Using the epic model to build transdisciplinary communities of practice that effectively address urban resilience in africa and asia

The National Science Foundation awarded $499,837 under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to Start International Inc. from Aug 15, 2022 to Jul 31, 2025. The award will support expanding the Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities (EPIC) model for university-community engagement to build transdisciplinary communities of practice addressing urban resilience challenges in Africa and Asia. Start will work with EPIC and the UN Environment Programme Global Adaptation Network to engage university faculty across disciplines and link academia to local governments and communities. The goal is to co-develop research questions and approaches through experiential learning to directly benefit stakeholders and address complex problems facing rapidly growing cities. The funding enhances universities' public service role and increases early-career scientists' workplace skills through hands-on, learning-centered curricula engaging communities in co-developed action.

Abstract

This award provides support to the global change system for analysis, research, and training (START). This organization is an essential component of the US global change research program strategic plan as IT relates to international engagement. Their mission to increase opportunities for research, education and training that strengthen scientific capacities in developing countries to understand, communicate and motivate action on critical global change challenges addresses all of the US global change research program strategic goals. This project will advance knowledge of global environmental change and resilience in urban centers in the two fastest urbanizing regions of the world in africa and asia. START will work in conjunction with the educational partnerships for innovation in communities (EPIC) and the united nation?S environment program global adaption network to expand EPIC model for university-community engagement. The model is designed to engage university faculty from across disciplines and departments to ensure that the research component of partnerships with local governments and communities is sufficiently diverse and integrated to be able to effectively address knowledge generation for complex problems in rapidly growing city-regions. The transformative potential of this project lies in its ability to link universities with local governments and communities in transdisciplinary CO-development of research questions and approaches to concretely address complex problems. This project has strong potential for generating significant societal benefits because IT is inherently centered around producing direct benefits to local stakeholders and communities through engagement with researchers. The project seeks to enhance the public-service mission that universities provide to the communities in which they are located through strengthening ties between academia and decision-making. This project emphasizes experiential learning by doing, particularly for early-career scientists, through hands-on learning-centered curricula that provides university students with workplace skills to engage communities in CO-developed action. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.