Science as Actionable Knowledge Video Series

In 2022, GCSE led a pilot program in partnership with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to support a cohort of PIs as they pursued applications-oriented work. The pilot program helped researchers enhance the relevance of their work to stakeholders, and built community across the cohort of PIs. Leveraging the learnings of the pilot program, GCSE produced the Science as Actionable Knowledge Video Series, released in September 2023. 

Throughout this series, Christine Kirchhoff, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Penn State University, speaks with a wide variety of esteemed researchers with rich experience in actionable knowledge production. Through real-world examples and advice from these experts, viewers will learn how to create actionable knowledge, the skills and attitudes needed for actionable knowledge, and tips for how to make research more diverse, inclusive, and culturally relevant.

The series is intended to serve as a resource for researchers, educators, students, and individuals who are motivated to produce knowledge that is relevant, useful, and impactful in their communities. 

 

 

 

GCSE Science as Actionable Knowledge Video Series Part 1: What is Actionable Knowledge?

In Part 1 of the Science as Actionable Knowledge Video Series, Christine Kirchhoff, Ph.D., provides an overview of actionable knowledge production. Researchers share their motivations for producing actionable knowledge. 

GCSE Science as Actionable Knowledge Video Series Part 2: How to Produce Actionable Knowledge

In this video, Christine Kirchoff, Ph.D., explains what actionable knowledge IS, and the types of engagement one might use to produce it. Researchers and decision-makers weigh in with their own advice and experience, including Tirusew Asefa, Manager, Planning and Systems Decision Support for Tampa Bay Water, and Mayra Cruz and Lynée Turek-Hankins, Doctoral Students at the University of Miami. 

GCSE Science as Actionable Knowledge Video Series Part 3: Skills & Attitudes

In this video, researchers describe the skills and attitudes needed for actionable knowledge, including cross-cultural awareness, active listening, open-mindedness, and empathy.

GCSE Science as Actionable Knowledge Video Series: Student Stories Part 4.1 - Lynée Turek-Hankins

In this video, Lynée Turek-Hankins, Doctoral Student of Environmental Science & Policy at the University of Miami, shares her advice for how to connect with the communities a research seeks to serve.

GCSE Science as Actionable Knowledge Video Series: Student Stories Part 4.2 - Mayra Cruz

In this video, Mayra Cruz, Doctoral Student of Environmental Science & Policy at the University of Miami, discusses her experience in knowledge co-production, with specific tips on how to respectfully engage with community partners.

GCSE Science as Actionable Knowledge Video Series Part 4.3: Student Stories - Katalina Salas

In this video, Katalina Salas, Doctoral Student at the University of Texas at El Paso, discusses her experience in knowledge co-production with community partners, and reminds the audience that the tools and resources developed through research must be relevant and useful to communities -- otherwise, they simply sit on a shelf. 

GCSE Science as Actionable Knowledge Video Series Part 5: Learning from Experience

In this video, Dr. Esther Obonyo, Associate Professor and Director of the Global Building Network at Penn State, and Dr. Pat Keys, Assistant Professor at Colorado State University, describe challenges to producing actionable knowledge. Obonyo and Keys draw from personal experience to describe what happens when people and communities are not centered in research design, and offer advice for future researchers.

 

  • Christine Kirchhoff, Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University
  • Dana Sjostrom, Planning and Programs Manager, Memphis and Shelby County
  • Esther Obonyo, Associate Professor and Director, Global Building Network, Pennsylvania State University
  • Frank Sesno, Founder of Planet Forward, The George Washington University, Board Member, Global Council for Science and the Environment
  • Katalina Salas, Doctoral Student, University of Texas at El Paso
  • Lynée Turek-Hankins, Doctoral Student, Environmental Science & Policy, University of Miami
  • Mayra Cruz, Doctoral Student, Environmental Science & Policy, University of Miami
  • Patrick Keys, Assistant Professor, Colorado State University
  • Tirusew Asefa, Manager, Planning and Systems Decision Support, Tampa Bay Water

 

Funding was provided by the NASA Applied Sciences Program, Grant Number: 80NSSC21K1202. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.