Social learning lessons from Collaborative Adaptive Rangeland Management

Authors: WILMER, HAILEY - Us Forest Service (FS); SCHULZ, TERRI - The Nature Conservancy; FERNANDEZ-GIMENEZ, MARIA - Colorado State University; Derner, Justin; Porensky, Lauren; Augustine, David; RITTEN, JOHN - University Of Wyoming; DWYER, ANGELA - Bird Conservancy Of The Rockies; MEADE, RACHEL - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)

Submitted to: Rangelands
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/21/2021
Publication Date: 4/21/2021
Citation: Wilmer, H., Schulz, T., Fernandez-Gimenez, M., Derner, J.D., Porensky, L.M., Augustine, D.J., Ritten, J., Dwyer, A., Meade, R. 2021. Social learning lessons from Collaborative Adaptive Rangeland Management. Rangelands. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2021.02.002.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2021.02.002

Interpretive Summary: • As “co-produced” research methods become more popular. • The Collaborative Adaptive Rangeland Management project is a case of a ranch-scale, 10-year grazing experiment ongoing in Colorado where we used social science to evaluate how the group learned and co-produced new knowledge. • This process of collaboration in research proved to be complex and challenging, but those challenges helped inspire learning as the team grappled with new problems and knowledge. Trust and respect were key to making the process work. • Social science can help collaborative research teams better design and implement complex co-production methods to engage stakeholders from ranching, conservation and public service backgrounds in research and learning activities.

Technical Abstract: • As “co-produced” research methods become more popular, there is a growing need to evaluate the processes and outcomes of successful cases. • The Collaborative Adaptive Rangeland Management project is a case of a ranch-scale, 10-year grazing experiment ongoing in Colorado where we used social science to evaluate how the group learned and co-produced new knowledge. • This process of collaboration in research proved to be complex and challenging, but those challenges helped inspire learning as the team grappled with new problems and knowledge. • Respect, trust, and shared understanding are essential to success and can be enhanced by commitment and time for meaningful discussion, debate, and group reflection. • Social science can help collaborative research teams better design and implement complex co-production methods to engage stakeholders from ranching, conservation and public service backgrounds in research and learning activities.