Few evaluations of actual collaborative science or co-production processes have been undertaken that can point to specific outcomes for either resource management or science decisions. Project researchers will assess a sample of collaborative Southwest Climate Science Center (SW CSC) funded research projects in order to evaluate the approaches used by SW CSC investigators to collaborate with agency managers and stakeholders; assess the management outcomes of these collaborative processes; develop a tentative set of metrics to measure the effect of these collaborations on management outcomes and the research process; and distill a set of best practices that improve both management and collaborative research process-related outcomes. Researchers will use both qualitative research methods - such as interviews, surveys, and quantitative analysis - and will examine the various collaborative approaches used within the SW CSC and assess their impacts on the resource management decisions of those who participated in the collaborative processes. Outcomes from this project will include a series of webinars or workshops to share best practices for collaborative climate science production.
