Enhancing universities’ contribution to the resilience of communities, business and government through science diplomacy

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting global crisis have highlighted both the growing divide between scientific evidence and government decisions, and the need for coordinated global responses to challenges that do not understand borders. Bridging this gap is urgent, especially in the context of the climate emergency, for what scientists need to better convey their research to policy and diplomacy spheres, and ensure that sound scientific data underpins national and international climate resilience decision making processes, agreements and actions. However, these conduits are not always clear, and researchers aren't typically familiar with the language, norms and culture of the world of policy. If we aspire to influence global climate policy with our research, we need to understand the scientific entry points to climate governance frameworks, and how to communicate and package our research to be useful to policy and decision makers.

Our project proposes the design and implementation of a training programme at the University of Aberdeen to equip our researchers with the knowledge, tools and networks necessary to effect evidence-informed actions to tackle the interdisciplinary challenges of the Aberdeen 2040 sustainability strategy, including climate action, biodiversity, energy transition, global health, frontier technologies (e.g. AI, quantum, neurorights), gender equality and cross-cultural diversity and inclusion.

The objectives of the training programme are to help our research community with:

• understanding climate, biodiversity and global health governance, with emphasis in international climate policy and diplomacy frameworks
• learning to convey their research to policymakers using innovative tools and techniques
• developing communication and negotiation skills to navigate international and cultural boundaries, to establish research partnerships with other universities, as well as governments, NGOs, multilateral organisations and the private sector and to address shared challenges and increase our collective impact
• developing a ‘train the trainers’ toolkit to empower institutions to replicate the training and adapt it to their needs.