Build and Broaden: Advancing fundamental knowledge of social, behavioral, and economic responses to pandemics in minority communities

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COVID-19 provides an opportunity for Social, Behavioral and Economic science (SBE) researchers to develop and test new theories regarding sociocultural differences in responses to pandemics. Diverse perspectives in SBE research are essential to develop outcomes that benefit all members of society and promote the progress of science. Faculty at Minority Serving Institutions (MSI)’s have a unique perspective on COVID-19 and the potential to make significant contributions to fundamental research regarding minority community responses to pandemics. Northern Arizona University (NAU) has twenty statewide campuses, including the main Flagstaff mountain campus, and NAU-Yuma. NAU-Yuma is an MSI with 74% of students identifying as Hispanic/Latino. The NSF award will support a workshop at NAU-Flagstaff to advance fundamental knowledge of the social, behavioral and economic responses to pandemics in minority communities. The goal of the workshop is to build capacity at NAU-Flagstaff and NAU-Yuma for SBE researchers to obtain competitive grant funding and broaden collaborations with faculty from an MSI in SBE research. The workshop will span two days and convene internationally recognized experts in behavioral and regional economics, diverse and early-career researchers in social, behavioral and economic sciences, and grant-writing specialists. The collaborative workshop format includes presentations from keynote speakers, expert led panels and small group breakout sessions. Participants will address two fundamental research questions: 1) What sociocultural factors determine behavioral responses to pandemics? and 2) How do changes in post-pandemic preferences impact tourism-dependent economies? The project deliverables include development of testable hypotheses that incorporate innovative research ideas with a diverse perspective and submission of competitive research proposals with MSI faculty collaborators.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.