Download - Strategies to Support Interdisciplinary, Applied Environmental Science Careers and Leadership for the Improvement of Global Environmental Policies and

Strategies to Support Interdisciplinary, Applied Environmental Science Careers

and Leadership for the Improvement of

Global Environmental Policies and Practices

Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE:

• Provides an understanding of the structure and functioning of natural systems

• Helps elucidate human interrelationships with and impacts on these systems

• Can provide critical guidance to resource managers, decision-makers, and the public to inform policy decisions and development of sustainable practices

Just Doing Science, Even Excellent Interdisciplinary Science,

is Not Enough!

Conducting the best science and publishing in the best journals, although critically important, will not contribute to needed solutions, UNLESS

• It gets in the hands of the people who need it and can use it

• It is informed by policy considerations• The public appreciates the problems and

science’s contribution to the solutions

The Challenges of “Stepping up to the Plate”

• It takes time, and needs to be timely• Must learn how to interact and communicate with

new audiences• Need to place research in the context of “real world”

problems• Maintaining credibility: walking the fine line of

informing the debate rather than be perceived as an advocate

• Often take “heat” from special interest groups, industry, and potentially some colleagues

The “Upside” of Engaging

Observation: Decisions will be made with or without input from the scientific community.

Opinion: Only scientists can provide the objectivity and perspective on the problems and the science-based solutions.

Reward: Scientists’ insight can be part of the solution. Scientists convey the messages they want to communicate.

If science cannot lead us to wisdom, as well as power,

it is surely no science at all. Aldo Leopold, Ecology and Politics, 1941

The Aldo Leopold Leadership Program provides leadership and communication training to academic environmental scientists and facilitates collaboration and networking among scientists and a broad range of non-scientific stakeholders to increase understanding of environmental issues for improved policies and practices that positively impact the environment and society.

communicating environmental science for people and the planet

“Environmental scientists have valuable knowledge that should be available to citizens and policy makers as they make choices about the future of our planet and our communities. It is vitally important to all of us that scientists be able to provide accurate information in plain language and in the context of everyday life to those who are determining our environmental policies and practices.”

-- Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Zoology,

Oregon State University, & Aldo Leopold Leadership Program Co-Founder and Steering Committee Co-Chair


The program helps build the capacity of scientists to conduct effective outreach and to better collaborate across disciplines and sectors to:

• advance scientific understanding as decision-makers confront increasingly complex environmental issues;

• enhance and solidify the links between research and policy, and between scientists and non-scientists;

• increase the involvement and visibility of academic scientists in public outreach;

• promote changes in academic culture so that scientists are encouraged and supported to share their scientific knowledge “beyond the ivory tower.”


Support individual and collective leadership and collaboration through:

• Training Fellowships: two weeks of intensive training in scientific leadership and outreach

• Networking & Resources: quarterly listserv, bi-annual on-line newsletter, Fellows-only resource page on website

• Promotion: website as ‘experts directory’, newsletter, press releases and annual media campaign on new Fellows, ongoing outreach on all Fellows

• Outreach Engagement Fund: smaller grants for Fellows to work on a scientific outreach projects

• Campaign Clearinghouse: database of NGO, government, industry and community campaigns that Fellows may wish to engage with


• Aldo Leopold: The Man & His Legacy• Scientific Leadership: The Social and Political Context• Mental Models and Group Dynamics• Building Consensus, Negotiating, & Resolving Conflict• Making an Impression: Introductions, CVs & Bios• Decision Analysis• Personal & Organizational Visioning• Leadership Styles & Opportunities• Strategic Questioning & Decision-making• Strategy Planning• Facilitating Dialog and Leading for Change• Becoming Involved in Outreach: Seizing the Moment

Scientific Leadership

• Who are the Media & What Makes a Good Story?• Focusing & Simplifying Your Message• Message Box Exercise• Playing the Interview Game• Reader-responsive Writing• Clips & Critiques: discussion with journalists about successful

scientific media programs and campaigns• Interviewing Technique & Critique• Writing Technique & Critique• Message Box Review & Critique• Radio Reporting• Publishing Books• Internet Outreach• Video Production

Communications/Outreach

• Introduction to Congress 101 & 102• The Image You Project• Giving Good Testimony• Meeting Members of Congress• Mock Congressional Hearings • Hearing Critique & Discussion• Sound Bites and Ambush Interviews• Working with State & Local Officials: Case Study & Exercise• Role of Federal Agencies: Where & How They Get Scientific Information• Role of Scientific Societies: Getting the Science to the Policymakers• Policy for Science: The Federal Budget Process• Congressional & Agency Visits• International Policy Making: Case Study & Exercise• Expert Witness Testimony: Moot Court Exercise

The Science-Policy Interface

• NGOs: An Introduction

• Case Study I: NGOs & Scientists Collaboration in a Crisis Situation

• Case Study II: A Successful Outreach Campaign

• Campaign Planning & Strategy

The World of NGOs

• Science--Industry Collaborations:

Successes & Challenges

• Case Study: Using Business Models to

Value Nature

• Scientist--Industry Dialog

The Corporate Sector

“Democracy demands the participation of scientists as both professionals with important information to share and as citizens who care about the future of the planet. The Aldo Leopold Leadership Program helps scientists learn to communicate, but it really helps all of us by making important scientific information more accessible as we consider courses of action that determine the future.”

