Abstract As coastal communities face increasing flood risks, decision-makers require actionable and trusted information that links scientific projections to local contexts. In climate resilience, co-production serves as a strategy to enhance the practical use of decision-support tools through multiple engagement phases between the tool developer and the intended tool user. We present a case study for co-production with the Maryland Coastal Flood Explorer, an interactive platform that visualizes localized flood risks. We share how the tool was shaped by input from local and state flood resilience professionals through interviews, focus groups, and surveys. Specifically, we investigate: (1) What conditions made this collaborative approach possible? (2) How did co-production drive tool development decisions? (3) How did co-production build trust and increase tool adoption? The co-production process added value by allowing the project to move from a broad tool purpose to specific design decisions that directly reflected end-user priorities. Our findings show that co-production improved the tool’s relevance, credibility, and likelihood of implementation among users while strengthening relationships and fostering collaboration. Achieving this “buy-in” required adding expertise, extending timelines, and confronting tradeoffs in user preferences. Furthermore, sustained commitment is necessary to ensure the tool evolves as adaptation needs change.
Sudol et al. (Fri,) studied this question.