State of the Science and the Future of Cumulative Impact Assessment: Proceedings of a Workshop Series (2025)
Chapter: 1 Introduction
1
Introduction
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine assembled the ad hoc Committee on State-of-the-Science and the Future of Cumulative Impact Assessment to convene state-of-the-science workshops1 and develop a consensus report to advise the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on further developing the scientific foundation underlying the practice of cumulative impact assessment. This proceedings provides a factual summary of a workshop series that the committee convened as part of its information-gathering activities. The series included a community-engaged workshop in New Orleans, Louisiana; a virtual Town Hall with members of the community and Tribal liaison group from across the United States; and a Tribal engagement event in Aurora, Colorado. This proceedings does not provide a synthesis across the three events; rather, a forthcoming consensus report will provide the committee’s consensus findings and advice that takes account of the important information gathered through these activities.
From the start of the study, the committee engaged with a group of liaisons from across the United States to facilitate incorporation of community and Tribal knowledge and perspectives (see Appendix C for liaison biographies). Liaisons were solicited through a nomination process similar to that used for National Academies committees, and enrollment was initiated at the time of committee formation and continued for the study duration. Liaisons provided input on the public meeting agendas, helped develop discussion questions for those meetings, and provided data or resources for committee consideration. They also participated in all open sessions and suggested reviewers for the written products of the committee, including this proceedings, for consideration by National Academies staff.
All of the engagements described in this proceedings were organized with input from the community and Tribal liaison group. These engagements aimed to amplify community and Tribal voices by inviting participants to share their lived experiences on topics relevant to the commit-
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1 A public workshop to discuss fundamental concepts and methods pertinent to cumulative impact assessment is summarized separately: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. State of the Science and the Future of Cumulative Impact Assessment: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/29058.
tee’s charge. Roundtable discussions were organized using the World Café method2 to facilitate and maximize committee engagement with participants. During the in-person engagements, participants were divided into small groups that circulated among groups of committee members to address one of six questions that were developed with the input of the liaisons. In the end, each participant was able to meet each committee member and address each question, and committee members were able to dialog directly with each participant. During the virtual event, a modified approach was used wherein each participant was assigned to two breakout sessions, each covering one set of questions. During all of the events, committee member rapporteurs shared their reflections across the breakout groups with all participants during a main session. The specific questions addressed at each event, and the committee’s reflections on the input gathered, are described in further detail in the summaries that follow.
This proceedings has been prepared by the workshop rapporteurs as a factual summary of what occurred during the workshops. The views contained in the proceedings are those of individual workshop participants and do not necessarily represent the views of all workshop participants, the committee, or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
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