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Bridging Human Dimensions Research and Practice to Address Water Quality Concerns in the Great Bay Watershed

Bridging Human Dimensions Research and Practice to Address Water Quality Concerns in the Great Bay Watershed

Williams project photo 2

A multidisciplinary group collaborated across a series of workshops and peer learning circles to co-develop new understandings and insights about the implications of available human dimensions research related to water quality in the Great Bay watershed.

The Project

The Great Bay Watershed in New Hampshire covers approximately 17 square miles of tidal waters into which seven rivers drain. The municipalities that make up this region vary in size and their capacity to address watershed management and infrastructure issues related to water quality, creating a need to strengthen connections across social science research and its applications to outreach, education, technical assistance, and engagement. As local social science studies emerged that could inform new and existing community engagement, outreach, and education programs in the watershed, practitioners – including training and education staff at Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and partners working on outreach, engagement, and education related to water quality – asked for help finding, interpreting, and applying this research. To help address this management need, the project team worked to gather, categorize, and summarize available relevant human dimensions research and explore the findings through workshops and interactive peer learning sessions that brought together researchers and practitioners to discuss the practical implications of the research as well as build capacity to interpret existing and design new research.

The project approach included a literature review, purposeful kickoff and final workshops, and a series of five structured peer-learning opportunities designed to promote meaningful interactions and co-develop insights about the implications of available research for specific applications. Products included a literature inventory and summaries from each of the peer-learning sessions. Taken together, these resources make information more easily accessible and provide pathways to address long-term interests in understanding the human dimensions of water quality in the Great Bay Watershed.

The Impact

  • The collaborative process and products from this work increased access to local human dimensions research in the watershed and beyond, facilitated communication among social science researchers and practitioners, generated new actionable insights about existing social science research, and laid a foundation for future co-developed social science studies in the watershed.
  • Making research and resources more accessible will enable outreach and engagement practitioners to make decisions guided by current information about watershed residents, and improve confidence and familiarity with social science.
  • In-person and virtual activities have strengthened relationships and created space for partners to compare notes, connect where their efforts might be more closely aligned, and identify areas where evaluation of the impacts of their work can be jointly conducted.