to support the sustainability of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. To support applied ecosystem science and incentivize these communities to work together, the program invests in co-production.
To learn more about the Science Program’s efforts to support co-production, read this feature story.
Co-production is the collaboration of researchers, resource managers, and other resource users across the four steps of a research project that will inform a specific natural resource management decision. Those four steps are 1) scoping, 2) design, 3) research and development, and 4) transfer and application of findings and products.
Scroll down to find project examples and tools for each step of the co-production process. If you have a question or a resource to share, contact the Science Program at noaarestorescience@noaa.gov.
Please note that co-production is seldom a linear process. The project team is likely to revisit each of the steps outlined here throughout the course of the project.
Steps 1 & 2: Scoping and Design
Co-production of science projects revolves around a natural resource management decision. A well-developed understanding of a management need can motivate and focus a group’s efforts, guide the design of a project’s technical and collaborative approach, and demonstrate a project’s potential value — in a nutshell — to potential funders. A problem statement is a critical starting point for pursuing a co-production idea, and it is likely to undergo numerous adjustments as you learn more about the management needs, uncertainties around the decision, context, and key players.
Project Examples
In 2023, 10 projects were funded by the NOAA RESTORE Science Progam’s Actionable Science competition to conduct previously planned research in the Gulf of Mexico. Though each project conducted a collaborative planning process prior to receiving this funding, that process varied greatly from team to team. Planning activities include holding workshops to convene interested parties, conducting preliminary research to identify research gaps, and building relationships among team members to support better communication throughout the project.
Watch the videos below to hear from each team on their scoping and design process.
Tools
- Scoping & Design Worksheet, NOAA RESTORE Science Program
- In this worksheet, you will be guided through major questions to help you develop the scope and design of a co-produced project.
- Identity Wheel Worksheet, United Way for Southeastern Michigan
- Social identity refers to the aspects of someone that are formed in relation to the society they belong to. Rather than personality traits or interests that make up your identity and sense of self, social identities describe the socially constructed groups that are present in specific environments within human societies (race/gender/religion, sexual orientation, etc.). The Social Identity Wheel is an evolving tool to help us better map out the different dimensions of our social identities. The wheel allows us to better understand how our identities shape experiences across all dimensions.
- Guide to Collaborative Science, NERRS Science Collaborative
- This guide has relevance to collaborative research, science transfer, and catalyst projects supported through the NERRS Science Collaborative and similar funding programs, as well as other science-based research, monitoring, assessment, and policy analysis efforts that require collaboration and adaptation to meet the needs of intended users. This guide is applicable to projects that draw on both the natural and social sciences.
- The Guide to Collaborative Science was designed by the NERRS Science Collaborative to:
- Introduce users to the collaborative science approach
- Provide guidance on envisioning and planning a project
- Support the design and management of projects through practical tools and relevant project examples
- Bandola-Gill, J., Arthur, M., & Leng, R. I. 2023. What is co-production? Conceptualising and understanding co-production of knowledge and policy across different theoretical perspectives. Evidence & Policy. 19(2): 275-298.
- Beier, P., L.J. Hansen, L. Helbrecht, and D. Behar. 2017. A how-to guide for coproduction of actionable science. Conservation Letters. 10:288-296. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12300
- Djenontin, I.N. and A.M. Meadow. 2018. The art of co-production of knowledge in environmental sciences and management: Lessons from international practice. Environmental Management. 61:885–903. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-018-1028-3
- Laudien, R., E. Boon, H. Goosen, and K. van Nieuwaal. 2019. The Dutch adaptation web portal: seven lessons learnt from a co-production point of view. Climatic Change. 153:509–521. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2179-1.
- Miller, B.W., A.J. Symstad, L. Frid, N.A. Fisichelli, and G.W. Schuurman. 2017. Co-producing simulation models to inform resource management: a case study from southwest South Dakota. Ecosphere 8(12):e02020. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2020.
- Vincent, K., M. Daly, C. Scannell, and B. Leathes. 2018. What can climate services learn from theory and practice of co-production? Climate Services. 12:48-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2018.11.001.
Step 3: Research & Development
Once you have worked with your team to scope and design your project, the research process can begin. Though the scope, scale, and needs of each team varies, it can be helpful to learn more about how each team maintained their co-production process throughout.
Click on the stories below to learn more about the research and development phase of each project.
