Pathways to engaging in community-centered earthquake science: Lessons learned and tangible tools

Although the importance of building meaningful connections between earthquake science research and local communities is widely recognized, the pathways to achieving such collaboration are not always clear, actionable, or well-supported in current dominant scientific culture. We offer strategies and tools to help bridge this gap in earthquake science, drawing on the Collective Impact Model, defined by principles of developing a common agenda, mutually reinforcing activities, centralized support, shared measurement, and continuous communication. We identify lessons learned and offer tangible tools based on the coauthors’ collective experience through the primarily U.S.-based Center for Collective Impact in Earthquake Science. We also discuss the unique role of Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) in bridging this gap. The five lessons learned include: 1) allocate time; 2) take stock and focus on small, tangible steps; 3) embrace an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary team and approach; 4) invest in centralized support; 5) be flexible to ensure that community needs guide research directions. The three tangible tools and practices include: 1) an initial project evaluation tool to develop community-engaged earthquake science research projects, 2) a formative collective impact evaluation rubric tailored to natural hazards and earthquake science for evaluating in-progress projects, and 3) practical recommendations for communication practices. Through collective impact, the earthquake science research community can engage in more inclusive research inquiry that is centered on real-world impact for populations at risk from earthquake hazards.