Design Futures for Researchers: Translating energy research for external audiences

 

Transitioning to low-carbon energy systems requires academia, industry and civil society to be deeply interlinked and aligned. To help bridge existing gaps in the energy system, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation convened a series of workshops bringing together a wide range of stakeholders. Forum's Futures Lead, Alisha Bhagat takes us through the events at the first workshop and shares insights on what is needed to build a stronger link between research and action. 

Rapid, large-scale changes across the energy system impact how researchers and other stakeholders examine and influence the transition to low-carbon energy systems, and these significant shifts create ripple effects that are felt in academia, industry, and civil society. At the same time, the need to ensure a just transition to a low carbon economy continues, and so does the need for research that can be utilized quickly and appropriately for decision making. In a series of Listening Session Forums on Energy System Decarbonization, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation convened energy system actors for interactive workshops on bridging the gap between research and action.  

These workshops, created in partnership with Forum for the Future, The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, and Resources for the Future, utilized a design futures methodology to engage participants in finding solutions to the research to action divide. 

Design thinking is an approach to problem solving and innovation, rooted in human centered design. The focus is on the ideal solution and the user rather, than the problem. Through combining futures thinking with design thinking, and systems thinking, we can surface assumptions about the future, see where we sit within the system, and experiment with problem solving. We will focus on designing solutions, emphasizing those with the future in mind. These complementary approaches can lead to transformational change.

Image by futurist Andrew James Walls 

Both Listening Sessions utilized a design futures methodology to engage researchers, funders, and representatives from industry, government, and the non-profit sectors. The aim was to provide participants with space to think through the impact of research findings and experiment with the possibilities for making research translation and policy more thoughtful, resilient, informed, and future-focused. To do this, we created unique, interactive exercises that were used to provide an experimental and playful space for participants to think through implementation and its challenges.  

Kickoff at the Kleinman Center led by Director Sanya Carley 

At the research translation workshop in partnership with the Kleinman Center, the day began with expert panels. The first panel, “Techniques for Translating Energy Policy Research,” focused on presentations by academics and practitioners with expertise in effectively communicating research to non-academic audiences. The second panel, “Identifying Research Needs & Preferred Communication Formats,” brought together external stakeholders from government, nonprofits, journalism, and industry. Stakeholders shared their pressing energy, climate, and environmental challenges and their preferences for research translation.  

Mentimeter question posed to participants

After lunch, the design futures exercise began. Participants broke up into teams of 4-8 people.  Each team was given the following brief: 

You are one of Philadelphia’s top communications firms and a very important client just hired you to help with creating a communications strategy around a piece of scientific research. You must read the brief supplied by the client and come up with a creative, impact-oriented campaign for your target audience.  

Teams received a one-page research brief that summarized recent research taken from the Sloan Foundation’s Energy and Environment newsletter series. Teams were also assigned a target audience (policymakers, industry, non-profits) from the panel discussion. In a short period of time, groups devised communications strategies complete with visuals, tag lines, and key messaging to present back to the larger group. A panel of judges, comprised of communications experts, determined judging criteria and voted on winners. Prizes were awarded to the team that won “judge’s choice” as well as for “audience choice”.  

In frame: Kicking off the design futures exercise with Forum's Futures Lead, Alisha Bhagat

After the design futures exercise, participants reflected on the value of the immersive exercise. Participants shared that they enjoyed the opportunity to practice research translation and experiment with format options. One researcher shared that her next steps would be to make her public outreach campaigns more focused; they currently try to do too much for too many different audiences. Another valued being in a collaborative team with cross-sectoral participants (communications, advocacy, research) and discussing the role of academic research in an interactive, playful manner. Many participants shared that the act of taking a complex topic and turning it into a couple of easily understood bullets was especially challenging.  

Winning team communications submission based on the November 2024 newsletter entry “Collaborative Research on the Equity Dimensions of Value of Lost Load (VoLL)”  

The day closed with participants discussing ways in which this work could carry forward and what immediate next steps might be. To provide support for taking forward small ideas around research translation, the Kleinman Center announced that through the support from the Sloan Foundation, they would circulate an RFP for mini-grants to help participants extend the workshop themes into their own work. These grants small grants are intended to support a range of activities, including employing a public outreach technique as well as connecting groups across the energy research and practitioner fields.  

During this time of transition, change actors are in need of research that is easy to understand and actionable. Workshops such as this one enable greater connection both between the research and those who wish to act it, from policy, industry, and civil society. Additionally, greater connection was made between participants at the workshop when given the opportunity to work on a shared project that brings new types of thinking to bear. Our hope is that this replicable process will be used to continue the dialogue in this space and increase the potential for research to impact the world around us.  

Contact our Futures Team to learn more about our work to use futures to shift mindsets, spark creative thinking, and drive transformational change.

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