Project Examples
StoryMap: Marine Mammals in the Gulf of Mexico
Marine mammals are still being impacted by Deepwater Horizon as well as other threats. Scientists and managers are working to conserve them.
Watch video
Microplastics in deep-sea stomachs: Study finds plastic eaten by fish and crustaceans increases with depth in the Gulf of Mexico
In the Gulf of Mexico, tiny particles of plastic fall from surface and settle in sediments on the ocean floor, up to 5,000 feet deep. Small fish and crustaceans dine on these microplastics, and in a surprising twist: the deeper they live, the more plastic these tiny animals eat.
Watch video
‘Information Rich’: Evolving Gulf-Wide Project Surveys Reef Fish and Their Habitats
The Gulf Fishery Independent Survey of Habitat and Ecosystem Resources (G-FISHER) project is collecting video surveys to create the Gulf’s most comprehensive database of reef fish and their habitats.
Watch video
Step 4: Transfer & Application
Sharing findings and products with end users and others interested in the research project is an essential part of the co-production process. Engaging end users in the early stages of scoping and design can help to form an effective plan to share project results later on.
Check out the stories and tools below to learn more about the transfer and application step of the co-production process.
Project Examples
Researchers and Resource Managers Confront Multiple Stressors in Mobile Bay
This project team has come together to understand how periods of low or high salinity, changes in the amount of oxygen in the water, acidic conditions, and extreme temperatures stress species living in Mobile Bay.
Watch video
Red tide and gag grouper: Ecosystem modeling used to inform stock assessment and management
Gag grouper are an iconic species on Florida’s Gulf Coast. They are both predator and prey and, because of their unique life cycle, they are subject to shifting ocean currents and other ecosystem processes. This project focused on integrating information on ecosystem processes and predator-prey interactions into fisheries assessments and management in the Gulf of Mexico.
Science-Stakeholder Partnership Leads to Broad Use of Decision-Support Tool in Southwest Florida
The project is working to build a decision-support tool designed to help resource managers in Collier County better engage in coastal planning around the effects of sea level rise. The tool has been used by managers from a range of sectors, including natural resources, urban infrastructure, and cultural and archeological resources.
Tools
- Transfer & application worksheet, NERRS Science Collaborative and NOAA RESTORE Science Program
- In this worksheet, you will be guided through the process of developing products for end users of your research.
- Inclusive Language Guide, Oxfam
- The Inclusive Language Guide is a resource developed by Oxfam to support people in our sector who have to communicate in English to think about how the way they write can subvert or inadvertently reinforce intersecting forms of inequality. The language recommended is drawn from specialist organizations which provide advice on language preferred by marginalized people, groups and communities to support individuals to make choices that respectfully reflect the ways which they wish to be referred.
- Language Guide, Ocean Equity Collective
- This guide was written by the Ocean Equity Collective to aid in community support. This guide is intended to help build better communication and relationships with communities, and to decolonize the language we use. Language is the basis of trust building and so important in interactions with new partners, and communities. Especially when creating new partnerships for research, data collection, or projects, it is of the utmost importance that communities feel comfortable, safe, and heard in those partnerships. Communities can tell when interactions are transactional and/or paternalistic, and not only does this weaken the outcome of the partnership, but it creates distrust, lessening the opportunity that the community will work with that person or group again.
Monitoring the Co-Production Process
Throughout each step of the co-production process, it is important to remain attentive to the dynamics of the project team and be sure all players have an opportunity to communicate their needs and ideas. Monitoring the co-production process can be a time-consuming effort with many steps, and it can be helpful to dedicate one or more members of the team to lead and monitor the co-production process.
Click on the co-production monitoring toolkit below for resources, ideas, and tools to support your co-production effort.
- Co-Production Monitoring Toolkit
- This toolkit is intended to guide teams of researchers, resource managers, community members, and other regional experts who would like to evaluate their science co-production projects. What would a plan look like for assessing your collaborative efforts? What activities would need to be included in your proposal to demonstrate a commitment to monitoring and evaluation? Once funded and your project begins, this toolkit can help your team determine: How well are we doing? Where could we improve? What are we learning together? Beyond offering examples of specific instruments to gather information from participants, the toolkit presents a philosophy on why it matters to assess progress (together!). Furthermore, it points out challenges you may encounter upon the journey and potential strategies for navigation.
- Tools: