Green Umbrella’s Climate Research Incubator Connects Regional Scientists to Communities

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Climate research can happen across institutions in silos, causing gaps in knowledge and creating challenges related to cross-disciplinary initiatives. To address this issue locally, Green Umbrella partnered with Northern Kentucky University to launch the Climate Research Incubator in 2024, the first cross-disciplinary climate research initiative in our region. 

By Nobi Kennedy,

Published August 30, 2024

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Contributors: Nobi Kennedy, Dr. Kristy Hopfensperger, Anna Parnigoni

The severity of issues caused by the climate crisis requires collaborative and often complex solutions. Research also typically happens across institutions in silos, causing gaps in knowledge and creating challenges related to cross-disciplinary initiatives. This is particularly true across the climate space, where research is happening at a rapid speed to address our rapidly changing environment. To address this issue locally, Green Umbrella partnered with Northern Kentucky University to launch the Climate Research Incubator in 2024, the first cross-disciplinary climate research initiative in our region. 

The Climate Research Incubator is a forum where academics and climate scientists can expand their work through equitable collaboration with community partners. The Incubator builds on the intersection of research and community to reimagine the role of research systems in collective action by connecting local and grassroots expertise to research and scholarly knowledge. The inaugural 2024 Incubator cohort included 12 researchers across 5 institutions, including the University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Community partners included Groundwork Ohio River Valley, The Center for Closing the Health Gap, Avondale Community Council, the City of Covington, and more. 

Green Umbrella and NKU plan to offer Incubator programming annually to a select group of researchers and community partners. Continue reading to learn more about this program, our 2024 Cohort model, and how to get involved. 

The Incubator Program Plan

The Climate Research Incubator’s mission is straightforward yet ambitious: to bring together community partners, scholars, and local governments to co-create research projects, incubate those projects, and enhance climate resilience within our region. 

The primary objectives of the program include:

  1. Provide training necessary in science communication and public engagement 
  2. Foster opportunities for relationship-building among participants 
  3. Support actionable seed projects developed through the Incubator 

Cohorts meet multiple times between fall and summer. Trainings for participants are broken down into four main categories: a Fall Scholar Training Workshop Series, A Winter Symposium, Spring Ideas Cafe Sessions, and Summer Collaboration Workshops. 

Led by NKU Professor Kristy Hopfensperger, the Incubator trainings and workshops ask researchers to consider how their research and science can advance specific priorities related to climate justice. Together, participants explore how their research can better address climate concerns and how their research process can center underserved communities and avoid extractive and transactional relationship dynamics with those communities. This collaborative approach aims to ensure solutions are rooted in practical needs and deliver tangible benefits to communities. 

Our Impact: Success Stories from the 2024 Climate Research Incubator

The inaugural research cohort made significant strides through their work with the Incubator. The program engaged 12 scholars, 6 local governments, and 26 community partners throughout its duration. Major seed ideas emerged and project teams have continued moving this work forward since wrapping Incubator programming. Projects are at various stages of development and include: 

  • Food Systems: Food system modeling to mitigate supply chain disruptions due to climate change and educate on local and cultural foodways. 
  • Greenspace: Greenspace and flooding adaptations; food gardens in urban revitalization
  • Waste Reduction: Data collection and analysis on litter; building community incentives to manage waste and recycling 
  • Health & Community: Race-based trauma and the impact of climate change on mental health outcomes; solutions on greenspace access and neighborhood activation

Where Science Meets Community

A key factor of the Climate Research Incubator is connecting communities to research specialists and governments. The Incubator Symposium, which is held annually after scholar trainings in science communication and public engagement, brings cohort participants – scholars, community partners, and local governments – together to learn about community needs and interests. This type of cooperation is critical – when communities engage with researchers and local governments, they have the opportunity to study or solve problems with a specialist or policy-maker collaborating on the process. Researchers and government representatives can become champions of community ideas, and provide insight from a scientific or policy perspective. The Symposium creates this forum for collaboration and fosters these types of connections. 

Additional community benefits include accessing data and technical expertise, building relationships with scientific and technical experts, and informing/participating in scientific research. Researchers can incorporate local and traditional knowledge, improve research questions and understanding of research findings, design more equitable engagement and project management approaches, and support the participation of underrepresented groups in science and other disciplines. 

Moving Forward

Although the 2023-24 Incubator workshop activities have concluded, the momentum continues! Current 2023-2024 project teams maintain regular meetings, progressing toward their intended goals and advancing their seed projects. 

Recruitment for the 2024-25 scholar cohort has also begun (apply now – the deadline is Sept. 4!), with an annual meeting planned for early 2025. Readers are invited to share this opportunity with their networks, get involved in upcoming events, and be part of the solution. For more information and to stay updated, visit our webpage

If you are a scholar, community partner, or government representative and would like to be involved in the 2024-2025 Climate Research Incubator, contact Kristy Hopfensperger at hopfenspek1@nku.edu

About Our 2024-2025 Climate Fellow 

Dr. Kristy Hopfensperger helped design and lead the inaugural Incubator cohort and will continue to serve as Green Umbrella’s climate fellow for the 2024-2025 program. Dr. Hopfensperger is an environmental scientist, researcher, and professor. She is the Director of the Environmental Science Program at Northern Kentucky University; her research topics include the efficiency of green infrastructure, invasive species and their ecosystems, and ecosystem restoration and mitigation. Her work is truly collaborative – she is often involved in projects with community partners including the Green Umbrella and Groundwork Ohio River Valley’s Climate Safe Neighborhoods program and others with RISE, ReNewport, Databloom, and more.

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