Posted by Cherae Robinson (CIMMYT), as part of the live blog from “Planet under Pressure”
At the Planet Under Pressure‘s “World Cafe”, the question was asked: “How can science and business work together to create a sustainable world?” While the solution warrants some merit, it doesn’t get to the question that comes before communication even begins. What value is there in a nexus between science and business to answer the sustainable development question?
I had the pleasure of working with two groups that took a step back and attempted to answer this question. The first round involved some common themes:
- the need to establish trust between the scientific and business sectors
- the opportunity for visionary science to forecast conditions and drive stability for business
- the idea that public sector science cannot be anti-profit
- the idea that business must be long-term in thinking
- and lastly that we must move the conversation from pure Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to that of core business for it to be sustainable.
Each of these messages points to assumptions made on either side about the goals and intentions of the other. Pointing this out was crucial to deciding how then do we go about building relationships between the two sectors that provide innovative contributions for a more sustainable world. The next round of discussion bought about a more contentious but necessary debate.
“Is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) an effective place to begin the relationship?” , “Can scientists effectively communicate to external audiences?”, “Is stressing communication enough?” were just a few of the questions that sparked challenges among those in the 2nd part of the session. Some felt that CSR was inherent in company strategy and planning while others argued that CSR was simply a way for companies to receive a pat on the back from consumers.
I personally felt that the CSR strategy can help an organization determine the interests of a particular company but a discussion with those within the business line at the same time enables long-term partnerships with the most innovative solutions. On the communications side some felt that scientists could and were bestows intoned to communicate effectively while others felt that communication to external, non-scientific audiences should be left to those in communications professions. All interesting nonetheless.
Stressing communication is important but certainly not enough. As CIMMYT‘s link to the private sector, the most challenging part of my job is understanding and translating our research into something of value to a prospective partner or supporter. Pulling out the right set of data, stories, and themes that align with the interests of any given partner is challenging. Add to that the need to demonstrate impact, often a new concept in research organizations, or the desire of businesses to see the results of their investment in less than 3 years and you see a practical example of where our wires can get crossed.
However, as the host of the discussion said…we need each other. Business is the ultimate driver, the locomotive so to speak, in development. Science provides facts and direction while policy provides the enabling environments to make it all come together. The roles ad responsibilities of each of us are important to understand as we seek ways to address the next phase of human and planetary development. As scientists our best bet is to make sure the pieces we provide are clear, understandable and linked to the goals of the whole.
Picture courtesy ATIS547 on Flickr