Building Equitable Research Partnerships: Learning From a Community Climate Resilience Grant Program

Calls for the co-production of climate knowledge and services are increasingly prominent in research and funding proposals, including within federally funded programs. While co-production has led to more accessible and relevant climate services for frontline communities, scholars have identified numerous barriers to equitable relationships and outcomes within co-production partnerships. In an effort to support the development of climate services through equitable research partnerships, the Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast, a NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnership team, collaboratively designed and launched the Community Climate Resilience (CCR) Grant competition in 2022. The CCR program serves to provide funding and build capacity among community-based organizations (CBOs) responding to climate variability in historically disinvested communities in the urban Northeast, as well as foster co-production partnerships between the organizations and local university-based researchers. This paper assesses the design and implementation of the program based on data collected through a survey of research partners, discussions with key stakeholders, and observation of relevant project meetings. Despite the incorporation of lessons from similar co-production projects, program designers found several persistent impediments to equitable partnerships, including time constraints, funding limitations, and burdensome institutional requirements. We reflect on these challenges and offer strategies for overcoming barriers to equitable partnerships, including streamlining funding pass-through structures, increasing transparency in funding competitions, promoting flexible funding options, and fostering communities of practice among CBOs and university partners. The findings are relevant for researchers and practitioners implementing equity-focused co-production partnerships and small grant programs in climate services and related fields.