Communicating Science and Technical Skills

The African scientists must be able to communicate their findings to influence the policies needed for sustainable development and poverty reduction. To help realize this goal, this Skills for Africa workshop on ‘communicating and disseminating research results’ is designed to train scientists and their institutions in writing quality scientific papers and communicating to policy makers, media, beneficiaries, implementers, and civil society.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course the participants will be able to:

• Increase adoptions of innovations and scientific discovery at the community level
• Bridge the gap between science and society.
• Draw the attention of public and private funding sources.
• Attract the interest of potential partners and/or correspondents.
• Enhance the reputation of individual and team researchers at local, national, and international level.
• Facilitate financial licensees or industrial implementers to exploit the results and generate market demand for the developed products or services.
• Influence policymakers to develop policies and commit resources that will catalyse the green revolution.

Duration               5 Days

Who Should Attend

The course can be customized for groups of Scientists, Researchers, Program Managers/Officers in development organizations, including Research Institutes, University departments, NGOs, Parastatals, think tanks etc. - indeed anyone involved in communicating development-related research but with little experience of doing so.

Course Content

Communication Skills

• Segmenting and understanding audiences.
• From technical reporting to story narration.
• Delivering scientific talks and communicating technical data visually.
• Why and how to publish scientific papers.
• Selecting the tools for diverse audiences- policymakers, farmers, among others.

Communicating Research through the Media

Training equips researchers/scientists with basic media skills and helps them become comfortable with the media while gaining control of media interviews. The training goes further to provide.

• Speaking tips, skills, and confidence the researchers/scientists and other technical people need to communicate to other different audiences.
• For peer-to-peer communication – the training offers a track on leveraging on ICT – practical approaches and examples of using social media, creating dynamic websites and e-newsletters.
• Specific issues and challenges related to the disciplines will be addressed. For instance, agriculture, health, biodiversity and environment and best practices and examples of good communication in these domains presented to ensure that participants gain practical tools. 

General Notes

• This course is delivered by our seasoned trainers who have vast experience as expert professionals in the respective fields of practice. The course is taught through a mix of practical activities, theory, group works and case studies.
• Training manuals and additional reference materials are provided to the participants.
• Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be issued with a certificate.