Research Projects

The State of the West symposium is an annual gathering at Stanford to take stock of the economic and fiscal health of the western region. It features academic researchers, business and investment practitioners, and other stakeholders concerned with the well-being of the millions of Americans who dwell on the sunset side of the Hundredth Meridian.   Read More »

The Rural West Initiative aims to create a unique collaboration between journalists and scholars to investigate the forces transforming the rural West.    Read More »

An interdisciplinary collaborative that explores the history, operation, policies, and impact of the California Coastal Commission. The historical portion of this project seeks to uncover the history of this important agency, tracing how it changed over time, as well as its contributions to environmental policy—both past and present.   Read More »

The Program on Water in the West intends to help transform water systems built in the last century so that they are sustainable in the future, economically, ecologically, politically, and institutionally. The program builds on Stanford’s strengths in interdisciplinary research, ability to convene diverse parties for open and constructive discussions on neutral ground, and our standing as an objective source of reliable information and analysis.   Read More »

Transnational perspectives on rapid cultural, economic, and environmental transformations in the 19th century settler colonies of western Australia, western Canada, the western United States, and the Pacific Islands.   Read More »

By recognizing the highest-quality environmental reporting about the North American West, the Knight-Risser Prize seeks to inspire journalists in all media to bring sophisticated reporting, solid environmental science, and compelling storytelling to the public, in the context of a rapidly evolving journalism landscape.   Read More »