Stakeholder Engagement for Water-Hazard Science and Response in the USGS Rocky Mountain Region

Stakeholder engagement is essential to successful development and implementation of products and services supporting emergency management. Governmental agencies often have a unique challenge of ensuring equitable stakeholder representation across large geographic, administrative, and topical areas. This project used stakeholder engagement to understand end-users needs concerning water-related hazards in the USGS Rocky Mountain Region which covers the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. This data collection served to understand 1) how the USGS currently supports external stakeholders before, during, and after a water-hazard event 2) opportunities to improve the consistency, alignment, and utility of USGS water-hazard science, capabilities and products with end-users needs.