-- Barry D. Gold, Ph.D., Program Officer for Sustainability Science and

Conservation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation & Aldo Leopold

Leadership Program Steering Committee member


“ …the [Leopold Leadership] training has influenced every aspect of my work and how I allocate my time. It is interesting for me to speculate on why the program has such a big impact – certainly the nuts and bolts of the training were essential, but the ‘mentoring’ and networking were as influential… if not more. Working alongside the group of premier scientists that were in the ALLP either as trainers or as participants not only taught me much, but was energizing and motivating. This did not stop with me…I can see my students and postdocs responding to my shift in priorities and slowly shifting theirs. We are not giving up on our research but simply incorporating new perspectives that will ensure our science has a broader impact.”

--Margaret Palmer, 2001 Leopold Leadership Fellow


www.leopoldleadership.org


Mission:

To promote, protect, and preserve the global ocean environment

through investment in outstanding leaders in marine conservation to

focus their expertise on seeking applied solutions

to critical challenges in the marine realm, and communicating science for

conservation of the sea.

For the sea, for the earth, for us

Applied Conservation Outputs & Outcomes

Revealing Problems

Increasing Understanding

Enhancing Awareness

Developing New Frameworks & Models

Influencing Improved Ocean Policies

Implementing Strategic Initiatives

Deploying New Technologies

Building Capacity



Support individual and collective leadership and through:

• Fellowship Grants: $150,000 each over three to five years for innovative, interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral projects that seek solutions to problems and/or communicate about ocean challenges

• Networking: bi-monthly listserv SeaSpan, bi-annual newsletter MARITUENTAS, annual meeting

• Professional Development Training: communications/media relations, environmental negotiations, expert witness testimony, decision analysis, emerging science-policy issues workshops

• Promotion: website as ‘experts directory’, SeaSpan, MARITUENTAS, press releases and annual media campaign on new Fellows, ongoing publicity on all Fellows

• Collaborative Initiative Fund: smaller grants for two or more Fellows to work together on an expansion project or new endeavor


Program Strengths and Benefits:Moving Beyond Traditional BoundariesSelected Examples

Roberto Enriquez Andrade, Ph.D.

Combining historical, social, ecological, and economic analyses of forces causing coastal degradation in Baja California peninsula to develop market-based management incentives.

Alison Rieser, J.D.

Writing a book on selected marine conservation legal cases studies directed to marine science students outlining the role of scientists in effecting sustainable marine conservation policy and management.


Program Strengths and Benefits: Enabling Applied Efforts & Expanding Circles of Influence"The Pew [Fellowship] award gave me the financial independence and

professional legitimacy to pursue the conservation applications of my work.

What I was able to accomplish under the Pew Fellowship, namely conservation

efforts at the interface of natural science and policy, would have been

impossible to support under any of the traditional sources of funding. Wearing

the badge of Pew Fellow gave me heightened legitimacy outside academic

circles so that I was given more attention in policy, legislative, and executive

arenas. This experience has fundamentally changed my career.”

---Charles Peterson, Ph.D., 1994 Pew Fellow, North Carolina State University

Influenced the first legislation in North Carolina regulating nutrient

loading in riparian and estuarine systems.



www.pewmarine.

org


Monterey Bay Aquarium

Board of Scientific Experts

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Funded by The Packard Foundation

COMPASS’ Mission

• To accelerate the pace of solutions to important environmental problems by advancing and communicating marine conservation science.

• To build capacity within the existing marine conservation community by providing individuals with the skills, tools and opportunities for effective communication.

COMPASS’ Approach

• People: Stimulate interdisciplinary, conservation-oriented research and action by marine scientists

• Products: Translate scientific concepts and information into accessible forms to help improve marine policy and management

• Relationships: Catalyze communication among marine scientists, policymakers, the media and the concerned public

Interviews Guided COMPASS’ Development

• A high level of interest in conservation among academics

• Scientists are wary of the media

• Severe gulf between scientists, NGOs, resource managers and policymakers

• New venues are needed to exchange and discuss scientific information

COMPASS: An integrated set of initiatives

• Identify emerging topics and scientists• Convene meetings on emerging topics• Train scientists in communication skills and

media relations• Conduct media outreach campaigns on

emerging topics, new journal articles, and books

• Develop policy-relevant information products

Communication Training and Media Outreach

Train scientists to communicate their work in a clear and engaging manner. Connect scientists and journalists. Offer four types of training:

– Seminars at scientific conferences (e.g ESA)– Advanced communication workshops (e.g. ALLP)– Graduate student workshops (e.g. WSN)– One-on-one coaching

Nancy Baron: Seaweb/COMPASS office @ MBA 647-6831 ([email protected])

Benefits of Recognition, Training, & Networking--At ALL Career Stages!

“In its support to individuals, it promotes leadership (gives a boost to those that are

willing to ‘stick their necks out’). By bringing those individuals together annually and

networking them continuously, the program allows a rapid transfer of know-how that

influences a wide circle of specialists; it also boosts the resolve of all those

involved.”

“The annual meetings are exceptionally stimulating and vital because so much

mutual education occurs during those few intense days.”

“I have come away from the annual meetings with a wealth of new information,

ideas, strategies, and contacts that have been incorporated into my projects.”

“The fellowship helped immeasurably to validate my program and ideas. It also

gave me a boost and made me feel I wasn’t crazy to take the risks I have taken.”

“It has provided a huge increase in awareness of global environmental issues, who

is working on them, and the process by which knowledge is converted into action.”

“My peers (strangers to me before the meeting) were dynamic, talented academics

from many branches of environmental science. We meshed as a training group and

many career friendships have developed, now leading to new projects and working

groups. “

“The meeting has been the single most valuable aspect of the program. The

assembly of great people and the flow of ideas is wonderful.”

Download - Strategies to Support Interdisciplinary, Applied Environmental Science Careers and Leadership for the Improvement of Global Environmental Policies and

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