Daniel Teodoro

Participant: PROMISE AGEP Research Symposium

Daniel Teodoro

Department: Geographical Sciences

Institution: University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Science (UMCES)

 

2019 ABSTRACT

Smart collaborations: network patterns that support resiliency

Daniel Teodoro                                        

Maryland Sea Grant

Center for Environmental Sciences, University of Maryland

Stakeholders play an important role in climate adaptation decision-making and collective-action responses to climate change. New forms of governance promise inclusive and fair participatory environment in which different opinions are heard and acted upon. However, monitoring the success of collaborative arrangements has been challenging, given that no two are alike. In response, measuring stakeholder perceptions about the participatory process and outcomes has shown promising results. This approach, however, does not considers how social networks influence the shaping perceptions. My research proposes an evaluation measure that combines a perception-based approach with social network analysis (SNA). This study investigates how the relational ties of stakeholders in collaborative networks (i.e., ‘co-production’) are associated with stakeholder’s perceptions of collaborative quality, learning experiences, and risk perceptions.

I investigate an empirical network of stakeholders in coastal climate resilience in Maryland, USA. Network autocorrelation models where used to measure the network effect on different perceptions, and stochastic actor-oriented models (SAOMs) were developed to determine the probability of actors to establish collaboration ties based on sharing similar perception values.

Results suggest stakeholder social networks are associated with perceptions of collaboration quality and learning experiences (i.e., participants perceive collaborations to be good learning spaces). Moreover, perceptions of risk play an important part in influencing how collaboration quality is perceived. These results may help researchers and practitioners structure ACM networks in ways that are likely to improve perception of ACM process and outcomes and to monitor the progress towards a more resilience community.

 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Daniel Teodoro is a Ph.D. student in the department of Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park. His research characterizes scientist-stakeholder participation in the management of socio-ecological systems through a social network perspective and evaluates the role of indicators as part of these processes. His dissertation will examine this question using a case study in Maryland, USA with the goal of conducting actionable science to improve natural resource management. Daniel was awarded a Maryland Sea Grant Fellowship in 2018 and has participated in multiple stakeholder engagement projects supporting research and enhancing the knowledge of stakeholder management. Additionally, Daniel is the founder of a grassroots sustainable development initiative in El Salvador called EMANA Initiative that has supported science-based community development interventions in coastal villages within a marine protected area.

 

SELECTED LIST OF PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS

1. Teodoro J.D., O’Leary, D.S., Kerr, S.E., Peskin, E., & Silva, J.A. (Submitted Dec. 2018). The relevance of case studies to climate change research in the era of big data: A review of policy engagement. Climate and Development.
2. Marselis, S. M., Feng, K., Liu, Y., Teodoro, J. D., & Hubacek, K. (2017). Agricultural land displacement and undernourishment. Journal of Cleaner Production. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.05.125
3. Research contribution and international expert in: UNECE 2015. Reconciling resource uses in transboundary basins: assessment of the water-food-energy-ecosystems nexus. New York and Geneva, United Nations Economic Commission of Europe (UNECE). url: http://www.unece.org/index.php?id=41427
4. XXXVIII Sunbelt Conference 2018 – International Network of Social Network Analysis, Utrecht, The Netherlands
   Poster presentation titled “Stakeholder Satisfaction Networks in Coastal Management”, focused on the use of social network analysis to understand the influence of perceptions among stakeholders in Maryland regarding management priorities to increase resilience in coastal areas.
5. Community Indicators Consortium – Conference 2016 (Washington, D.C.)
   Presentation titled “Tasajera Tides: Small-scale community of indicator systems in vulnerable communities”, co-presented with Kirk Franklin from McGill University, dealt with the challenges and opportunities of the new indicator system Mareas de Tasajera in a coastal community in El Salvador.