COMPASS: Navigating the Rules of Scientific Engagement

Smith, Brooke M.; Baron, Nancy; English, Chad; Galindo, Heather M.; Goldman, Erica; McLeod, Karen L.; Miner, Meghan; Neeley, Liz

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001552

Cited by 56 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…There is growing recognition for the responsibility of scientists to reach beyond their disciplines and share their results more broadly (Baron 2010, Smith et al 2013. Unfortunately, science communication is challenged by the pressures of modern academia and funding agencies that reward publication in high-impact academic journals (Smith et al 2013).…”

Section: Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creative convergence: exploring biocultural diversity through art

Polfus¹,

Simmons²,

Neyelle³

et al. 2017

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Interdisciplinary approaches are necessary for exploring the complex research questions that stem from interdependence in social-ecological systems. For example, the concept of biocultural diversity, which highlights the interactions between human diversity and the diversity of biological systems, bridges multiple knowledge systems and disciplines and can reveal historical, existing, and emergent patterns of variation that are essential to ecosystem dynamics. Identifying biocultural diversity requires a flexible, creative, and collaborative approach to research. We demonstrate how visual art can be used in combination with scientific and social science methods to examine the biocultural landscape of the Sahtú region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Specifically, we focus on the intersection of Dene cultural diversity and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) intraspecific variation. We developed original illustrations, diagrams, and other visual aids to increase the effectiveness of communication, improve the organization of research results, and promote intellectual creativity. For example, we used scientific visualization and drawings to explain complex genetic data and clarify research priorities. Visual facilitation during meetings helped establish accurate representations of both cultural and biological diversity by externalizing heterogeneity and avoiding standardization. Group mind mapping enhanced collaborators' ability to visualize connections between Dene concepts, like bets'erıhchá "respect" and caribou, and to recognize differences between knowledge systems that challenge translations and reduce the effectiveness of research outcomes. Collaborative visual products, like posters that represented different caribou types, allowed Dene partners to more clearly articulate subtleties within caribou intraspecific variation that are manifest through distinct dialects, place-based relationships, and cultural practices. Our results point to the potential for visual art to be used to improve communication, participation, and knowledge production in interdisciplinary and cross-cultural research collaborations and to enhance the sustainable stewardship and protection of biodiversity.

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Section: Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creative convergence: exploring biocultural diversity through art

Polfus¹,

Simmons²,

Neyelle³

et al. 2017

E&S

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Facilitation should include processes to: (1) give scientists the incentives, communication skills, and opportunities they need to become fully engaged with society (Smith et al 2013); (2) reach broad agreement about the role of scientists; (3) develop syntheses of scientific knowledge tailored to meet the information needs of policymakers; (4) broker science-policy dialogues to, for example, reach common understanding of what is well-known and what is not, or how uncertainty is measured and can be used in policy development; (5) foster new partnerships in which scientists and policymakers (including regulators and representatives of the many stakeholders who use the Delta's resources) work collectively to shape, fund and implement policy-relevant research targeted to unravel the complexity of ecosystems disturbed by multiple stressors.…”

Section: What Might We Do About It?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Organizations such as COMPASS (Smith et al 2013) are helping give natural scientists the communication skills and networking opportunities they need to become more effectively engaged with the media and policymakers. COMPASS's work with marine scientists has demonstrated the links between communication capacity and collaboration, enabling better synthesis of knowledge to guide ocean policies.…”

Section: Building Communication Skills and Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

It’s Time for Bold New Approaches to Link Delta Science and Policymaking

Cloern¹,

Hanak²

2013

SFEWS

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“…The law-science interface demands effective scientific communication, as many have noted in papers and guidebooks (Owens et al 2006;Baron 2010;Cornell et al 2013;Smith et al 2013;Cooke et al 2017;Dunn and Laing 2017), though progress on improving scientific communication and engagement with nonscientists arguably remains mixed. With a few exceptions, the lawyers, judges, and elected officials who make and interpret environmental laws are not scientists and may not work to stay abreast of relevant scientific literature and concepts.…”

Section: The Need For Effective Scientific Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards linking environmental law and science

Moore

Nowlan²,

Olszynski

et al. 2018

FACETS

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Gaps between environmental science and environmental law may undermine sound environmental decision-making. We link perspectives and insights from science and law to highlight opportunities and challenges at the environmental science-law interface. The objectives of this paper are to assist scientists who wish to conduct and communicate science that informs environmental statutes, regulations, and associated operational policies (OPs), and to ensure the environmental lawyers (and others) working to ensure that these statutes, regulations, and OPs are appropriately informed by scientific evidence. We provide a conceptual model of how different kinds of science-based activities can feed into legislative and policy cycles, ranging from actionable science that can inform decision-making windows to retrospective analyses that can inform future regulations. We identify a series of major gaps and barriers that challenge the successful linking of environmental science and law. These include (1) the different time frames for science and law, (2) the different standards of proof for scientific and legal (un)certainty, (3) the need for effective scientific communication, (4) the multijurisdictional (federal, provincial, and Indigenous) nature of environmental law, and (5) the different ethical obligations of law and science. Addressing these challenges calls for bidirectional learning among scientists and lawyers and more intentional collaborations at the law-science interface.

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COMPASS: Navigating the Rules of Scientific Engagement

Abstract: COMPASS shares a decade of experience in helping scientists become effective leaders by navigating a path from outreach to meaningful engagement with journalists and policymakers.

Cited by 56 publications

References 34 publications

Creative convergence: exploring biocultural diversity through art

Creative convergence: exploring biocultural diversity through art

It’s Time for Bold New Approaches to Link Delta Science and Policymaking

Towards linking environmental law and science

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