Fourth Training Session: Theory and Practice of Communicating at the Science-Policy Interface
The Inspire4Nature training sessions are cross-project opportunities to learn about key concepts related to the science-policy interface in biodiversity conservation, to develop new skills and for establishing collaborations between the fellows. The fourth training session takes place remotely and is structured into four modules, as detailed below.
Module 1 - From a scientific paper to the news
Teachers
Ana Rodrigues, Mike Hoffmann, Monni Bohm
Fellows
| Theory | Practice | Tutor | |
| Shawn | Yes | No | – |
| Marie-Morgane | Yes | Yes | Mike |
| Kathrin | Yes | Yes | Monni |
| Scott | Yes | No | – |
| Martin | Yes | Yes | Ana |
| João | Yes | Yes | Mike |
| Carmen | Yes | Yes | Mike |
| Pauline | Yes | Yes | Monni |
| Ivon | Yes | Yes | Ana |
| Sean | Yes | Yes | Monni |
| Gonzalo | Yes | No | – |
| Maria | Yes | No | – |
| Konstantina | Yes | Yes | Monni |
| Matt | Yes | Yes | Ana |
Training goals
- Develop general skills for communicating about scientific results to a broad, non-specialised, audience
- Understand the pathway for communicating about scientific research via a press release, with the final aim of reaching the mainstream media
- Learn how to write an effective press release
Module structure and timeline
- Course [3 hours, zoom] – 23 September 2020 – available HERE
- Fellows’ independent work – from 23 September to 15 December. Steps:
- Draft a press release , either based on a paper you are working on or a published paper of your interest.
- Ask another fellow to review your first draft.
- Send second draft + paper on which it is based to your tutor: by 13 November (Tutor sends back comments within a week).
- Send third draft to your tutor: by 27 November (Tutor sends back comments within a week).
- Send final piece to Pauline: by 11 December (Pauline will upload to the intranet).
- Read other fellows’ press releases: by 15 December
- Final discussion meeting [2 hours, zoom] – 16 Dec – 11h-13h French Time
Meeting with fellows & teachers to exchange about results, difficulties, lessons learnt…
For examples of Press Releases, see:
- the examples given in the the course (see links in slides 8-10)
- plenty of other examples on EurekAlert
- a recent example from ZSL
Fellows’ Press releases
You can find here the press releases of the fellows who participated in the practical part of module 1.
Feedback
You can find here the results of the questionnaire assessing the level of satisfaction of the fellows regarding module 1.
Module 2 - Giving a presentation
Teachers
Mike Hoffmann, Monni Bohm, Ana Rodrigues
Fellows
| Theory | Practice | Tutor | |
| Shawn | Yes | Yes | Ana |
| Marie-Morgane | Yes | Yes | Monni |
| Kathrin | Yes | Yes | Mike |
| Scott | Yes | Yes | Ana |
| Martin | Yes | Yes | Monni |
| João | Yes | Yes | Mike |
| Prabhat |
Yes | Yes | Ana |
| Carmen | Yes | Yes | Monni |
| Pauline | Yes | Yes | Mike |
| Ivon | Yes | Yes | Ana |
| Sean | Yes | Yes | Monni |
| Gonzalo | Yes | Yes | Mike |
| Maria | Yes | Yes | Ana |
| Konstantina | Yes | Yes | Monni |
| Matt | Yes | No | – |
| Clare |
Yes | Yes | Mike |
Training goals
- Develop general skills for communicating about scientific results to a wide diversity of audiences
- Learn how to structure your presentation according to the duration and the audience
- Practical tips and tricks for giving an engaging presentation
Module structure and timeline
- Course [3 hours, zoom] – 8 Jan 14h-17h (Paris Time)
Mike’s presentation, Part 1 (Presentation Basics: Contents, Story, Delivery)
Mike’s presentation, Part 2 (Timing, Slides, Presenting in the time of covid; Getting your talk accepted)
Exercise: give feedback on a previous presentation by Mike (see on youtube) by filling this questionnaire - Fellows’ independent work – from 8-20 January
Each fellow prepares a 15 mins presentation for the General Assembly - General Assembly [2 days, zoom] – 21-22 Jan
- Kathrin (password needed = Inspire4Nature@): No entry! The effect of Land Cover on the permeability of Protected Areas to Non-native species
- João (from min 22; password needed = Inspire4Nature@): Tracking raptors to safer winters
- Marie-Morgane: Journey to the sea: A year in the life of a trans-Atlantic migrant
- Martin: Shared responsibility for the world’s ocean wanderers
- Maria: Mapping the irreplaceable
- Prabhat: Validation of Area of Habitat (AOH) maps of terrestrial birds and mammals
- Carmen: How do mammals and birds respond to climate change?
- Ivon: Is the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU good value for money?
- Scott: Protected area dynamics: Challenging the perception of permanence
- Clare: Re-envisioning the landscape: the implications of expanding conservation territories for community relationships with land
- Konstantina: The Natura 2000 network and the ranges of threatened species in Europe
- Pauline: Inspire4Nature from recruitment to publications: welcome aboard project management
- Sean: Conservation on a budget
- Shawn: Choose your own distance measure: the scientific tool you didn’t know you needed
- Feedback to fellows regarding their presentation
By the tutors, and by the other fellows. - Final discussion [2 hours, zoom] – 25January 14h-16h (Paris time)
Meeting with fellows & teachers to exchange about results, difficulties, lessons learnt…
Feedback
You can find here the results of the questionnaire assessing the level of satisfaction of the fellows regarding module 2.
Module 3 - Interviewing and being interviewed
Details to follow
Module 4 - Individual project
Details to follow