Community-Engaged Research Collaborative for Learning and Excellence

Located in Edison, New Jersey, EPA’s Community-Engaged Research Collaborative for Learning and Excellence (CERCLE) will provide a long-term, place-based capability to help bring EPA’s science into alignment with the needs of state and local communities. These communities, along with EPA, will co-produce actionable knowledge, enhancing local capacity and supporting sustainable local solutions.

The applied, collaborative, and community-based research conducted through CERCLE will serve as a model and resource for addressing community challenges nationwide, including community resilience.

CERCLE will build the following capabilities:

• Establish and nurture long-term, collaborative, community-driven, and trusting research relationships with state and local communities.
• Provide a forum for communities to express their research needs and for EPA to understand these needs.
• Integrate local, community-expressed needs with EPA research efforts and support joint EPA-community research projects that are solutions-focused:
  • Facilitate community involvement in the projects
  • Provide analytical laboratory capacity as needed
  • Provide field support as needed
  • Translate and communicate study findings for state and local community use
  • Facilitate the implementation of study findings/technology, as applicable
• Conduct STEM outreach activities in local K-12 schools and universities, enhancing community science and economic capacity.

Contact

For questions or other inquiries about CERCLE, please email CERCLE@epa.gov.