Empowering Puerto Rican Communities through Transdisciplinary Collaboration for Resilience
A collaborative research project examining how a transdisciplinary partnership between academics and an NGO in Puerto Rico developed practical tools to enhance community resilience in disaster-prone regions. [Link to Full Paper] [PDF]
Introduction:
Addressing Vulnerabilities through Collaboration
Puerto Rico’s vulnerability to climate change is deeply rooted in the archipelago’s compounding crises, including extreme weather events, socio-political challenges, and economic instability. Hurricane Maria in 2017 highlighted the fragility of its food, energy, and water systems (FEWS) and the urgent need for sustainable, community-focused disaster resilience solutions. Addressing these challenges requires a transdisciplinary approach that bridges theory and practice, science and community, local context, and global expertise.
This case study documents a collaboration between the National Science Foundation Innovations at the Nexus of FEWS Educational Resources (INFEWS-ER) cohort of graduate researchers and the Puerto Rican NGO Caras con Causa (CCC). Conducted from October 2020 to April 2021, the collaboration aimed to build community resilience while fostering knowledge-sharing across disciplines.
Project Overview
The collaboration was rooted in CCC’s mission to empower underserved Puerto Rican communities through environmental restoration and education programs. Specifically, CCC's Urban Roots program focuses on mangrove reforestation, while its Community Laboratory (LabCom) initiative provides students access to scientific resources for learning outside traditional school environments. With these goals in mind, CCC approached the INFEWS-ER team for support in addressing organizational challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, including limited access to grant resources and a lack of centralized knowledge management tools.
Objectives
To strengthen the resilience of Puerto Rico’s food, energy, and water systems through co-designed, community-driven solutions.
To evaluate the dynamics and outcomes of transdisciplinary academic-NGO collaborations.
Role and Contributions
As the Lead Researcher and Team Lead, I guided both the research process and the development of practical deliverables. Working alongside 16 other graduate students, I led weekly meetings to analyze Puerto Rico’s socio-environmental context, assess CCC’s needs, and co-design tailored solutions. My responsibilities also included participant observation and conducting document analysis of over 40 sets of meeting minutes, which helped inform our understanding of the collaboration’s dynamics and challenges.
Methodologies and Timeline
Timeline: October 2020–April 2021:
Initial collaboration setup began with trust-building and context exploration in November.
Deliverable production ramped up in January after team sub-group formation.
Methodologies:
Document Analysis:Â 44 meeting minutes were analyzed using NVivoâ„¢ and MAXQDA to identify recurring themes in collaboration.
Participant Observation:Â This informed reflections on team organization, transdisciplinary processes, and technology use.
Findings: Eight Themes from the Collaboration
1. Team Organization
The collaboration required significant effort in structuring the team and delegating tasks. With a large group of 17 participants, challenges in accountability and role clarity arose early but were mitigated by sub-group formation (focused on LabCom, Urban Roots, and grant opportunities). Discussions about skills and contributions helped align team strengths with project needs, but the rotation of leadership roles slowed initial progress.
2. Collaboration with Caras con Causa
Communication with CCC was collaborative but impacted by pandemic-related operational challenges. CCC emphasized actionable deliverables like the grant database, which directly supported their educational and environmental programs. However, the NGO’s limited availability occasionally delayed feedback, requiring the team to adapt expectations.
3. Deliverables
The team created two key outputs:
A Zotero literature database, complete with abstracts and tailored searches for CCC’s projects (e.g., STEAM education, mangrove reforestation).
A grant opportunities list, identifying funding sources and application guidance.
These outputs directly addressed CCC’s needs, improving its capacity to secure long-term resources and credibility for its programs.
4. Context Understanding
Early discussions explored Puerto Rico’s socio-political and environmental challenges, emphasizing the importance of cultural sensitivity and local knowledge. For instance, bilingual team members facilitated dialogue with CCC, and those with Puerto Rican heritage contributed place-based insights.
5. Participation Outcomes
Team members reported skill development in stakeholder engagement, team management, and cross-disciplinary communication. The project also underscored the value of transdisciplinary collaboration in addressing complex societal challenges.
6. Technology Setup
Tools like Zotero and Google Docs enabled efficient collaboration. However, some tools were constrained by storage limits and accessibility for CCC, requiring additional adaptations.
7. Lessons Learned
Reflection highlighted the importance of establishing trust, building team cohesion early, and maintaining clear accountability structures. The need for flexibility in virtual collaborations—exacerbated by the pandemic—was a recurring theme.
8. Challenges and Limitations
While progress was slowed by the lack of a centralized leadership structure and initial delays, these early inefficiencies fostered trust and team integration. COVID-19Â was both a limitation (resource constraints for CCC) and a unifying factor, as virtual collaboration provided a sense of community for isolated graduate students.
Process flow diagram of the steps towards the outcomes for the cohort (in purple) and the NGO specifically (in orange), incorporating the eight identified themes with placement at their most pertinent parts in the process.
Impact and Outcomes
By the project’s conclusion, both CCC and the INFEWS-ER cohort had gained valuable insights and resources. For CCC, the deliverables enhanced their ability to secure funding and expand their educational and environmental initiatives. The grant database positioned them to compete for larger opportunities, while the literature review provided evidence-based credibility for their work. For the cohort, the experience underscored the value of transdisciplinary collaboration in addressing complex, real-world challenges. Working with CCC highlighted the importance of cultural sensitivity, mutual respect, and adaptability in partnerships. It also demonstrated how academic expertise can be effectively mobilized to meet the practical needs of community organizations.
For Caras con Causa:
Enhanced capacity for securing grants and integrating research-backed strategies into their programs.
Tools and frameworks tailored to their community-focused goals in mangrove reforestation, citizen science, and education.
For the Academic Cohort:
Practical experience in transdisciplinary research and stakeholder collaboration.
Development of scalable methodologies for academic-NGO partnerships in disaster-prone regions.
Conclusions and Recommendations
This collaboration exemplifies the transformative potential of academic-NGO partnerships in addressing systemic vulnerabilities in disaster-prone regions. Key takeaways include:
Building on Trust:Â Long-standing relationships (e.g., between CCC and the University of Illinois) were instrumental in creating a productive collaboration.
Flexibility and Adaptation:Â Adapting to virtual collaboration and pandemic-related challenges required innovative solutions and empathy.
Structured Team Processes:Â Clear leadership and smaller sub-groups enhanced accountability and productivity.
For future collaborations, we recommend:
Early investment in team-building activities.
Deliberate recruitment processes to ensure team members have the necessary time and motivation.
Focused efforts on integrating local knowledge and cultural sensitivity into project designs.
By bridging academic expertise with local NGO needs, this project not only strengthened Puerto Rico’s disaster resilience but also demonstrated a replicable model for transdisciplinary collaboration.