Project 7 - Communication and Knowledge Exchange

7.2: Knowledge Exchange

Challenges

Biodiversity information is more broadly adopted if it is tailored to the needs and preferences of users, considered relevant and appropriate, convenient, reliable and ready to use.

Seeking solutions

We are conducting research to find out more about the needs and preferences of a broad range of users of biodiversity information as well as exploring the impediments to adoption of research results.

Approaches

The research will be conducted in four phases:

A questionnaire will identify and scope the diverse range of people who use taxonomy products for biodiversity information. User needs and preferences, and impediments to adoption of taxonomy products, will be elicited to improve researcher understanding.
Issues raised by respondents in the questionnaire will be explored in more depth through focus group discussions.
Knowledge brokers will engage researchers and users in the collaborative development of taxonomy products from the 6 areas of TRIN research.
User communities will be involved in evaluation and feedback of taxonomy products produced by TRIN.

Collaboration

Users of biodiversity information are invited to participate in the research project. If you would like to be involved please contact the project investigators.

Tools for Decision Makers

We hope that the information we obtain from this research will help the development of new, improved taxonomy products, from the six areas of TRIN research, that better meet the needs of people who use them.

This research will also help us to identify key issues, on a broader scale, in the delivery of biodiversity information to the user community.

Sub-Project progress

January 2010

Preliminary findings from the questionnaire data (c. 800 respondents) included information that users of taxonomic information want access to relatively simple presentations of the data as well as the in-depth scientific information. There is a desire amongst users to improve knowledge and capability. A conceptual model from which to approach understanding the user community was developed and will be used to analyse data from both the questionnaire and focus groups. The focus group data underwent extensive preparation and is now ready for analysis. Linkages between the questionnaire data and focus group data will commence in early 2010 and will reveal levels of consistency of results and add richness by incorporating the types of users.

The product testing workshops commence in February 2010 in locations around the country. These workshops will identify issues that need to be addressed in terms of ensuring opportunities for successful adoption of products from TRIN. The evaluation criteria have been informed or developed from the results of the user needs survey. If you would like to participate, visit http://wiki.trin.org.au/KnowledgeExchange/UserProductTestingWorkshops

February 2009 – Biodiversity Information: we want to know what you think

The analysis of responses to the questionnaire Biodiversity Information: we want to know what you think is revealing some interesting results. We are planning focus group discussions to explore in more detail responses to the questionnaire and we look forward to your input to expand our understanding of the improvements that can be made to taxonomy products.

We are seeking interested people who are available to take part in focus group discussions sometime during March or May 2009.

The focus groups will be small, up to eight people. They should take approximately 2-3 hours and we intend to hold them during the morning, or after work depending on the preference of the group.

We have tentatively formed groups according to the postcodes participants provided in response to the questionnaire. Locations for the focus groups include all capital cities and various regional centres in each state. A draft schedule is included in the form at the link below. Final dates and locations will depend on numbers and preferences shown.

If you would like to be involved in the upcoming focus group discussions, please complete the online form.

If you haven't already nominated for participation in the Knowledge Exchange project and wish to do so, please contact the project investigators.

November 2008 – Questionnaire now closed

The questionnaire Biodiversity Information: we want to know what you think has closed. Thankyou to everyone who participated; we received around 850 completed questionnaires and are now analysing the results to inform the next phase of the project.

We are organising focus groups to explore responses to the questionnaire in more depth. These focus groups will be held from November 2008 to February 2009.

If you haven't already nominated for participation in the Knowledge Exchange project and wish to do so, please contact the project investigators.

October 2008 – Biodiversity Information: we want to know what you think

Do you identify plants or animals? Do you need to know which species of fish you caught, what bird is that, the name of the plant you found, what insect pest is on your crop?
Do you want to know the common name or scientific name? Do you need to know which names have been changed?
Do you need to know what plants or animals are rare and threatened? Or which ones are invasive?
Do you need to know about the geographic distribution of plants or animals. Or which plants or animals exist in your local area?
Do you need to know about the habitat requirements of a plant or animal?
Do you need to find out which animals or plants are related to one another?

All these activities use biodiversity information, delivered as taxonomy products. Taxonomy provides the basis for identifying and monitoring biodiversity.

We want to know what you think about the taxonomy products you use. What products do you find useful for your work? What do you like most about the products you use; what improvements can you suggest?

This information will be made available to researchers so they can produce improved taxonomy products for you to use in the future.

You are invited to complete a questionnaire on your experiences using taxonomy products. It contains 19 questions and takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

If you are keen to contribute more of your ideas you can nominate to join a more in depth discussion on your needs and preferences.

You can also nominate to participate in workshops with scientists to develop taxonomy products or workshops to evaluate taxonomy products from current research.

You don’t need any formal qualifications to make a contribution, just experience with using biodiversity information and enthusiasm. [read more...]

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