Team Narrative CV: Climate Stories Collective

⚠️ Disclaimer: This is a fictitious team narrative CV created to demonstrate the OCAR structure in response to an equally fictitious funding call. Any resemblance to real research is coincidental.

It’s designed to help you understand how the framework works for team applications, not to provide a template to copy.

• Your narrative CV should reflect your team’s authentic experience and voice.
• Every funder has different requirements - always check current guidelines.
• There’s no single “correct” way to structure your narratives.
• Use this example for understanding the approach, then make it your own.

Key features:

• Shows complementary team expertise throughout.
• Clear attribution of contributions (“Dr. X led…”, “working with Dr. Y…”).
• Demonstrates collaborative work, not just parallel achievements.
• Team statement emphasises what makes this team unique.
• Examples show team members working together in different combinations,
• Module resolutions explicitly connect team members’ contributions.
• Addresses the funding call’s priorities (community partnership, inclusive practice, climate justice).

Team Statement

Interdisciplinary research team combining creative practice, environmental science, and community engagement expertise to address climate justice through collaborative storytelling. We develop participatory arts projects that centre marginalised voices in climate discourse, create innovative methods for translating complex environmental data into accessible narratives, and build sustainable partnerships between researchers, artists, and frontline communities.

Module 1: Generation & flow of new ideas

Our team has collectively recognised that climate communication often fails to engage diverse audiences because it relies heavily on abstract data and technical language that alienates rather than connects. We have developed innovative methods that translate complex environmental information into emotionally resonant narratives while honouring the knowledge and experiences of communities most affected by climate change through three complementary approaches: creating participatory performance methodologies, developing accessible data visualisation tools, and establishing frameworks for integrating community knowledge with scientific evidence.

Communities facing environmental injustice often lack creative platforms to share their experiences of climate impacts, while climate researchers struggle to communicate the human dimensions of environmental data. Working with a coastal community experiencing flooding and displacement, Dr. Martinez developed “Climate Witness Theatre,” a performance methodology that captures both the emotional weight of climate impacts and the resilience of affected communities. This participatory devising approach transforms residents’ testimonies into powerful performance pieces. Over 18 months, she facilitated workshops with 25 community members (aged 16-78), creating three performances attended by 200+ audience members including local council members and regional policymakers. The methodology was documented and published as an open-access toolkit [DOI], and has since been adapted by four other community organisations working on environmental justice. Feedback highlighted how the approach “gave voice to experiences policymakers needed to hear.

Strengthened paragraph: “Environmental datasets on air quality, temperature changes, and pollution levels are typically presented in formats inaccessible to non-specialists, limiting community understanding and engagement with local environmental issues. Dr. Chen developed an open-source data visualisation platform that makes complex environmental data immediately comprehensible while maintaining scientific accuracy, specifically designed for community use. The platform allows residents to explore hyperlocal environmental data through interactive maps and timelines. She piloted it with three environmental justice organisations representing 5,000+ community members and provided training to 15 community organisers on using the tools for advocacy. The platform has been accessed 12,000+ times and was cited in two community-led planning consultations, with organisers reporting that it “transformed how we could advocate with evidence”.

Academic research often treats community knowledge as supplementary to scientific evidence, creating hierarchies that undervalue lived experience. Dr. Okafor and Jamie Williams developed and tested a “Parallel Evidence Framework” that genuinely integrates community observations with scientific monitoring as equal forms of evidence. Through a 12-month project with an urban community concerned about industrial pollution, the framework structured community environmental observations alongside scientific air quality monitoring, creating datasets that honoured both knowledge systems. They published the methodology in Environmental Justice Research [DOI] and presented findings at the Community-Based Participatory Research conference. Three research teams have subsequently adopted the framework, and one community group used it to successfully petition for additional environmental monitoring in their area.

These three complementary approaches—participatory performance, accessible visualisation, and integrated knowledge frameworks—have collectively created new pathways for communities to engage with climate science and for researchers to honour diverse forms of environmental knowledge. Our methodological innovations have been adopted by multiple organisations and have demonstrably enhanced community agency in environmental decision-making.

