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EPSCoR

The Great Reading Room in Bizzell Memorial Library.

EPSCoR Projects

Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR): Socially Sustainable Solutions for Water, Carbon and Infrastructure Resilience in Oklahoma (S3OK)

IPPRA Co-Directors Carol Silva and Hank Jenkins-Smith, researchers in Oklahoma, have received National Science Foundation funding (NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Award No. OIA-1946093 (2020-2025)) to develop and test science-based solutions for complex (wicked) problems at the intersection of land use, water availability, and infrastructure around the state.

The novelty of the project lies in both its design and vision: a social science-led, multi-disciplinary collaboration among social, physical, biological, engineering, and computational scientists from institutions across the state that incorporates the perspectives of competing social narratives. This approach allows the team to better define and develop a science-based understanding of solutions for critical problems resulting from the interactions of humans with the natural and built environment in Oklahoma. Research focus areas for the project include: changing subseasonal to seasonal weather patterns; terrestrial water and carbon dynamics; variable and marginal quality water supplies; and sustainable water and energy infrastructure.

IPPRA researchers work across all research areas, but with a focus around the project’s social dynamics framework. Our research includes continuation of the Meso-Scale Integrated Socio-geographic Network (M-SISNet) panel survey. Using data from the M-SISNet, the research team will use a social dynamics framework to (a) measure and model perceptions and beliefs underpinning the social narratives that shape debates among the public, opinion leaders, and scientists about the emerging, interconnected, and salient threats to Oklahomans identified in our research focus areas; (b) evaluate how widely shared narratives have undermined collective action to pursue convergent solutions to wicked problems that recognize and address the array of anthropogenic drivers of these threats; and (c) measure social valuation for solutions using willingness-to-pay for potential sustainable solutions.

Access the Shiny app that was created to allow analysis of S3OK data.