Training of Bhutanese forest scientists, government officials and other relevant stakeholders in effective dissemination and uptake of scientific knowledge in the field of climate sensitive forestry and land use
Until recently, communication of research results has largely been confined to publishing in specialized journals, available only to a very limited number of specialists. Today, many avenues are used to communicate research results to a broad audience ranging from the Internet (e.g. web-sites, webinars, online consultations, and social media), and printed products (e.g. policy briefs, fact sheets, flyers) to face-to-face meetings such as consultations, learning events and conferences. Therefore, the science community including forest researchers is faced with the challenge of not only producing good research results, but also effectively communicating these to various audiences or forest stakeholders that are in need of such scientific information. The main forest stakeholders include policy-makers, forest managers and administrators, environmental advocacy organizations, as well as the private sector including forest industries, scientists from other disciplines and the general public.
In the context of this project, dissemination and uptake of forest-related information on climate change is an essential component of building human capacity within the Bhutanese society for adaptation and mitigation of climate change effects. To this end, this WP brings on-board a wide range of methods and tools for effective communication with and interaction between the science community and forest stakeholders including policy makers, community leaders, NGOs, private sector and society at large.
The work package offers the following two types of training modules:
Module 1: Science communication
The training workshop aims at explaining concepts and methods of basic communication and public relation tools and their practical application to forest science. More specifically, participants will be introduced to various tools for communication with the media and sharing of information through the Internet, will be taught about social media, and will became familiar with the role of communication in the interactions between the forest science community and policy makers.
Module 2: Science-policy interfacing
Although not all research is specifically focused on policy-relevant questions, best practices in transforming research results into usable information can increase the impact of science on forest policy and improve the practice of forestry, thereby creating more value for society from forest and tree-related research. Towards this end, the training workshop specifically aims at improving the understanding of policy- and decision-making and the roles scientists can play in informing such processes. In essence, participants will learn how to plan, conduct, and organise research activities so that results can more quickly and easily be transformed into usable information for problem-solving and policy-making.
