2022 Conference – Science and the Next Generation

2022 Conference – Science and the Next GenerationLaura Bethany2022-12-15T11:08:11-05:00

The following panels were included in the Science and the Next Generation Theme:

Conference Panels:

Panel 546: Developing Evidence-based Climate Action Programming: drawing on global and national research

Panel 910: How can the academic community encourage young researchers to become involved in science policy?

Audio Recordings

Panel 566 – Science and The Next Generation: Authentic Engagement with Youth in Science and Science Policy

Canadian Science Policy Centre
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Richmond Hill, ON
L4B 3N9

E-mail:
info@sciencepolicy.ca

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Panel 546

Developing Evidence-based Climate Action Programming: drawing on global and national research

Organized by: Let’s Talk Science
Moderator: Bonnie Schmidt
Speakers: Dr. Ellen Field, Ruth Silver, Jeremy McNeil, Michaela Uloho-Okundaye, Isabelle LeVert-Chiasson
Notetaker: Angelly Vasquez Correa
Panel Date: November 17th, 2022

See Panel Details

Panel Abstract:
The complexity of developing and scaling meaningful climate education and action-oriented programs for diverse audiences during an era of misinformation, disinformation and skepticism cannot be overstated. This panel will share insights from projects that educate youth, educators and the public about climate change. The interactive session will showcase: international research about climate change education; Canadian research conducted by high school students about desired programming features; school projects; and national public communication efforts by researchers. Audience participation in this session will contribute to defining essential elements and shaping next steps to catalyze and support climate action.

Moderator:
Bonnie Schmidt

Speakers:

Ellen Field, Lakehead University
Ruth Silver, Groundswell projects
Michaela Uloho-Okundaye, Student Researcher, Climate Action Lab powered by Let’s Talk Science
Isabelle Levert-Chiasson, Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO)
Darren Gilmour, Royal Society of Canada

Context:
An overlooked aspect of the overall climate change situation has been the lack of education and action-oriented initiatives at the school level. Young people are facing the impacts of climate change, and they are willing to actively participate in efforts to combat it. The panel addressed the following inquiries: what do instructors and students think about climate change and which actions are they taking from the classroom to their communities? How does Canada rank globally in terms of climate education programming? What can we learn from groups that are educating the academy?

The panellists discussed key results and recommendations from pilot projects involving students, educators, and researchers on where schools stand regarding educating about and planning for climate change. In addition to the panellists’ conversations, round tables allowed attendees to participate and add to it in various ways. In a PDF document that has been appended at the end of this report, the panel chair has given the participants’ final thoughts and conclusions for this section.

Key Takeaways:

State of Affairs
- Young people desire to actively participate in climate action plans, they are looking to gain a better understanding of climate change, actions to combat it, and those taking place locally and globally.
- Sadly, youth often perceive the only way to tackle climate change is through actions that seem to be punishment. Climate change is limiting their full experiences. Part of the feeling comes from being excluded from taking part in related discussions.
- Results of a UNESCO initiative show that many schools are engaging in climate change education. However, there may be a mismatch between the curriculum and what is actually delivered in the classroom.
- The Royal Society of Canada brings together more than 5,000 academics with the goal of sharing information and experience on a variety of climate change related subjects and helping to create initiatives that educate the next generation.
Challenges
- There exists barriers for youth to act on climate initiatives. Their age, relative social isolation, being considered not sufficiently mature contributes to their lack of power in society. These barriers are amplified for youth from underrepresented groups.
- The absence of incentives to motivate youth to act against climate change in their communities, contributes to their perception that their initiatives are not valuable.
- Lack of monitoring of youth initiatives and actions on climate change, does not allow them to get feedback and guidance to improve and continue their efforts productively.
- Not having climate education formalized in the curriculum makes it difficult to gauge if/how climate change is being taught in classrooms

Recommendations
- Make the information on climate change part of school curricular or extracurricular activities in a way that is relevant and engaging for youth. For instance, frame climate action in terms of social context instead of the rise of CO2.
- Empower youth with the decision-making skills that prepare them for participating in those big decision-making processes.
- Address climate anxiety among youth by picturing the climate change situation through positive solutions, expeditions in nature that bring them close to the field, and providing them with positive feedback.
- Engage teachers and seek their perspectives and opinions on effective ways to teach and engage youth.

Panel 910

How can the academic community encourage young researchers to become involved in science policy?

