SCC-CIVIC-PG Track B: Creating a community-centered framework to address inequities in food-security in Alaskan coastal communities facing a changing climate

获得健康食品资源对阿拉斯加沿海农村社区来说是一项重大挑战，这些社区主要由阿拉斯加土著居民组成，他们依赖营养和文化上重要的自给食品。解决这些关切迫在眉睫，因为由于气候变化和污染，食品安全和保障日益受到环境毒物的威胁，需要采取办法使社区能够主动作出决定，并对基本资源的快速变化作出反应。在地理上与世隔绝的社区，许多食品安全监测项目目前依赖于贡献性的公民科学模型，即公民收集的样本被送到异地的学术或机构研究实验室进行分析。事实证明，这种模式可以增强参与者的知识和参与度，但在沟通结果方面容易出现延误，并可能放大不平等、技术差距和不信任。该项目的愿景旨在颠覆这一范式，创建有效的以社区为中心的研究伙伴关系，其中从确定问题到数据收集、分析和处理的所有步骤都将由社区领导并在社区内通过研究和技术伙伴关系的支持进行。建议的途径将适用于一系列地理上与世隔绝的农村社区，这些社区致力于将当地和传统的食品安全知识和科学数据纳入自然资源管理决策。这是一个以研究为中心的试点项目，是学术研究人员和阿拉斯加部落政府之间的合作伙伴关系。圣保罗岛阿留申社区(ACSPI)认为，围绕食品安全和安全的担忧是一个创新的成熟领域，也是一个将从与西方科学家合作中受益的领域。为了回答我们的研究问题“一个以社区为中心的公民科学框架是否解决了食品安全中的不平等问题，改善了阿拉斯加沿海社区的生活质量，并增强了其韧性？”该项目将(1)通过对现有研究基础设施和技术的可持续改进，发展生态系统健康监测的现场研究能力；(2)通过利用科学培训和教育规划的“双眼看”方法，扩大社区对数据收集、分析和解释的参与；(3)开发一个数字仪表盘，用于数据存档、获取和共享能力，以促进社区内部和社区之间的信息利用和复原力。这一整体计划建立在现有的合作伙伴关系、框架和信任的基础上，这将使我们能够在第一阶段规划拨款期间，专注于扩大和完善我们的团队，磨练培训模块设计，巩固基于社区需求的交付成果，并确保在试点项目时间框架内成功完成。该项目是对公民创新挑战计划的响应-轨道B-弥合基本资源和服务以及社区需求之间的差距-是NSF、国土安全部和能源部的合作。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Accessing healthy food resources is a significant challenge for rural coastal Alaskan communities, which are predominantly comprised of Indigenous Alaskans who rely on subsistence foods that are nutritionally and culturally important. Addressing these concerns is urgent, as food safety and security are increasingly threatened by environmental toxicants due to climate change and pollution, and requires approaches that enable communities to make proactive decisions and respond to rapid changes in essential resources. Many food-safety monitoring programs in geographically isolated communities currently rely on contributory citizen science models, where citizen-collected samples are sent off-site to academic or agency research labs for analyses. This model has been shown to enhance participant knowledge and engagement, but it is prone to delays in communicating results, and may magnify inequities, technological gaps, and distrust. The project's vision seeks to flip this paradigm and create an effective community-centered research partnership where all steps from identifying the problem, to data collection, analysis, and processing, will be led by and take place within the community through support from research and technology partnerships. The proposed pathway will be applicable for a range of geographically isolated, rural communities working to incorporate local and traditional knowledge and scientific data on food safety into natural resource management decisions.THis research-centered pilot project is a partnership between academic researchers and tribal governments in Alaska. The Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (ACSPI) identified concerns surrounding food security and safety as an area ripe for innovation and one which would benefit from partnering with western scientists. To address our research question “Does a community-centered citizen science framework address inequities in food security, improve quality of life, and enhance resilience for Alaskan coastal communities?” this project will (1) develop on-site research capacity for ecosystem health monitoring through sustainable enhancements to existing research infrastructure and technology, (2) expand community engagement in data collection, analysis, and interpretation by leveraging “two-eyed seeing” approaches to scientific training and educational programming, and (3) develop a digital dashboard for data archival, accessibility, and sharing capacity to facilitate information utilization and resilience, within and between communities. This holistic program builds upon existing partnerships, frameworks, and trust, which will enable us, during the Stage 1 planning grant, to focus on expanding and refining our team, honing the training module design, solidifying deliverables based on community needs, and ensuring successful completion within the pilot project timeframe. This project is in response to the Civic Innovation Challenge program—Track B. Bridging the gap between essential resources and services & community needs—and is a collaboration between NSF, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Energy.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.