Association of Polar Early Career Scientists - Science Policy Workshop 2019

Science Policy workshop logos

The Workshop "Raising awareness and building capacity for science-based policy-making" took place on 8 - 9 October 2019 in Reykjavik, Iceland and was organized by the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS), the German Arctic Office of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), and the Icelandic Center for Research (RANNIS), in cooperation with the German Embassy in Reykjavik and supported by the German Federal Foreign Office and the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The dialogue between scientists and policy-makers is crucial to ensure that climate and environmental policies are based on sound scientific knowledge. Therefore, the knowledge transfer from science to policy plays a major role in modern science and will be even more important in the future. Exposing researchers to the science-policy-interface is particularly important in an early career stage to develop an understanding of the tools and processes involved and a natural collaboration beyond science. Policy needs scientists who have consolidated knowledge and give objective and independent advice.

Communicating scientific information to policy-makers requires certain skills in translating the scientific information into information that can be understood by policy makers or non-scientists, as scientists and policy-makers very often speak different “languages”. This workshop aimed thus to provide training to early career researchers to raise awareness of the need to communicate beyond the research community, to introduce new career paths for early career researchers outside academia and to lower “mental barriers” in the transition between politics and science.

The agenda included invited introductory keynote presentations by both policy-makers and scientists experienced in knowledge transfer. Two breakout groups led by invited mentors discussed specific elements of the science-policy-interface in more detail.

The two-day workshop gathered 30 Arctic research-focused PhD students and PostDocs from both natural and social sciences and early career Arctic indigenous researchers and knowledge holders.

Workshop report available!

The workshop report is now available - answering the questions "How to define and reach your audience?", "How to translate your message?" and "How to design science to address stakeholder‘s/societal needs?".

Read here the full version of how to practice science-policy communication.

If you are interested in a printed version (will be available soon), please contact:

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Agenda

Tuesday 8 October 2019
Location: RANNIS (The Icelandic Centre for Research), Borgartún 30, IS-105 Reykjavík
08:45 - 09:00	Welcoming remarks and opening from the Organizing Committee Þorsteinn Gunnarsson (Icelandic Center for Research RANNIS) Volker Rachold (German Arctic Office, Alfred Wegener Institute) Gerlis Fugmann (Association of Polar Early Career Scientists APECS)
09:00 - 10:30	Keynotes Presentations Speakers: Nicole Biebow (EU PolarNet, Alfred Wegener Institute) Henry Burgess (UK NERC Arctic Office)
10:30 - 11:00	Coffee Break
11:00 - 12:30	Breakout Session: “From Science to Policy” (Group A) Mentors: Halldór Þorgeirsson (Chair of the Icelandic Climate Council, former director for Strategy UNFCCC, Bonn) Allen Pope (International Arctic Science Committee IASC) Margareta Johansson (International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic INTERACT) Breakout Session: “From Policy to Science” (Group B) Mentors: Tom Barry (Executive Secretary of CAFF) Sophia Speckhahn (WWF) Gosia Smieszek (Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Chair of IASC Action Group on Communicating Arctic Science to Policy-Makers)
12:30 - 13:30	*Lunch Break*
13:30 - 13:40	The Arctic Youth Network (Presenter: Pétur Halldórsson, Chair of Icelandic Youth Environmentalist Association)
13:40 - 15:00	Breakout Sessions - continued
15:00 - 15:30	*Coffee Break*
15:30 - 17:00	Reports from the Breakout Sessions from all participants and mentors
19:00	Workshop Dinner

Wednesday 9 October 2019
Location: RANNIS (The Icelandic Centre for Research), Borgartún 30, IS-105 Reykjavík
08:45 - 09:00	Welcoming remarks and opening from the Organizing Committee Hallgrímur Jónasson (Director of Icelandic Center for Research RANNIS) German Ambassador to Iceland Dietrich Becker
09:00 - 10:15	Keynotes Presentations Speakers: Lilja Dögg Alfredsdottir (Icelandic Minister of Education, Science and Culture) Fran Ulmer (Chair U.S. Arctic Research Commission)
10:30 - 11:00	Coffee Break
11:00 - 12:30	Breakout Session: “From Policy to Science” (Group A) Mentors: German Ambassador to Iceland Dietrich Becker Sophia Speckhahn (WWF) Gosia Smieszek (Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Chair of IASC Action Group on Communicating Arctic Science to Policy-Makers Breakout Session: “From Science to Policy” (Group B) Mentors: Allen Pope (International Arctic Science Committee IASC) Margareta Johansson (International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic INTERACT)
12:30 - 13:30	*Lunch Break*
13:30 - 15:00	Breakout Sessions - continued
15:00 - 15:30	*Coffee Break*
15:30 - 17:00	Reports from the Breakout Sessions from all participants and mentors and Conclusion

Organizing Committee

Volker Rachold (German Arctic Office / AWI)
Gerlis Fugmann (APECS / AWI)
Lisa Grosfeld (APECS / German Arctic Office / AWI)
Þorsteinn Gunnarsson (RANNIS)
Egill Þór Níelsson (RANNIS)

Science Policy Workshop 2019

Workshop report available!

Agenda

Organizing Committee

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