This innovative project will examine how scientists, engineers, and health professionals on campuses in the Gulf of Mexico region engage with their local communities to provide scientific information and advice before, during, and after crises emerge, through story-telling and anecdotal evidence.
The project will solicit written proposals for stories with varied perspectives from institutions of higher education in the Gulf of Mexico region. Three proposals will be chosen and funded to produce short videos about their experiences in crisis and lessons learned. These finalists will be highlighted in a set of recorded webinars which describe the unique crisis the community faced, the motivation of the university researchers and practitioners for engaging with their community, the approaches to engagement with their community, and the impacts on their community.
An advisory group will provide guidance on the solicitation and selection of proposals. The advisory group will be comprised of volunteers and experts in science communication and community engagement, among other fields. A member of the advisory group will be interviewed in a short video that describes themes and lessons learned that the group found in the proposals. The recorded webinars and videos will be published on the project website.