Abstract

The mandate of the National Environmental Science Programme Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub is to ensure that Australia’s policies and management decisions are effectively informed by Earth systems and climate change science, now and into the future. Of course, to do this we need to ensure that our science is accessible for the people that need it – our stakeholders in government, research industry and the community.

These core stakeholder groups all have very different requirements of climate science information; however, more often than not, they are exposed to the same technical presentation of work, regardless of whether they are a climate modeller, a local government councillor, a business owner or an interested citizen.

In the Hub, we are actively working with our researchers to help them see their science through the eyes of the different stakeholder groups, and communicate their work accordingly. This presentation will discuss our motivations, approaches, the challenges we’ve encountered and our success to date.

Authors
Karen Pearce* is a science communicator and editor, specialising in communication about climate change, the environment and natural resource management. The Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub is one of her clients. Mandy Hopkins is the Hub Knowledge Broker and Indigenous Engagement Coordinator, and works with Karen to support Hub researchers in communicating their science to stakeholders.

*presenting author; correspondence to karen@bloomcommunication.com.au