The social science program at ERI is dedicated to helping communities, managers, policymakers, and other stakeholders understand and effectively address the social and policy complexities underlying forest restoration problems. We conduct applied research, outreach, and training on key social science issues such as collaboration, community-based management and monitoring, stakeholder values and perceptions, and policy interpretation and implementation. Program work is guided by the explicit assumption that ecological restoration and ecological sustainability are intricately linked to human community, society, and democratic processes.

We also partner with economists to study the full cost of wildfire and to better understand the relationships between wildfire prevention and suppression costs.

Some of our key research projects include:

• Full-Cost Accounting Remeasurement of the 2010 Schultz Fire: Understanding the Long-term Socio-Economic Implications of High-Severity Wildfire and Post-Wildfire Flooding
• Integrating Decision Support Tools for Wildfire Risk Assessment and Treatment Prioritization
• Assessment of Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) in Arizona and Throughout the West
• Local Experiences with the 2019 Museum Fire and Associated Flood Risk: A Survey of Flagstaff-Area Residents
• Full Cost Accounting of the 2010 Schultz Fire
• The Efficacy of Hazardous Fuel Treatments: Rapid Assessment of the Economic and Ecologic Consequences of Alternative Hazardous Fuel Treatments 
• Forest Restoration Treatments: Their Effect on Wildland Fire Suppression Costs 
• Administrative and Legal Review Opportunities for Collaborative Groups
• The Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI): The Role of Collaboration in Achieving Outcomes 
• Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project: Creating Solutions through Community Partnerships