SRP Collaboration with Center for Regional Change

 

Community participation, as an active partner in the research process, provides numerous benefits to research findings and human health intervention outcomes. It strengthens the capacity of community residents to address future health risks through education, outreach and training.

This is particularly relevant to Superfund research involving detection, determination of fate and transport and assessing human exposure risks of hazardous and toxic substances.

The state of California has numerous regions that could potentially be served by the research expertise developed by the UC Davis Superfund Research Program by:

(i) directly engaging affected communities as participants in scientific research;

(ii) helping address critical questions about human health and environmental justice; and,

(iii) enhancing the definition, direction, translation and sustainability of research findings. 

 

Project Goals

Collaborating on a pilot project, the UC Davis Superfund Research Program (SRP) and the UC Davis Center for Regional Change (CRC) aim to:
(1) Identify and facilitate opportunities for engaging researchers with communities and government agencies regarding applications of Superfund research/technologies (in CA and beyond);
(2) Build researchers’ capacity for community engaged research to effectively develop, share, and apply new research/technologies via hands-on training in participatory research methods; and,
(3) Develop a pilot project to inform a robust community involvement component for future research projects.