Documentation of the Perspectives and Experiences of Partners with the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center from Two 2017 Focus Groups

This dataset consists of transcripts from two focus groups with science users (1st group) and science producers (2nd group) who were partners of the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC). The participants in the focus groups were science users and science producers identified by the Southwest CASC and recruited in collaboration with Cornell's Center for Conservation Social Sciences. A total of 14 individuals participated in the science users focus group, and 15 participated in the science producers focus group. The purpose of the focus groups was to understand the range of perspectives and experiences of CASC partners in relation to their work with the CASC. We attempted to include participants that represented a diversity of organizations and regions working with the CASC. Participants in the science users groups included representatives of agencies intended to benefit from the science produced by the CASC: Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, federal natural resource agencies, state fish and wildlife agencies, tribal organizations, and nongovernmental conservation organizations. Participants in the science producers focus group included researchers that had received research funding from the CASC. The focus groups consisted of semi-structured conversations guided by a series of open-ended questions and lasted approximately two hours. The questions were designed to explore how partners contributed to the work of the CASC and the factors that influenced the ability of the CASC to work with their partners. The specific question topics focused on: how participants have worked with the CASC, reasons for becoming involved with the CASC, benefits of involvement with the CASC, challenges to involvement, and what the CASC could do to promote even more benefits from involvement. Additionally, we specifically explored how the CASC contributed to the coproduction of science and the generation of actionable science, with questions about interactions between science producers and science users and the role of the CASC in connecting them.