South East Asia and the Pacific Focus Group Report

"Knowledge brokers have a prominent role that is worth careful consideration. They are the key to disseminating research and driving its uptake for development and poverty reduction. They serve policy makers, the scientific sector and the wider public."

In this first of a series of SciDev.Net reports on lessons emerging from the ways that science is communicated in countries around the world, the author describes the result of consultations with stakeholder groups for science policy in Fiji, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand (June 2012). Participants included senior science communicators, policymakers, scientists, academics, non-governmental organisation (NGO) officials, as well as professionals coming from the private sector. Topics discussed included setting the right environment for science and innovation, as well as dissemination and uptake of evidence and research results for development and poverty reduction. Participants also helped generate insights into emerging trends and capacity building needs within their areas of specialisation. The South East Asia and Pacific (SEAP) focus groups were part of a regional research project funded by AusAID (the Australian Government Overseas Aid Program) and were designed and facilitated by SciDev.Net's Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) desk.

Key findings from the focus groups include:

• "Participants clearly wanted to see participatory, multi-sectorial and multi-stakeholder approaches in use across all S&T [science and technology] and development topics - from national policies to community management of resources. The events also highlighted the interconnectedness between science, development and governance.
• Participants felt it was important to agree on a definition for development (at a national level) in order to provide clarity on the proper role for science, technology and innovation within development and poverty reduction work. The main criticism of 'development' was the overwhelming emphasis on economic areas. There was a clear desire to take into account social and environmental issues throughout the region. Participants from the Pacific contrasted the regional desire to balance development with cultural identity and conservation with the global emphasis on economic growth.
• The discussions identified political, religious and cultural contexts as important in facilitating S&T uptake. In Asia and the Pacific freedom of expression and personal safety in the discharge of duties varies significantly and should be tackled on a country-by-country basis. Educational policies and projects were cited as tools for this. Participants also felt that the region needed to focus or continue efforts to encourage environmentally friendly as well as socially- and gender-minded science, technology and innovation.
• Infrastructure and market-related issues were raised as well, touching on knowledge management monitoring and evaluation as well as brain drain (a common issue in the region). The private sector's role was seen as key in this area, especially when it came to allowing for more flexible conditions for working women with families. International and regional cooperation was also discussed favourably with its respective caveats...
• Discussions made clear the close link between dissemination of research results and the uptake of research. Both rely heavily on facilitation and effective communication, between and across sectors and stakeholder groups. Knowledge brokers...serve policy makers, the scientific sector and the wider public; making them key to disseminating research and driving its uptake for development and poverty reduction. For example, most policy makers get information from both traditional and electronic media outlets, which emphasises the importance of online as well as traditional media in providing quality S&T news and analysis. Discussions also revealed that policy stakeholders rely heavily on government-related sources of information. That makes it important to ensure that S&T is not politicised, driven by political agendas or party interests.
• ICT (information and communication technologies) use is widespread throughout the region, but population pockets remain that have not benefited from recent advances - most predominantly in the Pacific. Addressing this shortfall could substantially increase S&T dissemination and uptake, as well as assisting equality and human rights issues.
• There is much room for capacity building and cooperation throughout the region at all levels. We asked focus group participants about their preferred training methods and delivery formats. Most preferred was 'in person', followed by 'online podcasts'...
• Overall, regional priorities for policy, research and for journalism seemed to converge on common issues, particularly environmental and health-related topics, and also energy and food security. The implication is that the diverse focus group participants shared common priorities and goals. Perhaps boosting the uptake of S&T is mainly matter of cooperation, capacity building and of funding. However, the lack of participatory approaches, transparency and accountability at all levels also needs addressing."