Theme 4: Community engagement

Theme area 4 encompasses the community outreach and engagement efforts of the hub.  It will be helmed by Darbi Berry (San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative) and Dr. Emily Young (the Nonprofit Institute).

The process of answering the research questions posed by theme areas 1–3 will be shaped by close interaction between hub researchers and community partners through regular meetings and summits, led by an experienced research co-production leadership team. We envision that the Hub will establish lasting partnerships for proactive and equitable engagement in the region and serve as a model for other coastal areas facing similar challenges.

Hub team members at the University of San Diego and the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative have developed an equity-first approach guidance document for climate adaptation and resilience strategies, which will provide frameworks and best-practices for the hub to implement protocols to ensure engagements evolve to include emerging equity best-practices and broader community inclusivity.

The first two years of the hub's lifespan will be spent building and expanding our existing suite of regional collaborators interested in providing insight and long-term commitment to the hub’s research and program development. Following equity-first best practices, the engagement activities, specifically during years two–five, will include opportunities for program evaluation specific to assessing the inclusivity of community input in research co-production, as well as evaluating whether all relevant communities are being reached and effectively engaged. Engagement actions/opportunities will ensure the research produced by the hub is actionable, informative, and implementable by critical local and regional government agencies, educators, and community partner organizations working on the ground.