Socio-Economic Methodologies for Natural Resources Research: Best Practices Guidelines

These guidelines are intended for the use of natural resources (NR) research programme and project managers and staff in the United Kingdom (UK) and overseas. The aim of the guidelines is to help:

• programme managers ensure that a communication strategy, designed for intermediate and end users, is incorporated into project design by giving them an overview of the kinds of processes and activities that need to take place and the issues that need to be addressed; and
• project managers make decisions with whom to collaborate in relation to communication activities and products, to understand the processes that go into a communication strategy, the issues to be addressed, the kinds of skills needed and where they might come from, the nature of the collaborative links that need to be made if communication is to succeed, and the ways in which different media and methods can be used when communicating NR research outputs to intermediate and end users.

According to the publication, "a communication strategy is more than straightforward dissemination or message delivery. It is an iterative, two-way, multi-directional process involving a range of stakeholders and their needs. It should take communities into account as generators, transformers and users of information, in developing skills and education, both for their own benefit and for working with outside agencies which can facilitate their moves towards change."