Bridging the Research-Practice Gap in Climate Communication: Lessons From One Academic-Practitioner Collaboration. (June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Han, Hahrie; Stenhouse, Neil
• Is Part Of: Science communication. Volume 37:Number 3(2015:Jun.)
• Page Start: 396
• Page End: 404
• Publication Date: 2015-06
• Subjects: climate change -- knowledge exchange -- organization communication -- public engagement -- public perception of political issues -- interdisciplinary science communication -- science; Social sciences -- Periodicals; Knowledge, Sociology of -- Periodicals; Communication in science -- Periodicals; Communication of technical information -- Periodicals; Communication in medicine -- Periodicals; Information scientifique -- Périodiques; Information technique -- Périodiques; Communication en sciences sociales -- Périodiques; Communication en médecine -- Périodiques; 300.14
• DOI: 10.1177/1075547014560828
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1075-5470

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that a research-practice gap exists for climate change communication, whereby practitioners are not making optimal use of knowledge that exists and scholars are not answering questions most relevant to practitioners. Closer collaboration between academics and practitioners is one way to close this gap. We recount our collaboration with a group of Sierra Club staff and volunteers working to improve their climate advocacy and organizing activities. From our collaboration, four ways of improving future collaborations emerged, relating to broad versus narrow applicability of communication recommendations, strategy versus tactics, academic versus experiential knowledge, and proactive versus reactive support.