USGS Office/Lab and Location: A research opportunity is currently available with the USGS Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) network, specifically the regional North Central CASC located in Boulder, Colorado. Regional CASCs support and produce science to inform on-the-ground climate adaptation planning by natural and cultural resource managers. The selected candidate can report remotely, however, preference will be given to candidates located in, or willing to relocate to Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, or Kansas.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) mission is to monitor, analyze, and predict current and evolving dynamics of complex human and natural Earth-system interactions and to deliver actionable intelligence at scales and timeframes relevant to decision makers. As the Nation's largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, USGS collects, monitors, analyzes, and provides science about natural resource conditions, issues, and problems.
Research Project: As scientists respond to society’s greatest challenges with 21st century science, they are increasingly recognizing the need to engage with the decision makers, individuals, and communities their science aims to serve. USGS projects and programs have generated and utilized a variety of different models, frameworks, processes, and approaches for enabling participatory science (stakeholder and user engagement, actionable science, participatory action research, co-production of knowledge, citizen science, community science, open science, etc.). However, these efforts remain disparate, siloed, and ad hoc within project teams, mission areas, regions, or programs, resulting in a lack of access to or awareness of best practices. The objective of this project is to synthesize USGS scientific insights and leverage existing participatory science efforts to generate a practical set of bureau-wide resources.