Engaged Scholarship for Research Design: An Ethnographic Case Study on Addressing Community-Identified Needs for Extreme Heat Resilience in New Hampshire

Engaged scholarship, which emphasizes collaboration between researchers and community stakeholders, is gaining traction as a critical framework for societally relevant and responsive research at higher education institutions. This poster presents an ethnographic case study that investigates the iterative process of developing research questions through an engaged research approach as a graduate student. This case study focuses on addressing needs related to extreme heat risks and impacts in New Hampshire communities. Through this case study, I present how collaboration with stakeholders—including local, state and regional government entities, technical experts, and community organizations—shaped the development of my research questions, aims, and methodology for identifying opportunities for adaptive governance to build community resilience effectively and equitably.

This poster highlights the epistemological and practical benefits of engaged research, including the co-production of knowledge that aligns academic inquiry with real-world needs. At the same time, it interrogates the inherent challenges: negotiating power dynamics, balancing academic goals with practical needs, overcoming institutional and logistical hurdles, and managing expectations across diverse actors. At a time where public trust in institutions is decreasing and the utility and legitimacy of academic research are increasingly under scrutiny, this presentation demonstrates that an engaged scholarship approach holds significant promise for generating high-impact research that is both scientifically robust and socially consequential. This presentation illustrates the value of adaptive methodologies for fostering resilience both within communities and within the research process itself.