Closing the parachute and opening the umbrella: Strategies for inclusivity and representation in producing impactful coastal ecosystem research

Abstract

Impact statement: Parachute science is the act of conducting research without acknowledging or engaging local communities. This practice is exploitative and diminishes the impact and value of science for understanding, protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems. While parachute science has deep roots in colonialism, it can be perpetrated by anyone who fails to incorporate local context and perspectives in their science, even in their own country. In this article, we assembled a diverse international group from across the Global North, including academic, non-profit and volunteer scientists, to briefly review the topic of parachute science and to share experience-based strategies to avoid parachute science and eliminate this practice in one’s own science. We provide strategies that will enable the researcher, instead, to engage and work with local communities globally. We aim to share the joy and added value we have experienced from, along with the strategies to enable collaboration with local researchers and communities in research. We hope that readers will appreciate the value gained by opening their science to local input and contributions under an inclusive umbrella. Furthermore, we would welcome a similar paper with actors in the Global South to provide their view on parachute science.