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.

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. P. (2022). Making a Difference: Planning for Engaged Participation in Environmental Research. Environmental Management, 69(2), 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

Owen, G., Ferguson, D. B., & McMahan, B. (2019). Contextualizing climate science: Applying social learning systems theory to knowledge production, climate services, and use-inspired research. Climatic Change, 157(1), 151–170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-019-02466-x

Cvitanovic, C., Howden, M., Colvin, R. M., Norström, A., Meadow, A. M., & Addison, P. F. E. (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. C., Arnott, J. C., Ardoin, N. M., Baja, K., Bednarek, A. T., Dewulf, A., Fieseler, C., Goodrich, K. A., Jagannathan, K., Klenk, N., Mach, K. J., Meadow, A. M., Meyer, R., Moss, R., Nichols, L., Sjostrom, K. D., Stults, 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., Behar, D., Mote, P., Ferguson, D., & Pandya, R. (2017). Partnerships Drive Science to Action Across the AGU Community. Eos. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017EO088041

Meadow, A. M., Guido, Z., Crimmins, M. A., & 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

Meadow, A. M., Ferguson, D. B., Guido, Z., Horangic, A., Owen, G., & Wall, T. (2015). Moving toward the Deliberate Coproduction of Climate Science Knowledge. Weather, Climate, and Society, 7(2), 179–191. https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-14-00050.1

Brugger, J., & Crimmins, M. (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

Ferguson, D., Rice, J., & Woodhouse, C. (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. C., & 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

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   

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. The University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ). http://doi.org/10.2458/10150.658313

Owen, G. (2021). Evaluating socially engaged climate research: Scientists’ visions of a climate resilient U.S. Southwest. Research Evaluation, 30(1), 26–38. https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvaa028

Ferguson, D. B., Finucane, M. L., Keener, V. W., & Owen, G. (2016). Evaluation to advance science policy: Lessons from Pacific RISA and CLIMAS. In A. S. Parris, G. M. Garfin, K. Dow, R. Meyer, & S. L. Close (Eds.), Climate in Context (1st ed., pp. 215–234). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118474785.ch10

Meadow, A., 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 (pp. 59–86). Open Book Publishers. https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0418.05

CLIMAS. (2024). Principles and Practices for Ethical Socially Engaged Research. https://climas.arizona.edu/sites/climas.arizona.edu/files/2024-05/CLIMAS ethical principles may 2024_5-20-24.pdf

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/10.1007/s00267-021-01508-4

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

David-Chavez, D., Ferguson, D., Curley, A., Lane, T., Yezzie, S., LeRoy, S., & Carroll, S. (2020). Policy Brief: Supporting Tribal Data Governance for Indigenous Community Climate Resilience. Native Nations Institute and Climate Assessment for the Southwest, University of Arizona.