Transforming Rural-Urban Systems:
Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West Research Network
Catastrophic wildfires, dwindling water supplies, and rapid urban population growth are some of the most pressing challenges of the Intermountain West (IMW). However, the current services and resources available to urban and rural systems (URS) in the IMW leave communities ill-equipped to face these issues. The Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West Research Network (Transformation Network or Network) is a transdisciplinary research effort representing diverse communities, sectors, disciplines, and backgrounds aimed at improving regional sustainability.
Using a convergent research and education plan, the Network focuses on how headwaters and headwater dependent systems, regional food-energy-water systems, and innovative institutions and approaches to governance can be integrated to help direct URS along trajectories that result in a sustainable future for humans and the environment.
Network research projects and educational activities are designed to co-produce knowledge with regional partners across these three systems and utilize a novel framework for Guided Transformation (GT) that incorporates diverse perspectives, includes Indigenous and place-based knowledge, and values community and environmental well-being.
Objectives
Over the course of six years, the Network will: (1) improve our understanding of inter-linked URS system feedbacks, processes and actors; (2) create a diverse and engaged network of IMW partners to advance understanding of community needs and explore sustainable solutions; (3) train a new cohort of scientists and leaders with expertise in convergent, complex systems thinking; and (4) record and share the processes for developing sustainable URS through a GT framework.
The National Urban Research and Extension Center (NUREC) staff have been focusing on how to better connect TN members and research to Extension organizations and professionals across the IMW. Our efforts aim to advance community-engaged research, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and highlight the relevance of Extension in addressing regional and national challenges.
Specific objectives include:
- Develop and refine interactive workshops to showcase Extension’s community impact, highlight intersections with TN research priorities, and provide training in community engagement skills such as deliberative dialogue at the TN 2025 Annual Meeting.
- Offer training opportunities in community engagement for TN graduate students, incorporating deliberative dialogue skills and introducing them to Extension’s role and relevance in research.
- Explore potential collaborations between Extension and TN’s tribal engagement initiatives through structured meetings, webinars, and facilitated discussions.
- Plan and deliver a series of webinars as part of the National League of Cities University Seminar series, showcasing TN’s research on sustainable regional networks and its efforts to connect research with communities.
Learn more about the Transformation Network here.
The TN is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Sustainable Regional Systems Program, which aims to support convergent research and education that will advance sustainable regional systems science, engineering, and education.
