Engaged research and its implications for transformation in climate adaptation sciences

Transformative climate adaptation efforts, which call for the fundamental reshaping of social systems that inform vulnerability to climate risk, introduce significant ethical and procedural questions for researchers. Engaged research practices, such as co-production and participatory action research, may be useful in addressing these complex questions and pushing adaptation research towards more transformative ends. However, there are also ethical and procedural concerns plaguing participatory knowledge production, and scholars claim engaged research efforts have failed to meet goals for transforming scientific practice. Recent literature in adaptation, climate services, sustainability science, and environmental governance, illustrates the ongoing challenges and unresolved tensions holding engaged research practices back from its transformative aims. This essay suggests three areas of growth for engaged researchers in climate services and adaptation: interrogate the aims of research projects, focus on learning outcomes, and evaluate research governance. The essay addresses a wide audience and serves three primary purposes: 1) as a primer for students and early career researchers beginning to explore the history and use of engaged research in climate services and adaptation, 2) as a summary of common challenges for researchers designing and implementing engaged research projects with communities and other stakeholders, and 3) as a blueprint for institutional supporters, including funders and research convenors aiming to improve engaged research outcomes and advance more transformative adaptation.