The value of values: Rethinking flood adaptation practices

Adaptation practitioners and researchers have known for some time that values influence uptake and direction of plans. At the same time, adaptation practitioners and researchers have been emphasizing the importance of equitable adaptation. Various values and equity-based approaches have emerged in response. However, how participants in adaptation – whether they are communities, nations, states/provinces, cities, practitioners, researchers, or consultants – determine, define, prioritize, categorize, and apply values has often been left unstated. This gap raises a crucial question: what does an explicit inclusion of values in adaptation research and practice look like? This article demonstrates that adaptation research and practice can be guided by explicit values and how these values were operationalized in one project. The team developed a guiding values statement to articulate and align shared principles, alongside a set of desired actions informed by these values. This was done by foregrounding Indigenous perspectives and a relational approach to the development of the values statement. The values not only shaped the larger project, but research within it as well. The article also explores the choices that shaped the process, offering insights into how teams can navigate the complex dynamics of transdisciplinary collaboration. This article aims to provide others with a pathway for applying co-produced values into their own work and contributes to the growing body of work that emphasizes the importance of values and equity in adaptation. • This article demonstrates that adaptation research and practice can be guided by explicitly co-produced values. • The article demonstrates how values can be operationalized to guide adaptation research and practice. • This perspective provides researchers with a pathway for applying co-produced values into their own work.