Leveraging science to inform local policy

Session: Beyond Peer Review: Why You Must Connect Your Science To Stakeholders (and how to do it) (1)

Katrina Korfmacher, University of Rochester, [email protected]

Abstract
Communicating science effectively to a diverse audience is the foundation of policy change to better protect environmental and public health. This presentation will discuss lessons learned from locally-led policy efforts in upstate New York and apply them to broader issues of ecosystem management and policies affecting the Great Lakes. The talk presents a "local environmental health initiatives framework" adapted from experience in ecosystem management to inform efforts to promote policy and systems change. It will also talk about the diverse roles of researchers and science communicators at different stages in the cycle of community change. The power of reframing issues of environmental concern with respect to public health and health equity in a policy context will be emphasized as well as the need for science communication in appropriate formats, venues, and language to support this process.