INTELLECTUAL MERIT

The National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI) is a network of individuals and organizations in informal education, the social sciences, and climate sciences currently working in 170 institutions in 38 states. The NNOCCI network advances the educational role of informal science centers, collaborates on research and development, and continues to support a community of practice and a powerful social movement. Our consistent messaging about climate change across the country is changing public discourse to be positive, productive, solutions-focused and supportive of community climate action.

Project researchers discovered that engaging public audiences around the issue of climate change is very emotional work and tends to be deeply connected to communicators? self-efficacy (or sense that they can achieve their objectives). Prior to joining the NNOCCI community, educators, exhibit designers, and facilitators at informal science centers worried their discussions of climate change left audiences confused, alienated, guilty, and resigned.

The NNOCCI training model featured two unique systems to help members. First, the training affirmed the emotional challenges of climate change communication work. Second, NNOCCI focused on the centrality of social support as a keystone of the training and created a dynamic professional network of alumni to sustain educators and scientists engaged in climate change communication work long after their training ended.

The NNOCCI model has shown that a motivated group of communicators ? armed with effective messaging techniques and emotional support from members of a tight-knit community of practice that shares their values and concerns ? can shift the national dialogue about climate change. We conservatively estimate attendance at NNOCCI-affiliated institutions exceeds 150 million people, or about 45% of the US population. When we consider the social networks of these visitors, in addition to the social networks of the communicators and their colleagues, it is no surprise that the national dialogue on climate change is moving toward finding effective solutions to one of the great environmental challenges of our time.

BROADER IMPACTS

Among the lessons learned through the NNOCCI Network, the following stand out for their relevance to public engagement in issues related to science and society:

Engaging in place-based solutions empowers communities

By focusing on specific applications and solutions to real-world problems, crisis-framing and despair is minimized. Appealing to strongly held universal values and concepts, such as responsible management and stewardship, can minimize polarization and contention. Focusing on solutions helps the public to see themselves as potential participants in community issues, rather than simply as individual consumers of knowledge.

Being a part of a network increases confidence which leads to more dialogue and action

The NNOCCI initiative has reached aquariums, zoos, and science/nature centers across the United States and beyond. Visitors to institutions that have participated in NNOCCI training are significantly more:

• Knowledgeable about climate change science
• Hopeful that we can solve climate change challenges
• Confident talking about climate change with others
• Likely to believe that talking with community leaders lead to community level change
• Likely to engage in community-level community action to address climate change.

A ?train the trainer? model has a high return on investment

NNOCCI has trained 400 individuals, who have, in turn, trained more than 38,000 people to use NNOCCI?s communication techniques, influencing 150+ million visitor interactions per year.

Lessons of what works inform other institutions? programs

The New England Aquarium has been applying the lessons learned from NNOCCI to multiple other projects, including:

• Visualizing Change a related NOAA-funded collaboration among several aquariums, focused on developing strategically-framed ?visual narratives? that take advantage of global datasets presented on platforms such as the Science on a Sphere. Observations during formative evaluation demonstrate that after listening to a strategically-framed presentation, visitors can describe climate change causes, impacts, and solutions.
• Communities Advancing Science Literacy, an NSF-funded collaboration in which New England Aquarium (Boston, MA) and Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach, CA) are pilot testing an approach for informal science learning centers to partner with community organizations to build climate literacy and resilience at a community level. For example, in East Boston this has enabled New England Aquarium to convene a group of community-based organizations to facilitate conversations about shared responsibility for the future of the waterfront, and its critical role in strengthening social capital, climate preparedness, and environmental quality.
• Community Partners for Resilience, an NOAA-funded project that is helping to engage youth in community climate action projects in three small cities in the Boston region.
• CYCLIST, an IMLS-funded partnership among New England Aquarium, Alliance for Climate Education, and the WILD Center to strengthen youth climate leadership programs at informal science centers.

All of these projects represent efforts to apply what NNOCCI has learned through research and practice for greater benefit to society.

Last Modified: 11/28/2018
Modified by: William S Spitzer