Blog: Most Recent Posts

August 27, 2012 - 12:19 PM
Communications Training: Connect with COMPASS
Lauren Hertel (2003)

For several years now we have highlighted communications trainings by COMPASS in our fall retreats. COMPASS helps scientists communicate their work in a concise, lively manner that will get the attention of non-scientists including journalists and policymakers.

What you may not realize is that our partnership with COMPASS extends beyond the retreats. The trainers are available to answer media-related questions throughout the year for Fellows who have attended a retreat training session, and the organization’s blog often has posts of interest for Fellows improving their communications skills.

Here are a few recent posts to get you...
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August 1, 2012 - 12:07 PM
Leadership and Collective Impact
Lissa Widoff (1992)

Many of us are keenly aware that to achieve positive outcomes on any complex, systemic, societal issue, whether it is environmental, economic or social in nature, we need to find ways to work collaboratively. This is by no means a new idea. But the realities of differing organizational missions, leadership styles, definitions of the problem and different funding sources, can be an obstacle to collectively finding solutions or simply “moving the needle” in the right direction.  Funders, organizational theorists and many practitioners are beginning to develop a body of practice known as “Collective Impact”. The basic idea is that if organizations define the larger systemic problem...
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July 30, 2012 - 9:23 AM
Communications Training: Writing Clear Sentences
Lauren Hertel (2003)

COMPASS trainers spend a lot of time at our retreats talking about simlifying your communications without dumbing them down.  One quick way to do this is to make your writing simpler, clearer, and more accessible to a lay audience.  This can be difficult when you spend most of your time writing for an advanced scientific audience, so let's get back to basics and look at an expert's advice on how to write clear sentences.  The following is the transcript of a podcast episode by Grammar Girl on the Quick and Dirty Tips network: 

Grammar Girl here.

...
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July 23, 2012 - 7:04 PM
Development of a National Climate Adaptation Forum: Action Today for a Better Tomorrow
Amber Pairis (2001)

A team of Switzer fellows led by Lara Hansen and I are interested in developing the first national conference and professional development event around climate change adaptation and are seeking the input of other Switzer fellows.  Because climate change adaptation is an emerging field with practitioners from varied disciplines many practitioners often work in isolation as they push forward to integrate climate change adaptation into their respective organizations. While many professional societies are expanding to include climate adaptation as part of their dialogue we recognize that this does not achieve a critical mass for networking and professional development. The kind of...
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