Local sustainability officers are on the front lines of the climate crisis, tackling everything from extreme weather to aging infrastructure. But a recent study by Lia R. Kelinsky-Jones and Adam Seth Levine, SNF Agora Institute Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, published in Sustainability and Climate Change, highlights a key issue: these officials want more collaboration with university researchers but struggle to make those connections.
Levine’s research focuses on the role of expertise in democratic decision-making and how collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and community members can drive effective public policy. His work underscores the need for stronger partnerships to address climate challenges at the local level.
Despite the vast knowledge and resources available at universities, 81% of sustainability officers in the study said they lacked the research support they needed. Interviews with 42 local officials (representing a whopping 68% of the entire population of officers in paid roles adjacent to research-intensive universities in the US) revealed major barriers: tight budgets, political resistance, bureaucratic slowdowns, and challenges communicating climate urgency to the public.
At the same time, these officials are eager for research on practical solutions—case studies on successful climate policies, cost-benefit analyses to support funding requests, and strategies for engaging communities more effectively.
So why aren’t these collaborations happening? The study points to structural roadblocks. Many sustainability officers don’t have clear pathways to connect with researchers, and universities often focus on academic priorities over real-world policy applications.
To change this, the authors suggest simple but effective steps: universities should create liaison roles to facilitate connections, encourage interdisciplinary research teams to tackle local issues, and make research findings more accessible to policymakers. Both formal partnerships and informal knowledge exchanges can help bridge this gap.
This study clarifies that stronger connections between universities and local governments could transform climate action. Researchers and policymakers can develop real, impactful solutions that help communities adapt and thrive in a changing world by fostering collaboration.