
The interconnected map you see above is not just any map—it tells a story of research connections that explore critical global challenges like social resilience, climate change, poverty and development, and public health. Featured as the header on The Storymodelers website, this map symbolizes more than just data points; it encapsulates a narrative of interdisciplinary research collaboration addressing some of humanity’s most pressing challenges.
One of our most recently funded Minerva Research Initiative proposals, “Un” Resilience: Drawing Insights from Societal Collapse, made us realize how much of a hot topic resilience—specifically social resilience—has become. This inspired us to create a collaborative map based on a bibliometric analysis of 1,211 peer-reviewed publications retrieved from Scopus. These publications, spanning 1993 to 2024, explore topics such as how communities adapt to challenges like climate change, urban development, natural disasters, and public health crises, while terms like “mental health,” “pharmaceutical,” and “aviation” were excluded. Together, they highlight influential research and emerging trends in understanding resilience.
At first, we saw a bunch of lines or dots and it looked like a global air traffic map, a funny comparison that came up in our discussions. But, as we reflected more, we saw something deeper. The map, with its dots and lines, felt like a representation—on a large scale—of who we are as a team: an interdisciplinary and collaborative lab that thrives on connections.
Each dot on the map represents a research institution, organization, or community that has contributed to advancing the study of social resilience. The lines linking them illustrate the collaborative pathways where ideas, insights, and solutions flow freely, breaking down geographical and disciplinary boundaries.
Why This Map Matters
In today’s interconnected world, no single country or organization can address challenges like social resilience, climate change, or public health crises alone. These issues require a systems-thinking approach that leverages diverse perspectives to find innovative, equitable solutions. By fostering global partnerships, researchers share knowledge and resources, creating real-world impact. This map highlights how collaboration helps communities and systems prepare for and respond to crises.
A Portrait of Research Collaboration
What makes this map truly special is its ability to humanize data. Each line, while abstract, represents relationships between researchers who share findings, contribute insights, and join forces to address complex problems.
It is a living testament to the idea that we are stronger together.
The Storymodelers primarily comprises collaborators from two universities: Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Virginia, USA) and Universidad del Norte (Barranquilla, Colombia). From these hubs, we engage in projects addressing resilience and forced migration, among others, collaborating across continents to bridge local expertise with global challenges.
Our key collaborations extend globally, but we also maintain strong ties within these home countries. Highlights of our work include:
Colombia: Projects such as Absorptive Capacity, What’s Missing, and Unresilience rely on our faculty members at Uninorte, Dr. Katherine Palacio and Dr. Humberto Llinas, where field sites in Barranquilla and Cucuta provide rich contexts for examining social resilience.
South Africa: Cape Town serves as a research site for Absorptive Capacity and What’s Missing, involving collaborators, Dr. Fred Bidandi and Dr. Zacheous Abang, in which local knowledge about slums and informal settlements where migrants often begin their integration pathways has helped contextualize work on migrant hosting, research in hard-to-reach places, and epistemology.
Norway: Researchers at the University of Agder, including Dr. Apostolos Spanos, Dr. Hege Wallevik, and Dr. Hanne Haaland, [EF4] contribute to projects for Absorptive Capacity and Beyond the Clock, have been long-time partners helping to generate insights about migrant-host communities—a thread that continues throughout our various projects.
Canada: Dr. Michaela Hynie of York University in Toronto has collaborated on the What’s Missing project, providing insights into how teams can collaborate across disciplines to generate knowledge.
Peru and Greece: Field sites in Lima and Mytilene have supported work on Absorptive Capacity through the help of research consultants who know the local context – ideas from which other projects have been born.
Using computational social science, engineering, and other technical approaches, we collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to model human systems and generate practical and theoretical advancements. This dual focus—local and global—strengthens our ability to make meaningful contributions to the field of social resilience.
The Broader Vision
The color-coded countries hint at the scale of global research collaboration while highlighting the disparities in resources and contributions. For instance, nations like the United States and several European countries emerge as hubs, but the map also underscores the need for amplifying voices from underrepresented regions. It serves as both a celebration of progress and a call to action: to include more perspectives from the Global South, Indigenous communities, and others whose experiences often remain underrepresented in academic and policy discussions.
Why This Map Inspires Us
Beyond its aesthetic appeal, the map tells a deeper story of human connections. It is a reminder of the human stories behind the lines and dots, challenging us to think globally and act locally, to see collaborations where others see borders. Every dot and line represents the collective effort of individuals and institutions working together to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. It embodies the mission of The Storymodelers: to create meaningful narratives about global challenges and offer actionable insights for addressing them.
Through this map, The Storymodelers invites you not just to observe but to participate. It is a call for collaboration, urging all of us—researchers, policymakers, and global citizens—to contribute to a shared vision of resilience and innovation.
So, the next time you see this map, remember: it is not just a snapshot of data. It is a representation of what we can achieve when we work together. Let it inspire you to connect, collaborate, and create solutions that shape a better future for everyone.
After all, Every model has a story, every story has a model.
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