COVID-19 Science in Support of Local Decision-Making

COVID-19 continues to pose a daunting challenge that requires effective use of science to manage community response and recovery. The goals of this project are to apply community engagement principles in a series of virtual workshops hosted in partnership with local communities around Washington State that will respond directly to local needs for scientific discourse about COVID-19. These workshops will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and sharing of experiences in science-informed decision making and help local scientists understand how to apply their expertise to inform decisionmakers. The outcomes of this project will increase the understanding of how to use local-level science-for-policy discourse to address critical issues within and beyond the current pandemic management and recovery across the state and the country.

This project centers around a series of virtual workshops co-designed and co-created with local decisionmakers, community leaders, and participating scientists in diverse parts of Washington State. These workshops will be designed to cultivate cross-sector and multidisciplinary dialogues with scientists and local communities about key issues identified by community leaders related to the COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery. This project will advance knowledge in participatory design and public engagement around science for policy. The project's co-design and engagement processes will create a replicable approach for providing greater science-for-policy discourse and innovation at the state and local levels.

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.