THRiVE successfully conducted a two-day science communication workshop for research scientists between 27th and 28th April 2022 at Kabira Country Club in Kampala. The purposes of this workshop were multi-faceted and included: introducing scientists to the fundamentals of science communication; social media use; mass media use; the fundamentals of communicating science through community and public engagement and communicating science to influence policy. The workshop was attended by 32 participants from different science disciplines such as surgery, general medicine, dentistry, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and even social sciences.
Dr. Archilles Katamba, who represented the THRiVE Director, welcomed participants to the training and stated that teaching science communication skills to scientists was critical for highlighting the value of their work.
Dr. Katamba officially opened the two-day training workshop at Kabira Country Club in Kampala
“Researchers are ever more expected to communicate their science not just within the scientific community but with society as a whole. It’s important that they are able to describe what they do to various non-scientific publics including policy makers and media,” Dr. Katamba said.
He added that when scientists are able to communicate effectively beyond their peers, it makes science accessible to audiences that traditionally have been excluded from the process of science. This can help make science more diverse and inclusive.
— DAY 1 —
Dr. Charles Wendo, a training coordinator with SciDev.Net opened the training modules with an introduction to the science of science communication. He told participants about the effective communication cycle which involves sending a message through a medium to a receiver who reverts with feedback to the sender.
Dr. Wendo opened the training workshop with an introduction to the science of science communication
“For your communication to be effective, your intended message has to be decoded by the receiver and the only way you can know that is if there is feedback,” Dr. Wendo told participants.
Additionally, he spoke about the four models of science communication which are: knowledge-deficit model that is mostly a one-way flow of information; contextual model which takes into account the needs, attitudes and existing knowledge of different audiences; lay-expertise model which takes into account the pre-existing knowledge in society and the participation model which engages the public and policy makers in discussions. Dr. Wendo concluded his discussion by enlightening participants about how to prepare for a media interview; how to handle difficult questions and the dos and don’ts of an interview.
Hereafter, the programme continued with a discussion on policy development led by Prof. Freddie Ssengooba, a health system and policy researcher. He defined policy as a line of action (or inaction) aiming to preserve or change conditions perceived as collective problems or challenges. Generally, policies set responsibilities for joint action; guide resource allocation and provide principles that guide cooperation.
Prof. Ssengooba led the session on policy development
“Before a research study can influence policy, researchers ought to define the nature of the health problem and thereafter map the flow of process whilst actively involving different stakeholders, beneficiaries and implementers,” Prof. Ssengooba said.
He also taught participants about the main steps for policy design and stakeholder analysis for policy reforms.
The day’s third presenter was Dr. Peter Mwesige who elucidates on the need of having a research communications strategy. He told participants that a research communication strategy is a plan for disseminating information about planned, current and past research. It involves a situation analysis, communications objectives, expected outcomes, stakeholder analysis and target audience.
“Strategies are meaningless if they are not implemented. Be deliberate about implementation; grow a culture of communication and think about a mix of tools,” he told the scientists.
Dr. Mwesige is the Executive Director of the African Centre for Media Excellence.
The day was wrapped up with a presentation on communicating science with policy makers by Dr. Ekwaro Obuku, coordinator of the African Centre for Systematic Reviews and Knowledge Translation. He spoke to matters concerning what policy makers care about; how a researcher may build his/her profile and making an elevator pitch to policy makers. An elevator pitch is a brief way of introducing yourself, getting across a key point or two, and making a connection with someone. He noted that the only way scientists may get better at making elevator pitches and feel more comfortable is through practice.
“Always give the person you’re talking with a way to be helpful. Whether it’s through sharing information or making professional contact. Then use email, phone call or LinkedIn to continue the conversation,” Dr. Obuku said.
At the end of the day, participants filled in an online evaluation form.
— DAY 2 —
The second workshop day started with participants giving a recap of what they had learned the previous day. After that, Dr. Wendo taught participants ‘how to write an Op-Ed article. He noted that before scientists can write such articles, they ought to consider whether their research findings have an impact on policy and the public. In order to make research findings interesting to the public, scientists should humanize their findings, prioritize information that is of interest to the public and relate their findings to people’s most pressing needs and aspirations.
Furthermore, he spoke about the structure of an Op-Ed which is: a catchy headline followed by a captivating introduction, engaging main body and thought-provoking conclusion.
“To ensure that the message in your Op-Ed is understood by the intended receiver, always ensure that it reveals facts or viewpoints that weren’t widely known before, is based on credible scientific evidence and is in simple language for non-specialists to read and understand,” he emphasized.
In order to simplify science for the public and policy makers, Dr. Wendo cautioned scientists to use statistics sparingly, use visual aids and avoid jargon (technical terms) where possible. The next session, led by Milly Nattimba, introduced the participants to the basics of social media. She highlighted the fact that social media can be a useful venue to take science to the streets. This is because social media helps scientists engage with other audiences such as government officials, industry experts and policy makers; access other researchers’ works and build reputable brands.
Ms. Milly Nattimba delivered the session on use of social media for science communication
“Scientists are using social media to boost outreach activities, engage in activism, and get the public informed and energized about all things science,” Nattimba said. She is the head of communication, Africa One Health University Network (AFROHUN). She highlighted several social media platforms that scientists can exploit including Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube, ResearchGate, Mendeley and Google Scholar. The workshop concluded with two short presentations by Prof. Angelina Kakooza and Dr. Susan Atuhairwe who shared their personal experiences on using community engagement to disseminate research. Documentaries about their engagement process were also shown.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Katamba urged participants to aggressively follow-on with practicing the skills they had acquired in the workshop.
