Developing a translational ecology workforce

Abstract

We define a translational ecologist as a professional ecologist with diverse disciplinary expertise and skill sets, as well as a suitable personal disposition, who engages across social, professional, and disciplinary boundaries to partner with decision makers to achieve practical environmental solutions. Becoming a translational ecologist requires specific attention to obtaining critical non-scientific disciplinary breadth and skills that are not typically gained through graduate-level education. Here, we outline a need for individuals with broad training in interdisciplinary skills, use our personal experiences as a basis for assessing the types of interdisciplinary skills that would benefit potential translational ecologists, and present steps that interested ecologists may take toward becoming translational. Skills relevant to translational ecologists may be garnered through personal experiences, informal training, short courses, fellowships, and graduate programs, among others. We argue that a translational ecology workforce is needed to bridge the gap between science and natural resource decisions. Furthermore, we argue that this task is a cooperative responsibility of individuals interested in pursuing these careers, educational institutions interested in training scientists for professional roles outside of academia, and employers seeking to hire skilled workers who can foster stakeholder-engaged decision making. A s the severity of global environmental challenges deepens, ecologists are being increasingly called upon to engage with decision makers to identify solutions that are socially acceptable. Such solutions must be salient, credible, and legitimate in order to be effective (Cash et al. 2003).For research to inform natural resource decision making, it must be driven by stakeholder problems and concerns, and should involve a collaborative process between researchers and users of the products of that research. However, bridging gaps among the varied cultures of requisite disciplines to formulate practical, implementable policy and management solutions remains a major impediment (Cook et al. 2013). Natural resource managers, for example, routinely highlight the lack of meaningful personal interactions with scientists as a primary limiting constraint on the use of science in developing adaptation strategies (eg Armitage et al. 2015;Meadow et al. 2015).Traditional graduate training, which continues to emphasize the importance of curiosity-and theory-driven inquiry, is often insufficient for developing aptitude to inform practical solutions (Graybill et al. 2006). Framing research is classically motivated by targeting the most intellectually novel and stimulating research questions based on the scientific literature. These cutting-edge science questions, however, are often not tuned to finding solutions to society's most pressing problems. Furthermore, this emerging training need for science to meet global environmental challenges extends beyond "Pasteur's quadrant" (Stokes 1997), in which science can r...

Linking knowledge to action: the role of boundary spanners in translating ecology

“…Boundary spanning is a key tool in the TE toolbox, and a commitment to increasing the social value, relevance, and application of the ecological sciences will require an expanded investment in boundary‐spanning training (Schwartz et al . ), employment, and organizations.…”

Model for improved undergraduate training in translational conservation science

“…Management decisions are not based solely on scientific data but must also consider stakeholder perspectives (see e.g., Pinel, López Rodriguez, Morocho Cuenca, Astudillo Aguillar, & Merriman, 2018); societal context may constrain implementing the solution best supported by the scientific results (Hallett et al, 2017;Kelley et al, 2018;Schwartz et al, 2017). Management decisions are not based solely on scientific data but must also consider stakeholder perspectives (see e.g., Pinel, López Rodriguez, Morocho Cuenca, Astudillo Aguillar, & Merriman, 2018); societal context may constrain implementing the solution best supported by the scientific results (Hallett et al, 2017;Kelley et al, 2018;Schwartz et al, 2017).…”

“…In addition to involving practitioners (managers and planners) and stakeholders from the community, we would recruit students from outside the natural sciences. Students would also acquire skills useful in crossing the research-implementation gap (Cook et al, 2013), such as project management, leadership, networking, communication, policy analysis, negotiation, group facilitation, conflict resolution, decision making, and fundraising Schwartz et al, 2017). Nevertheless, negotiating and implementing such research would provide students with a more realistic view of doing conservation on the ground.…”

Navigating translational ecology: creating opportunities for scientist participation

“…; Schwartz et al . ), sabbaticals designed to immerse professors in management environments as opposed to traditional research sabbaticals, and guidance on evaluation procedures that provide recognition and career advancement for achievements in outcome‐centered research (Franz ). Collective experience will provide the basis for developing an evidence‐based approach for best practices in TE.…”

“…We focus primarily on ways in which scientists can engage in TE within the existing institutional frameworks of academia and partner organizations (see Schwartz et al . for a consideration of workforce training and institutional changes). Although our emphasis is on academia and government agencies, since they employ the majority of scientists, we recognize that non‐governmental scientists also represent an important group, faced with their own unique set of constraints.…”