The Next Generation of Environmental Research and Action: Citizen Science and a Stakeholder-Oriented Approach to Experimental Design.

Promoting bidirectional communication and collaboration between researchers and stakeholders is critical. When a mutual sense of interest, purpose, and trust are shared, stakeholders and researchers can build partnerships to co-generate solutions. Using the environmental research translation framework, citizen science projects will be presented that highlight: 1) partnership building, 2) participatory approaches to research, 3) designing experiments and protocols for participants, and 4) developing training programs for different stakeholder groups. Emphasis will be placed on field sampling methodologies, how to address complex problems that arise in communities neighboring contamination, and data sharing approaches to impact environmental regulation and public health prevention/intervention strategies. Based upon an extensive mixed-methods evaluation process, these projects are co-producing environmental monitoring and exposure assessment data in a form that is relevant to multiple stakeholder groups, influencing regulatory action, and building participant’s knowledge and self-efficacy in environmental health.