Module 2: Development of others

Our team has observed how early career researchers working at the intersection of arts, science, and community engagement often struggle to find mentorship that understands the unique challenges of transdisciplinary, community-based work. Traditional academic structures privilege single-discipline expertise and individual achievement, leaving researchers who work collaboratively or across boundaries feeling isolated. We have established peer networks, provided targeted mentorship, and created professional development opportunities that help early career researchers develop confidence in transdisciplinary practice while building inclusive research communities that honour diverse research pathways.

Postgraduate students pursuing practice-based environmental research felt uncertain about how to balance artistic practice with scientific rigour, and how to articulate the value of creative methods to sceptical academic audiences. Dr. Martinez initiated a quarterly “Art-Science Methods” seminar series, inviting established researchers working at disciplinary intersections to share their experiences and strategies. She organised eight seminars over two years, engaging 40+ students across five institutions. Students could attend virtually, making it accessible to those at institutions without strong art-science programs. Jamie Williams co-facilitated discussion sessions, bringing a near-peer perspective that helped students identify viable career pathways. Post-seminar surveys showed 90% of participants felt “more confident articulating the value of creative research methods,” and four students reported the series directly influenced their thesis methodologies.

Community partners who participated in research projects often expressed interest in developing their own research skills but lacked access to traditional academic training pathways. Dr. Okafor developed and delivered a six-week “Community Research Methods” course specifically designed for community members wanting to conduct their own environmental justice research, delivered through a local community centre and attended by 12 residents ranging in age from 22 to 67. The course covered research design, ethical considerations, data collection, and advocacy strategies, using environmental justice examples throughout. Dr. Chen contributed two sessions on data analysis and visualisation. Ten participants completed the course, with three going on to lead their own community research projects and one enrolling in a part-time master’s program, citing the course as “opening doors I didn’t know existed”.

Early career researchers from working-class backgrounds or first-generation university students often face additional financial and cultural barriers to participating fully in research communities, particularly when conferences require travel and registration fees. Jamie Williams, drawing on their own experience as a first-generation scholar, initiated a “Conference Support Fund” within their department, advocating for £2,000 annual funding to support ECR conference attendance. They established application criteria prioritising researchers from under-represented backgrounds and created a mentorship component where recipients received pre-conference preparation support. Over two years, the fund supported 8 early career researchers in attending conferences, with all recipients presenting their work and six reporting that attendance “significantly expanded their professional networks.” The model has since been adopted by two other departments at the institution.

Collectively, our team has supported over 60 researchers and community members in developing skills, building networks, and gaining confidence in transdisciplinary and community-engaged research. By creating opportunities at multiple levels — from students to community members to early career researchers — we have fostered a more inclusive research community that values diverse pathways and perspectives.

Module 3: Impact on wider research and innovation community

Transdisciplinary environmental research faces structural barriers: funders categorise work as either “science” or “arts,” journals reject submissions that don’t fit disciplinary norms, and early-career researchers lack cross-domain mentorship. To address this, Dr. Chen served as founding chair of the Arts-Science Environmental Research Network, establishing evaluation criteria now used by 12 UK funders. Dr. Martinez convened quarterly cross-sector roundtables (2020-2024), bringing together 45 researchers, 8 funding bodies, and 15 arts organisations to develop shared standards. These efforts produced tangible infrastructure: two transdisciplinary journal sections, a mentorship programme connecting 60 early-career researchers with supervisors, and a funding stream supporting 23 collaborations totalling £4.2M.

The Environmental Research Network, a key professional organisation in our field, held conferences primarily featuring traditional scientific presentations, with creative or participatory methods relegated to poster sessions or fringe events. Dr. Martinez and Dr. Chen jointly proposed and organised a new conference strand called “Creative Climate Communication” as members of the conference planning committee. They curated three sessions featuring performances, interactive installations, and data visualisations alongside traditional presentations. The strand attracted 100+ attendees — the highest attendance of any parallel session — and received enthusiastic feedback with 85% of evaluations noting it “expanded my understanding of what environmental research can be”. The strand is now a permanent conference feature, and two other environmental research organisations have contacted them about establishing similar programming.

