Supporting Actionable Research That Informs Conservation

Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center Colloquium

Supporting Actionable Research That Informs Conservation Becky Goldburg, PhD, Director of Environmental Research and Science, The Pew Charitable Trusts Website | @bjgoldburg Abstract I will discuss how the Pew Charitable Trusts’ works to supporting research that is both useful and used to inform conservation policy and practices. One key approach is collaborating with decision-makers to identify their information needs, rather than looking for research questions that are the most scientifically interesting or cutting edge. Through the Lenfest Ocean Program, we support co-designed research projects intended to provide information that decision-makers both want and can act upon. Another approach is enabling conservation researchers to reflect on questions such as, “What types of impacts do you hope your research project will have?,” and “How will you achieve your desired impacts and project goals?”. Through the Pew Marine Fellows program we work with scientists to apply strategic tools, such as project pathways or theories of change, to systematically chart the steps and interim impacts to achieve project goals. In our experience, these approaches increase the likelihood that conservation research will result not only in contributions to the scientific literature, but also be applied to real-world conservation decisions. Related links: Grant-Making Criteria for Developing Useful and Usable Marine Science: A Philanthropic Perspective Landrum Jason P., et al. Front. Mar. Sci., 18 January 2022. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.809953 Full details and speaker bio at https://research.ncsu.edu/ges/event/ges-colloquium-2022-03-08/ See upcoming colloquia at https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium