Jennifer Riley1 (Jennifer.Riley@noc.ac.uk)

Contributions from: Jacky Wood1, Steve Hall1 Tom Redd1, & Bev Mackenzie2

1 2

Annual Meeting 2014, Berlin

Marine science knowledge exchange: challenges & tools for dissemination

Environmental importance of the ocean

Primary productivity and carbon storage

Global temperature

regulation and heat storage

Influence on global weather

patterns

Herndl and Reinthaler (2013) doi: 10.1038/ngeo1921

www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/articles/view/3180

www.seos-project.eu

visibleearth.nasa.gov

scitechdaily.com/hurricane-sandy-viewed-from-space/

Economics and the ocean

Traditional industries

New Blue Growth industries

http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/policy/blue_growth/

The ‘Oceanscape’: interactions with marine policy

Marine Policy

ShippingMarine

research

Climate regulation

Human health

Marine conservation

Fisheries and

aquacultureSeabed minerals

Genetic resources

Energy

Recreation

Tourism

Cable laying

• Marine policy is about protecting the environment for the benefit of future generations.

• Marine policies focus on ensuring the ocean remains ecologically diverse and economically functional.

• Marine scientific research improves our understanding of the ocean is at the heart of marine policy.

• MSR needs coordination and mechanisms to ensure it feeds into marine policy decisions.

European Marine science coordination

The European Marine Board develops common positions on research priorities and strategies for European marine science, facilitating enhanced cooperation between stakeholders involved in supporting, delivering and using marine research and technology. EMB is an independent non-governmental advisory body transferring knowledge from the scientific community to decision makers

http://www.marineboard.eu/

High-level strategic platform providing a long-term integrated approach to marine & maritime research & technology development in Europe. Working to align the marine and maritime research landscape providing a long-term integrated approach to marine &maritime research and technology development.

www.jpi-oceans.eu/policies-and-strategies

National European Marine science coordination

Belgium - The Federal Council for Science Policy Includes marine work – coordinating, funding, managing and ensuring policy relevance.

Norway – the Ministry of Climate and Environment has an important role in influencing other Ministries and sectors at the national level. Marine coordination is through the Department for Marine Management and Pollution Control

Collectively represent the interests of marine research towards decision-makers in Germany and the EU and the public

Germany – The German Research Foundation (DFG) gives policy advice to parliaments, governments and public institutions on scientific issues.

UK – MSCC is a partnership of government departments, devolved administrations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, environment agencies and research bodies involved in funding and marine science reporting.

The Challenges

Communication – scientists and policymakers speak different languages

Knowing the landscape – policy landscape is complex and specialist knowledge is needed to navigate it

Priorities and timescales – Don not always align. Government work on election timescales, scientists work on project and peer review timescales.

Financial – Governments don’t always want to spend it in the way scientists might.

Trust – getting trust between scientists and other stakeholders

Communicating science

Negative North Atlantic Oscillation

Keep messages clear and straightforward - who is in the audience?

Why we should care? – wider picture and impacts for society

Define Acronyms

‘A picture is worth a thousand words’

Use simple figures to communicate complex ideas and theories to non experts

Make sure key ‘take home messages’ are clearImage accessed from www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=8915&tid=3622&cid=24777

Negative North Atlantic Oscillation

Communicating uncertainty

IPCC AR5 reporting of uncertainty.

Likelihood scale helps non expert audiences understand the probabilities and uncertainties.

Likelihood scale

Term Likelihood of

Outcome

Virtually Certain 99 – 100%

Very Likely 90 – 100%

Likely 66 – 100%

About as likely as not 33 – 66%

Unlikely 0 – 33%

Very Unlikely 0 – 10%

Exceptionally unlikely 0 – 1%IPCC AR5 Figure 11.25

IPCC AR5 guidance notes

Uncertainty leads scientists to action and policymakers to indecision.

Policymakers like to have definite answers — an impossibility in science.

Communication – scientists and policymakers speak different languages

Knowing the landscape – policy landscape is complex and specialist knowledge is needed to navigate it

Priorities and timescales – Do not always align. Government work on election timescales, scientists work on project and peer review timescales.

Financial – Governments don’t always want to spend it in the way scientists might.

Trust – getting trust between scientists and other stakeholders

The Challenges

Boyes and Elliott (2014) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.06.055

Knowing the landscape … European to national implementation in England

Communication – scientists and policymakers speak different languages

Knowing the landscape – policy landscape is complex and specialist knowledge is needed to navigate it

Priorities and timescales – Do not always align. Government work on election timescales, scientists work on project and peer review timescales.

