Opportunities

Special Issue: Make it Matter: Action research, community science, and participatory approaches that change the status quo

Guest Editors: 

Esther Min, PhD, MPH
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, USA
 

Tim Barzyk, PhD, MS
Physical Scientist, Federal Agency
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA

Action research, community science, and participatory approaches may deliver on the environmental side of environmental justice (EJ), but do they deliver on the justice? Two forms of empowerment through community science that are not uncommon to EJ include, 1) co-learning and sharing information and knowledge that affect community health and EJ, and 2) by shifting and sharing decision-making authority to communities within programs, policies, and decisions, governmental or not, that impact their surrounding environmental living conditions. 

In these instances, does community science foster empowerment? For example, has community science ever recorded a demonstrable change in the environmental living conditions it was measuring as a result of a change to a program, policy, or decision that it had helped to inform? Can it? These need not be government policies, but any decision that leads to change, including government policies, public community programs, personal individual behaviors, and private commercial investments. Which aspects of community science most influence decision-making or demonstrate impact on the ground? Is it the measurements, or the communication and networking that lead to change? 

Submissions are welcome that demonstrate or postulate how community leadership and empowerment in environmental justice research and practice can lead to demonstrable changes to the EJ status quo of their neighborhoods. Authors and stakeholders may include community individuals and organizations, academic researchers, and governmental staff utilizing community science as a tool to impact environmental living conditions in communities and to pursue community-driven solutions. Conversely and equally, submissions are welcome from community science projects that sought to change the EJ status quo but were unable. Perhaps these projects have come and gone, and the pursuit for lasting impacts are still underway or have faded.

Suggested topic areas include, among others:
•    Perspectives directly from communities on citizen and community science projects and its impacts
•    Experiences and lessons learned from academic partners and governmental staff 
•    Case studies and examples of how citizen and community science projects have influenced programs, policies, and decisions
•    Partnerships that have been challenged to apply citizen and community science to lasting impacts
•    Scale analyses on the extent to which sources of impacts would have to change to bring about changes in the environmental living status quo for given communities

Submissions being solicited
The editors encourage submissions of original research articles, reviews, policy briefs, practice briefs, case studies (national and international), and perspectives. Manuscripts written by academics, community representatives, joint community and academic collaborators, governmental staff, and those that center action research, community science, and other participatory research approaches are particularly desired. Student perspectives as well as international perspectives are also welcomed and encouraged.  

Upload your paper using the manuscript category:
Special Issue: Community Science