by Heather Plumpton
What inspired yous to apply to move on your PhD topic or electrical flow post-doc?
For me - duo yourself for a strong dose of naivety hither - I wanted to practise something virtually climate change. I wanted to brand a difference, to cause got a positive acquit upon on the world, to aid tackle a big employment for humanity. I know that this isn’t the instance for every researcher, as well as the importance of telephone commutation enquiry should non live on understated or swept aside inward favour of to a greater extent than applied science. But at that topographic point does seem to live on a strong contingent of early-career researchers who went into enquiry inward the hopes of providing solutions as well as influencing the actions of governments.
After the initial outburst of excitement virtually the potential application of my PhD research, I shortly realised that achieving this positive acquit upon on social club was non equally straightforward equally I had imagined. I couldn’t merely issue papers as well as attend conferences as well as promise that my enquiry would live on picked upwards as well as used past times policy makers. So what should I live on doing instead?
Engaging alongside policy-makers
As a palaeo-researcher it tin live on difficult to communicate the direct importance of your move to policy-makers (see this PAGES mag article on the topic, based on discussions at the PAGES Young Scientists Meeting inward 2017). The quest to brand my enquiry policy-relevant was a constant instruct by inward my PhD, which I made lilliputian progress inward tackling until this yr when I took purpose inward the Walker Institute’s outset Climate Services Academy Training (CSAT) programme. The programme was designed to develop postgraduate students inward prove synthesis to inform policy or employment organization conclusion making. At outset glance, this sounds basic – prove synthesis? Surely that’s just what a PhD trains yous to do! The crucial deviation comes from the phrase “to inform policy or employment organization conclusion making”. It turns out this flips the procedure on its head.
Making a difference
Taking purpose inward the CSAT programme fundamentally changed the means I mean value virtually research. The take-home message for me was that if nosotros desire our enquiry to brand a deviation inward the world, nosotros demand to alter the means nosotros deportment research. Instead of designing a enquiry programme based on our perceptions of what is needed to tackle climate alter issues, how virtually holler for the people dealing alongside these issues on the dry soil (i.e. the stakeholders, the people yous desire to usage your research) what they need? For example, the projection I worked on equally purpose of the CSAT programme was looking at the impacts of drought on nutrient security. The stakeholders nosotros worked alongside included farmer representatives, international assistance charities, mean value tanks as well as policy-makers.
If nosotros tin detect out the questions these stakeholders demand answered, as well as thus nosotros tin pattern our enquiry backwards from this starting point. We cannot bring the needs of the people nosotros promise volition usage our enquiry for granted or assume nosotros know best what they need. If nosotros tin reply their questions as well as come across their needs, as well as thus existent alter inward policy as well as people’s lives tin live on achieved.
This is sometimes called co-production of research; where ideally stakeholders volition live on involved inward all phases of the research, from initial pattern of the questions, through the enquiry procedure itself, to the communication of the results. This does non cause got to hateful giving consummate command to stakeholders to laid upwards your enquiry questions. Involving them inward the give-and-take tin let on mutually interesting as well as relevant topics to pursue. Engaging inward this variety of equal cognition commutation makes it far to a greater extent than probable that the enquiry yous arrive at volition live on useful as well as used.
Moving towards impact-focused research
However, I practise bring it is non an tardily task. The traditional enquiry procedure oft does non move this way, as well as it tin live on difficult to pause an established mould inward your enquiry group. I mean value this instruct by is especially pertinent for early-career researchers, equally career progression is all the same thus focused on publication inward high-impact journals, which compete for prioritisation alongside impact-focused enquiry that may good live on location-specific as well as less generalisable. But equally funding bodies are increasingly real interested inward the acquit upon of research, mayhap the scales volition residue out, as well as impact-focused enquiry outputs volition live on given to a greater extent than weight inward interview panels fifty-fifty when they don’t generate high-impact publications. Many others, alongside to a greater extent than sense of enquiry funding than me, cause got written blogs virtually how this alter mightiness live on achieved. A especially proficient i tin live on found here. For me, I mean value the co-production approach to enquiry is the pathway to getting existent satisfaction as well as joy out of the move I do. If nosotros desire our enquiry to live on useful as well as to live on used, which I believe many of us do, as well as thus nosotros demand to alter the means nosotros practise research.
Heather Plumpton
What inspired yous to apply to move on your PhD topic or electrical flow post-doc?
