Invited perspectives: Advancing knowledge co-creation in drought impact studies

Abstract

Drought impacts are increasingly recognized as interdisciplinary, socially influenced processes often resulting in uneven outcomes across different social groups, rather than as mere hydro-climatic events. Yet, many drought impact studies do not fully integrate the knowledge and perspectives of those who directly experience the impacts of droughts. While knowledge co-creation represents a promising avenue to address this challenge, there still remains an ample margin of improvement in the depth and breadth of transdisciplinary approaches in drought impact studies: most studies either limit co-creation to specific phases of the research process (breadth) or fail to meaningfully incorporate non-academic knowledge within those phases (depth). Drawing from a diverse body of literature on transdisciplinarity in sustainability science, integrated water resources management, socio-hydrology, science and technology studies, and critical water studies, we delineate five key dimensions which can support broader and deeper knowledge co-creation processes in drought impact studies, including (1) setting up a collaborative space, (2) framing the co-modelling process, (3) shaping a shared knowledge of drought, (4) co-selecting and co-developing models to understand drought impacts, and (5) being aware of power biases and knowledge imbalances. Incorporating all five dimensions promotes broader and more comprehensive studies, while exploring each dimension in greater detail enhances their depth. Together, these dimensions provide conceptual guidance for developing transdisciplinary approaches that are more integrated, power-sensitive, inclusive, situated, and reflexive.