Financial – Governments don’t always want to spend it in the way scientists might.

Trust – getting trust between scientists and other stakeholders

The Challenges

Communication – scientists and policymakers speak different languages

Knowing the landscape – policy landscape is complex and specialist knowledge is needed to navigate it

Priorities and timescales – Do not always align. Government work on election timescales, scientists work on project and peer review timescales.

Financial – Governments don’t always want to spend it in the way scientists might.

Trust – getting trust between scientists and other stakeholders

The Challenges

Communication – scientists and policymakers speak different languages

Knowing the landscape – policy landscape is complex and specialist knowledge is needed to navigate it

Priorities and timescales – Do not always align. Government work on election timescales, scientists work on project and peer review timescales.

Financial – Governments don’t always want to spend it in the way scientists might.

Trust – getting trust between scientists and other stakeholders

The Challenges

Tool: Engaging stakeholders

Level of influence

Leve

l of i

nter

est

Keep informed

Monitor Keep satisfied

• Identify who they are and importance for level of management needed

• To do this need to ensure that have people who know the policy & science landscape

Project partners

European Commission / policy

makers

ECOMS projects

Other related science projects

NACLIM workshops with 3 city partners and scientists to ensure delivery of urban heat island mapping product and potential societal impacts.

Manage closely

Ensure that knowledge is used correctly on the ground. Use of knowledge brokers – e.g. scientists seconded to DEFRA as specialists with expertise to deliver independent and credible advice.

Tool: Preparing position papers & factsheetsAids with communication of science to policy.• Scientist (and policy makers) working

together to align priorities.• Highlight ongoing science issues,

priorities & areas for funding / policy focus

International e.g. European Marine Board Position Paper “Navigating the Future Series”

National e.g. UK Charting Progress 2

Project factsheets and report cardse.g. UK Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership annual report cards

e.g. Strategic Assessment of Development of the Arctic factsheets

Tool: Providing platforms for discussion

National: UK MSCC Underwater Sound Forum

MSFD descriptor 11 - energy and noiseIntroduction of energy, including underwater noise, at levels that do not adversely affect the marine environment.

• Not previously monitored sufficiently.

• Involves many different parties, scientists, industry, military …

International: EurOcean meeting seriesMajor European marine science policy conferences.

Forum for the marine & maritime research community and wider stakeholders to interface with European and Member State policymakers

To discuss and respond to new marine science and technology developments, challenges and opportunities.

EurOcean Rome Declaration 2014 eurocean2014.eu/declaration/

Tool: Consultations• International (European)

and national level consultations.

• Vital for science communication

• Need your input as scientists/specialists in your fields

www.noc.ac.uk/about-us/international-strategic-partnerships-office/consultations

http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/consultations/index_en.htm

Tool: Building Knowledge Exchange into Research Programmes

• NACLIM project work package 4.2: Impact on Urban Societies “Investigate the impact of seasonal to decadal-scale climate (variability) on urban areas and their populations.”

• Series of workshops - scientists & representatives from cities (Berlin, Antwerp & Almada)

• Outputs of UHI maps - city representatives can use for local policy, governance & planning.

Summary

There are many challenges in communicating science into policy.

Scientists are busy people, and don’t always have time to undertake such dissemination themselves …

But it is vital science is communicated on the national and international stages.

So … work with the teams of specialists who are trained and have the capacity to communicate science into policy,

… and from the outset (planning stage) of a project think

about the science policy relevance, knowledge exchange mechanisms and dissemination tools.

NACLIM Knowledge Exchange …

OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY (OOSIG)Operational oceanography (OO) aims to provide sustained marine measurements, analyses, predictions and assessments for use in improving public safety and national security, creating wealth and protecting the marine environment.

The overall aim of the OOSIG is to improve awareness of the concept of operational oceanography and to engage the wider marine sector in ocean observation and the associated development of operational products and services.

www.imarest.org

NACLIM Knowledge Exchange …

Advances in Survey Techniques including:Surveillance and monitoringInnovative surface vessel solutions

AUV / UUV advancesROVsGeophysical (sub-bottom) techniques and systemsSeismic acquisition

Oceanographic solutions

Survey Operations and ApplicationsCharting (SOLAS / EEZ etc)Offshore engineering site surveysPipeline surveysRenewable energyGeophysical surveyGeotechnical investigationInter-tidal operations

OceanographyCoastal surveys incl. biodiversity and ecological studiesOffshore / coastal engineering and constructionStructural monitoringCoastal flooding

www.oceanbusiness.com

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union 7th Framework Programme (FP7 2007-2013), under grant agreement n.308299

NACLIM www.naclim.eu