Peer reviewers for environmental justice journals lacked frameworks for assessing community-engaged and arts-based research, often applying inappropriate criteria that privileged traditional scientific methods. When invited to join the editorial board of Community Environmental Research, Dr. Okafor proposed and led the development of supplementary review guidelines specifically for community-engaged and creative methodologies. She convened a working group of six researchers (including Dr. Martinez) to draft the guidelines, incorporating feedback from community research partners. The journal adopted the guidelines and published them as an open-access resource [DOI]; two other journals subsequently adapted them. Reviewers reported the guidelines “clarified how to assess rigour in participatory work” and increased confidence in reviewing non-traditional submissions.

Early career researchers working on arts-science environmental projects struggled to find professional networks that understood their transdisciplinary focus, often feeling they didn’t fully belong in either arts or science communities. Jamie Williams identified this gap and established an informal online network called “Arts-Science-Community Connectors,” creating a Slack workspace for researchers, artists, and community organisers working at these intersections. They organised monthly virtual meetups featuring project showcases and peer support discussions. Over 18 months, the network grew to 75 members across 12 institutions, with members reporting it provided “crucial connection with others doing similar work.” Three collaborative grant applications emerged from network connections, and members organised two joint symposia. The network continues to grow, with Williams mentoring two other early career researchers to share facilitation responsibilities.

Through these three initiatives—creating conference space, establishing review standards, and building professional networks—our team has contributed to making arts-based environmental research more visible, valued, and rigorously assessed within the research community. Our collective efforts have strengthened infrastructure that supports transdisciplinary approaches and honours diverse methodological perspectives.

Module 4: Impact on broader society

Academic outputs often remain inaccessible to communities most affected by environmental issues, and climate policy discussions frequently exclude voices of frontline communities. Our team ensures environmental research and creative practice directly benefit communities experiencing climate injustice. We developed community partnerships, influenced local environmental policy, and created accessible public resources that centre justice and equity.

A low-income neighbourhood adjacent to an industrial estate experienced concerning health symptoms residents suspected were linked to air pollution, but lacked resources to investigate or advocate effectively. Dr. Chen and Dr. Okafor partnered with the residents’ association to establish a collaborative air quality monitoring project. Over 12 months, they trained 15 residents in using low-cost monitoring equipment and interpreting data, while Dr. Chen created a neighbourhood-specific data dashboard making findings immediately visible to the community. Residents collected data at 20 locations, documenting pollution levels exceeding safe thresholds near industrial sites. The team supported residents in presenting evidence to the local council, with Dr. Martinez helping design a creative presentation combining data with resident testimonies. The council subsequently mandated additional monitoring by the industrial estate and committed £50,000 to air quality improvements. Residents reported feeling “finally heard” and two trained monitors have continued advocacy work with other environmental justice groups.

Public discourse about climate change focuses on polar bears and distant glaciers, failing to connect with urban audiences or convey how climate impacts shape daily life in UK cities. Dr. Martinez created “Climate in Our Streets,” a series of short site-specific performances in public spaces across three cities, each addressing local climate impacts: flooding, heat vulnerability, and air quality. Working with local residents, she presented free performances that reached 500+ people who wouldn’t typically engage with climate information. Dr. Chen designed accompanying infographics displayed at performance sites, translating local climate data into accessible formats. Post-performance surveys showed 78% of audiences reported “better understanding how climate change affects my community” and 65% took at least one action afterward, from signing petitions to attending council meetings. Three regional newspapers covered the project, extending reach to an estimated 50,000 additional residents.

Teachers in schools serving high-deprivation areas wanted to address climate change in their curriculum but felt overwhelmed by the complexity and lacked age-appropriate resources connecting global issues to local contexts. Jamie Williams, working with Dr. Chen and community partners, developed a free educational toolkit called “Climate Stories from Our Communities” specifically designed for Key Stage 3 students in urban settings. The toolkit combined local climate data visualisations, creative writing prompts based on community testimonies, and guidance for student-led local investigations. They piloted the resource with six schools reaching 400+ students, provided teacher training workshops, and published the toolkit as a free download with accompanying video tutorials. The toolkit has been downloaded 800+ times, and teachers reported it “made climate education feel achievable and relevant to our students’ lives.” Five schools initiated student-led climate action projects as direct results of using the resource.

These three projects demonstrate how our team’s complementary skills — creative practice, data communication, community partnership, and educational design — work together to create tangible societal impact. We have directly engaged over 900 community members and students in understanding and acting on climate issues, influenced local environmental policy, and created resources that continue to benefit communities beyond our direct involvement.