Technical Assessment of the Interim Science Agenda
Dates
Publication Date
2022-12-17
Citation
Skikne, S., J. J. Hellmann, J. Del Fiacco, E. Welch, M. Miazga, T. Kenote, S. Galatowitsch, J. Guest, G. Filippelli, & E. Ketterson. 2022. Technical Assessment of the Interim Science Agenda. Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center. St. Paul, Minnesota
Summary
The Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center’s (MW CASC) Strategic Science Agenda will guide the CASC’s work through 2026, helping to identify which projects should be funded and which partnerships need to be cultivated. Currently, the Strategic Science Agenda is at an interim stage. The Interim Science Priorities for the Midwest CASC are structured around five management challenges: 1. Heavy precipitation events and drought 2. Loss of winter 3. Altered hydrological regimes 4. Novel terrestrial landscapes 5. Barriers to and opportunities for adaptation For each management challenge, there are approximately 10 science priorities. This Technical Assessment was designed to finalize the Strategic Science Agenda. We conducted a three-stage [...]
Summary
The Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center’s (MW CASC) Strategic Science Agenda will guide the CASC’s work through 2026, helping to identify which projects should be funded and which partnerships need to be cultivated. Currently, the Strategic Science Agenda is at an interim stage. The Interim Science Priorities for the Midwest CASC are structured around five management challenges:
1. Heavy precipitation events and drought
2. Loss of winter
3. Altered hydrological regimes
4. Novel terrestrial landscapes
5. Barriers to and opportunities for adaptation
For each management challenge, there are approximately 10 science priorities.
This Technical Assessment was designed to finalize the Strategic Science Agenda. We conducted a three-stage assessment to support the revision of science priorities initially identified with stakeholder consultation. In particular, we gathered input from scholars and practitioners pursuing research to help ensure that MW CASC research priorities are informed by current scientific understanding, technical complexity, and opportunity for impact, and that they capture the full range of relevant issues and are attentive to emerging concerns.
In the first stage of the technical assessment, we surveyed regional experts, which we define as university, state, Tribal and federal researchers, and others with experience and insights related to climate impacts and adaptation for natural resource management in the region. The survey questions were designed to identify topics that were missing from or underrepresented in the Interim Science Agenda, as well as emerging topics for future iterations of the Agenda. This included two questions asking respondents to list important research topics over two
time frames: <5 years and 10+ years, and five questions (one for each management challenge) on topics missing from the existing science priorities. We received responses from 68 experts, which we analyzed using qualitative methods as well as a comprehensive approach to categorize all responses. Details about the survey methods and results are here.
In the second stage of the assessment, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) revised the interim list based on the survey findings to create an updated list of interim science priorities.
Here, we report on the third and final stage of the technical assessment. In this stage, we invited regional experts to characterize the updated science priorities along three axes: (1) state of knowledge / amount of uncertainty, (2) feasibility of addressing the science priority, and (3) potential to impact management. Our objective in this stage is to help the USGS focusand prioritize the items pursued in funding and outreach efforts, in order to strategically advance climate adaptation science in the region.