English
French

Organized by: FRQ
Moderator: Dr. Madison Rilling
Speakers: Jérôme Marty, Pauline Pic, Pier-André Bouchard St-Amant, Amélie Quesnel-Vallée
Notetaker: Katerina Armela Tzotzi
Panel Date: November 17th, 2022

See Panel Details

Panel Abstract:
Bringing together decision-makers and the research community is essential to ensure that public policies are based on the best evidence. In this regard, the next generation of researchers has an essential role to play. The academic community can have a positive impact on the participation of the next generation of researchers in public policy by putting in place the conditions for such involvement. This panel will answer questions such as: “How do we establish an effective communication canal between young researchers and elected officials? What role(s) can principal investigators play in this context?”.

Moderator:
Madison Riling, Executive Director, Optonique

Speakers:

Jérôme Marty, Project Director, Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), Executive Director, International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR)
Pauline Pic, Graduate Fellow at the North American and Arctic Defense and Security Network (NAADSN), Emerging Scholar at the Strategic Analysis Network (SAN)
Pier-André Bouchard St-Amant, Professor of Public Finance at the École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP)
Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health and Department of Sociology, McGill University

Context:
Bringing together decision-makers and the research community is essential to ensure that public policies are based on the best evidence. In this regard, the next generation of researchers has an essential role to play as a driving force of the production of scientific knowledge. The academic community can positively impact the participation of the next generation of researchers in public policy by putting in place the conditions for such involvement. This panel will answer questions such as: “How do we establish an effective communication channel between young researchers and elected officials? What role(s) can principal investigators play in this context?, “What is the value of scientific advice to the decision makers?, and “How can we bring science and politics into a meaningful dialogue?”.

Key Takeaways:

State of Affairs
- Frequently, scientists and decision-makers do not speak the same language, which creates communication gaps between the scientific community and elected officials.
- The timing between scientists and decision-makers can be different. Decision-makers may be under pressure to make plans in the short term that will produce immediately visible results, while scientists tend to give recommendations in the long term. The recent pandemic is an example where decisions had to be made rapidly to address public health concerns. In contrast, it is also possible to see decisions taking a much longer time than scientists would expect.
- It is important to understand the difference in dynamics between doing fundamental research and being engaged in science policy. People who work in science policy are often called to work in groups, under the pressure of time, to deal with more complex issues for which there may not be thoroughly researched solutions. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for scientists’ personal values to be incompatible with the values espoused by the government.
- It is not uncommon for academic and research supervisors to overlook the importance of engaging in science policy. Students who are interested in science policy should look for researchers who have a track record of engaging in these activities and also seek opportunities and expertise outside the academic milieu.
Opportunities
- It is not only through the academic community that scientists can influence the decision-making process. Other non-academic partners (e.g. governments, community groups, social sectors, etc.) are equally important.
- The FRQ are organizing multidisciplinary programs (actions concertées) that engage scholars with the government. Students involved in those research teams can practice science policy and gain valuable input. Nevertheless, not all students are aware of these programs/opportunities.
Recommendations
- Scientists should avoid using technical language when interacting with politicians and decision-makers. By expressing their views in plain language, they will facilitate communication and will be better understood by their audience. They should practice answering questions that are not strictly related to their area of research. This exercise will enable them to answer quick questions on diverse topics.
- Science and policy move at different speeds. We need to develop a relationship of trust with our partners to ensure we can deliver on time. A trust-based relationship means that all parties can openly communicate their needs to avoid “communication gaps”.
- Being engaged in science policy means that some of the scientists’ recommendations will not be on the table. Scientists need to be prepared for it, although they have dedicated their careers to some fundamental principles. Also, they need to be prepared to interact with a government they are not aligned to from a personal values perspective. In that case, a sentiment of detachment and adopting a different mindset is valuable.
- A science policy decision is first and foremost, a political decision. In most cases, decisions take place at various jurisdictional levels. For young researchers, it is probably easier to engage in decision-making on a local/municipal level. This will make their proposition more accessible and will give them more confidence in engaging in science policy.
- When young researchers are called to give a recommendation, they should present their audience with good-quality data and key information and let them decide the best solution.
- Academic directors should try to integrate a team where applied research is done in collaboration with science policy (e.g. involve students in consultation when a public authority asks for scientific expertise).

Panel 566

Science and The Next Generation: Authentic Engagement with Youth in Science and Science Policy

Organized by: CIHR-IHDCYH
Moderator: Eki Okungbowa
Speakers: Max King, Vina Mohabir, Sarah Mooney, Rachel Simantov
Notetaker: Zeenat Ladak
Panel Date: November 17th, 2022

See Panel Details

Panel Abstract:
This all-youth panel will showcase different ways that diverse youth voices are influencing science and science policy, with an interactive youth-led conversation rooted in the promise of Canada’s Youth Policy. Youth participants with experience in sectors including aerospace, computer science, education, justice, and health research bring their perspectives on engaging in policy development and related discussions, including touching on some of the benefits and their critiques of specific youth engagement frameworks.

