S3OK Project Objectives, Goals, and Methodology

Abstract

The third chapter of the S3OK Framework outlines the objectives, goals, and methodological approach of the National Science Foundation–funded Socially Sustainable Solutions for Water, Land Use, and Infrastructure Resilience in Oklahoma (S3OK) project, a five-year interdisciplinary initiative designed to address “wicked problems” at the intersection of climate variability, water availability and reuse, land management, and infrastructure resilience. This chapter describes how S3OK’s original objectives—to deepen scientific understanding across integrated focus areas, improve engagement and collaboration, and identify socially sustainable solutions—were refined through sustained interaction with Oklahoma stakeholders, including opinion leaders (OLAN), peer scientists (EPSAN), and households participating in the Meso-Scale Integrated Socio-geographic Network (M-SISNet). Grounded in public policy learning theories, including the Advocacy Coalition Framework and the Narrative Policy Framework, S3OK researchers employed iterative engagement, mixed-methods data collection, and cross-sector collaboration to identify areas of potential agreement in which solutions were more likely to gain public support while remaining institutionally feasible. The chapter details how engagement platforms—including academies, deep-dive discussions, and working groups—enabled the project to converge on three high-impact challenge areas: produced water reuse, hybrid treatment and reuse of stormwater and municipal wastewater, and natural hazards and utility resilience. Together, these objectives and methods provide a transferable model for co-producing science-informed, socially durable solutions to complex socio-environmental challenges in Oklahoma and comparable regions.