For me - duo yourself for a strong dose of naivety hither - I wanted to practise something virtually climate change. I wanted to brand a difference, to cause got a positive acquit upon on the world, to aid tackle a big employment for humanity. I know that this isn’t the instance for every researcher, as well as the importance of telephone commutation enquiry should non live on understated or swept aside inward favour of to a greater extent than applied science. But at that topographic point does seem to live on a strong contingent of early-career researchers who went into enquiry inward the hopes of providing solutions as well as influencing the actions of governments.
 |
| How tin scientific discipline live on applied to tackle the effects of climate change? |
After the initial outburst of excitement virtually the potential application of my PhD research, I shortly realised that achieving this positive acquit upon on social club was non equally straightforward equally I had imagined. I couldn’t merely issue papers as well as attend conferences as well as promise that my enquiry would live on picked upwards as well as used past times policy makers. So what should I live on doing instead?
Engaging alongside policy-makers
As a palaeo-researcher it tin live on difficult to communicate the direct importance of your move to policy-makers (see this PAGES mag article on the topic, based on discussions at the PAGES Young Scientists Meeting inward 2017). The quest to brand my enquiry policy-relevant was a constant instruct by inward my PhD, which I made lilliputian progress inward tackling until this yr when I took purpose inward the Walker Institute’s outset Climate Services Academy Training (CSAT) programme. The programme was designed to develop postgraduate students inward prove synthesis to inform policy or employment organization conclusion making. At outset glance, this sounds basic – prove synthesis? Surely that’s just what a PhD trains yous to do! The crucial deviation comes from the phrase “to inform policy or employment organization conclusion making”. It turns out this flips the procedure on its head.
Making a difference
Taking purpose inward the CSAT programme fundamentally changed the means I mean value virtually research. The take-home message for me was that if nosotros desire our enquiry to brand a deviation inward the world, nosotros demand to alter the means nosotros deportment research. Instead of designing a enquiry programme based on our perceptions of what is needed to tackle climate alter issues, how virtually holler for the people dealing alongside these issues on the dry soil (i.e. the stakeholders, the people yous desire to usage your research) what they need? For example, the projection I worked on equally purpose of the CSAT programme was looking at the impacts of drought on nutrient security. The stakeholders nosotros worked alongside included farmer representatives, international assistance charities, mean value tanks as well as policy-makers.
If nosotros tin detect out the questions these stakeholders demand answered, as well as thus nosotros tin pattern our enquiry backwards from this starting point. We cannot bring the needs of the people nosotros promise volition usage our enquiry for granted or assume nosotros know best what they need. If nosotros tin reply their questions as well as come across their needs, as well as thus existent alter inward policy as well as people’s lives tin live on achieved.
 |
| The Senegal CSAT squad interviewing a stakeholder - Professor Boubacar Fall of UCAD University as well as the Senegal Climate Change Committee (COMNACC) - equally purpose of the CSAT programme prove synthesis preparation (from left to right; George Dakurah, Ayeshatu, Cheikh Modou Noreyni Fall, Prof. Boubacar Fall, Heather Plumpton). |
This is sometimes called co-production of research; where ideally stakeholders volition live on involved inward all phases of the research, from initial pattern of the questions, through the enquiry procedure itself, to the communication of the results. This does non cause got to hateful giving consummate command to stakeholders to laid upwards your enquiry questions. Involving them inward the give-and-take tin let on mutually interesting as well as relevant topics to pursue. Engaging inward this variety of equal cognition commutation makes it far to a greater extent than probable that the enquiry yous arrive at volition live on useful as well as used.
Moving towards impact-focused research
However, I practise bring it is non an tardily task. The traditional enquiry procedure oft does non move this way, as well as it tin live on difficult to pause an established mould inward your enquiry group. I mean value this instruct by is especially pertinent for early-career researchers, equally career progression is all the same thus focused on publication inward high-impact journals, which compete for prioritisation alongside impact-focused enquiry that may good live on location-specific as well as less generalisable. But equally funding bodies are increasingly real interested inward the acquit upon of research, mayhap the scales volition residue out, as well as impact-focused enquiry outputs volition live on given to a greater extent than weight inward interview panels fifty-fifty when they don’t generate high-impact publications. Many others, alongside to a greater extent than sense of enquiry funding than me, cause got written blogs virtually how this alter mightiness live on achieved. A especially proficient i tin live on found here. For me, I mean value the co-production approach to enquiry is the pathway to getting existent satisfaction as well as joy out of the move I do. If nosotros desire our enquiry to live on useful as well as to live on used, which I believe many of us do, as well as thus nosotros demand to alter the means nosotros practise research.
Heather Plumpton
Department of Geography as well as Environmental Science, University of Reading
If yous are interested inward details on Heather's sense of the CSAT programme, read her post published on the Walker Institute blog.
If yous are interested inward details on Heather's sense of the CSAT programme, read her post published on the Walker Institute blog.