Stakeholder Engagement in Research Design: Planning an IRES Summer Institute for US Graduate Students in El Salvador

Michigan Technological University partnered with the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science (CUAHSI) and Lutheran World Relief (LWR) to support local development interventions related to agricultural challenges in the "Dry Corridor" of El Salvador. The three-year effort is supported by NSF's International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program. This project, titled, " Agricultural Community Adaptations to Extreme Hydrometeorological Events," sends its first cohort of 10 students to select communities in this especially arid region of El Salvador during Summer 2020.

This project is a collaboration of scientists and professionals with Michigan Tech, CUAHSI, and LWR, who are working together with universities and governmental agencies in El Salvador. This effort involves agronomists, hydrologists, geologists, engineers, and sociologists who are exploring new ways to couple participatory and hydrological research for informing adaptive strategies to water scarcity in agricultural communities of EI Salvador.

Following discussions around community engagement in project design explored during the Geoscience and Society Summit held in Stockholm, Sweden, a preliminary site visit to El Salvador was conducted in July 2019 to meet with in-country project stakeholders. This visit intentionally sought input from local farmers, representatives from governmental and non-governmental institutions, project partner LWR, and colleagues from the Universidad de El Salvador - Facultad Multidisciplinaria Paracentral to help prioritize project research plans.

This project is meant to be informed by the stakeholders it is designed to support. This grassroots approach fosters greater integration of the physical and social sciences and provides innovative avenues to enhance local geoscience education to diverse participants through training programs, field work, and continuous data collection. The cross-cultural component will be enriching for US students and host-country nationals, alike, as both groups stand to learn from one another.