Moderator:
Eki Okungbowa, Youth Advisory Council, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, CIHR-IHDCYH

Speakers:

Max King, Chief Science Advisor’s Youth Council, M.A.Sc. Aerospace Engineering
Vina Mohabir, Patient Partner and Clinical Research Coordinator, The Hospital for Sick Children
Sarah Mooney, Youth Advisory Council, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, CIHR-IHDCYH
Rachel Simantov, Grade 10 Student, Doctor E.P. Scarlett High School

Context:
Powerful voices from this all-youth panel explored the meaning of “nothing about us without us” in how to engage youth in science, research, and policies. There are different ways diverse youth voices influence this landscape and moving from participation to meaningful partnership when engaging youth is critical to creating impactful research and policy outputs. These youth have a vision of developing more inclusive and consistent youth engagement, especially when they are the target audience of a research or policy project.

Key Takeaways:

There is opportunity to involve youth at every stage of research projects from conceptualization to implementation (e.g., an advisory board or council) while being mindful of flexibility in youth choosing the capacity at which they engage.
Involving youth in research can have significant benefits; it may require more flexibility and commitment on the part of researchers, but their engagement can create more relevant, sustainable, and impactful work.
Don’t underestimate your youth partners; youth come with other skills in addition to lived experience.
With policy, we may know what to look out for, but with science we are given the tools that are necessary to create objective and data driven approaches to build an equitable world.

Recommendations:

Enhance formal or informal means of mentorship and professional development opportunities for youth. Experienced professionals should engage youth early – this gets youth interested in science and science policy and mentorship can help them grow, develop, and influence future research directions.
Encourage researchers and policy makers to normalize the exploration of different careers in science and to challenge the definition of excellence in careers and mentorship; the youth perspective here is valuable. See “Our Vision for Science: Perspectives from the Chief Science Advisor of Canada’s Youth Council”.
Engage youth as active decision makers to create authenticity in the research and policy process; build a continuous relationship instead of a one-off engagement. Youth engagement should not be superficial; create policy and conduct research with youth, rather than on youth.
It is important to reflect on why youth engagement in your work may be low and what the barriers to engagement are.
Youth are often perceived as disengaged and not goal-oriented – Challenge your own perceptions and do the work to engage them. Create opportunities for reciprocal learning between youth and adults.

2022 Conference – Science and the Next Generation

The following panels were included in the Science and the Next Generation Theme:

Conference Panels:

Audio Recordings

Panel 546

Developing Evidence-based Climate Action Programming: drawing on global and national research

Organized by: Let’s Talk Science Moderator: Bonnie Schmidt Speakers: Dr. Ellen Field, Ruth Silver, Jeremy McNeil, Michaela Uloho-Okundaye, Isabelle LeVert-Chiasson Notetaker: Angelly Vasquez Correa Panel Date: November 17th, 2022

Panel 910

How can the academic community encourage young researchers to become involved in science policy?

English

French

Organized by: FRQ Moderator: Dr. Madison Rilling Speakers: Jérôme Marty, Pauline Pic, Pier-André Bouchard St-Amant, Amélie Quesnel-Vallée Notetaker: Katerina Armela Tzotzi Panel Date: November 17th, 2022

Panel 566

Science and The Next Generation: Authentic Engagement with Youth in Science and Science Policy

Organized by: CIHR-IHDCYHModerator: Eki OkungbowaSpeakers: Max King, Vina Mohabir, Sarah Mooney, Rachel SimantovNotetaker: Zeenat LadakPanel Date: November 17th, 2022

Organized by: Let’s Talk Science
Moderator: Bonnie Schmidt
Speakers: Dr. Ellen Field, Ruth Silver, Jeremy McNeil, Michaela Uloho-Okundaye, Isabelle LeVert-Chiasson
Notetaker: Angelly Vasquez Correa
Panel Date: November 17th, 2022

Organized by: FRQ
Moderator: Dr. Madison Rilling
Speakers: Jérôme Marty, Pauline Pic, Pier-André Bouchard St-Amant, Amélie Quesnel-Vallée
Notetaker: Katerina Armela Tzotzi
Panel Date: November 17th, 2022

Organized by: CIHR-IHDCYH
Moderator: Eki Okungbowa
Speakers: Max King, Vina Mohabir, Sarah Mooney, Rachel Simantov
Notetaker: Zeenat Ladak
Panel Date: November 17th, 2022