University-based policy development and issues management in the

bioeconomy 

Catching up or falling behind?

Kari Doerksen and Cami RyanUniversity of Saskatchewan

ICABR 2012

IntroductionBackground: strategies & implicationsMethodologyAnalysis & ResultsConcluding Thoughts

Outline

Widespread adoption of internet connected mobile devices

Internet use growing 400% per year since 2000

Internet is main source of info for learning about issues in climate change/biotech

‘just in time’ users account for 62% of the entire adult population (Rainie & Fox 2012)

Information and the ‘just in time’ user

Organizations use the Internet to:Share information, build relationships and

brand equity, develop campaignsi.e. Anti-GM groups

Adopting social media to influence public opinion

Info can circulate like wildfire, unchecked and lacking accountability mechanisms

“…claims often gain quick acceptance… can impact government policy…” (Paarlberg and Pray 2008).

“New reality of activism…”

Public sector in Canada employs:65% of total PhDs57% of science/engineering

PhDs

Academia in an ‘just in time’ info context

Higher education personnel / researchers are well positioned to engage in

dialogues in a more strategic manner but may not have the range of media tactics open to them that are sometimes

exercised by private organizations and special interest groups.

Less than 50% of scientists used social media (VALGEN 2010 survey)

< 50% use Twitter (n = 1958, Family Focus 2009)

Non-adopters“passing fad”, “distraction”,

“creates poor writing skills”, “time constraints”, “privacy and security”

“…beneath my dignity…”

“…slow to move beyond traditional forms of communication…”

“Publication is the hard currency of science – it is the primary yardstick for establishing priority, the chief source of recognition from one’s peers, and the standard on which the advancement of science is based.” (Iverson et al 2003).

Ingrained culture of academe

New Age of Information

TraditionalApproaches in

Academia

Discourse: institutionalized way of thinking or a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic“...every piece of discourse has a textual form

or can acquire it; the same text may include different discourses or the same discourse may adopt different textual forms” (Ruiz Ruiz 2009)

Textual analysis:NVivo: conduct queries based upon key terms

Incentives: Traditional, Outreach, Non-traditionalSocial media language: proactive and reactive

Methodology

n= 15 / total of 22 source documents Collective agreements & tenure/promotion policies

Textual analysis based upon the following query terms: Traditional :publications, patents, presentations,

funding/grants, training graduate students Outreach: professional memberships, social media,

training/mentoring Non-traditional :collaboration, relationship-building,

interdisciplinary activities, international collaboration

Textual analysis & results

average coverage across source

documents

total # of source documents (out of 22)

average coverage across source

documentsTraditional 21 0.44%Outreach 21 0.19%Non-Traditional 18 0.06%

Only 6 CDN Unis had social media policies in place Textual analysis based upon the following factors:

Proactive terms: transparency, relationship-building, respectful, accuracy, authentic and ethical

Reactive terms: don’t, do not, be aware, breach cautious.

Textual analysis: social media policies

# source documents

average coverage across

source documents

# source documents

(n=15)

average coverage across

source documents

Proactive Terms 6 1.09% 15 24.31%

Reactive Terms 6 0.31% 14 0.36%

Policy Structure 6 1.87% 15 1.47%

Canadian UniversitiesN = 15

Other InstitutionsN = 15

“transparency”Only used in context of ‘identity clarification’

Social media policy appears to mostly focus on ‘on campus’ use

Tone changes in ‘off-campus’ applications‘language’ matters

Social media is inherently social

Observations

Tools, guidelines and support needed!i.e. Laurentian University’s ‘Decision Tree’

Observations

The ‘Land-grant’ initiative 2011‘predict trouble spots’ and ‘deal with them if

they develop’ (Boone 2011)Strategic: from static & reactive to dynamic

and proactive…

Solutions? Issues Management

Static• One way• Hierarchica

l• Slow• Reactive• ???

Dynamic• Connected• Fast• Proactive• ????

Are you a social media cynic?

Paranoia Social MediaCurrency

15

Widening gap between (mis)information circulated and shared in the public online sphere and the lack of academic voice in that online debate.

Issues management policy implications are two-foldTenure and promotion - evidence from a variety of

sources suggests that non-traditional communication should be rewarded.

Social media – new proactive approach to assist researchers in uncovering the value of new communication tools.

Concluding Thoughts

Kari Doerksen@karidoerksen Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy,

University of Saskatchewan

Cami Ryan@DocCamiRyanAgriculture & Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan

Thank you! Questions/Comments?