Anders Esselin is essentially a biologist but has never worked as one, since his extra job as a journalist took over. After 12 years at Swedish Television and several newspapers, wishing to be able to explore an issue in real depth, he shed his journalist role.Instead, he became a communicator for the FjällMistra research programme, which ended in 2006. For this work, he has recently received an award from the Royal Academy of Agriculture and Forestry. According to the citation, he was given it ‘for his successful work in FjällMistra, where he works close to his target groups and emphasises two-way communication. In defining the division of roles for researchers and users, he has developed a combination of scenario technique and stakeholder participation.’
‘Disseminating information or results is just one part of what research communication is about. Instead, I’m in favour of a bigger focus on dialogue, with researchers and end users taking part and learning from each other,’ Esselin says.
Learning from each other
His basic philosophy is that communication is just one tool of many for reaching general goals, which in most applied research programmes comprise both high scientific quality and ultimately the practical application of results.
For research findings to become useful, some form of communication is required between the research community and those who will ultimately put the findings to use. The role of the communicator is then to help researchers from various disciplines and end users to learn from each other.
‘One way is to create arenas where various issues are discussed by both researchers and users. In that way, the scientists get a better basis for their studies and, as a result, the findings become more useful and the users feel they’re being listened to. And that realisation is something that, I’m glad to say, is increasingly common in the research community,’ Esselin says.
Complex issues
In Sweden’s mountain region, conflicts abound. Needs and interests like hunting, fishing, tourism, reindeer husbandry, forestry and nature conservation come up against one another; at the same time the montane ecosystems have natural limitations and are vulnerable to interference and exploitation. In these circumstances, the conflicts and misunderstandings easily multiply.
In Esselin’s view FjällMistra succeeded, in a way, in being a neutral platform on which different users could meet and discuss thorny issues.
‘In one way, communicating information about the mountain region is simple. Every Swede has a relationship with the area. What makes it difficult all the same is that so few have any real understanding of the structure of the mountain communities. There are a whole lot of different interests involved in deciding how the mountains should be used, and several different groups make claims on the resources. And this makes it a highly complex issue. But one should remember that everyone depends on finding solutions,’ he adds.
A dialogue between the various users and the researchers was therefore crucial for progress to be made. The job of communicator could involve taking time to join in with reindeer branding and or talking to fishermen, as well as arranging scenario discussions for researchers.
Scenarios and dialogue
Esselin has brought his experience from FjällMistra into his assignment as a communicator for the Future Forests research programme, which started at New Year 2009. A panel of practitioners will be among the people associated with the programme.
The conflicts of interest in forestry are comparable to those in the mountain region, but there are also major differences. One essential difference is that in the forest industry there is such a tremendous lot more resources; another is that interest in forests is much more widespread.
‘It’s going to be very exciting. My hope is that all companies and organisations with interests in forestry should be able to collaborate regarding the flow of information, and we’ll work on the basis of various scenarios. We’ll have a go, and see how we get on,’ Anders Esselin says.
