Scientists around the world consistently list achieving tangible impacts on policy and practice as a core career goal - yet few have the knowledge or skillset needed for turning this into a reality. This has arisen because traditional scientific training programs rarely teach the skill set and competencies required to operate effectively at this interface. Thus, this course focuses on providing students with the theory, as well as the practical knowledge, skills and tools that are needed to operate more effectively at the science-policy-practice interface to achieve tangible impacts from their research. This will be achieved by drawing on current research from the fields of knowledge exchange and research impact, as well as the inclusion of guest lecturers from the realms of policy and practice so that students gain a first hand account of the practical ways in which they can bridge the gap between science, policy and practice.  

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Understand the key principles underpinning successful knowledge exchange between environmental scientists and diverse stakeholder groups;
2. Apply theories underpinning successful science-policy-practice interface as they relate to contemporary grand socio-ecological challenges such as climate change, population growth and biodiversity loss;
3. Understand and apply practical strategies for building successful relationships with diverse stakeholder groups founded on trust and respect;
4. Synthesise scientific knowledge and practices to produce a strategic research impact plan;
5. Synthesise scientific knowledge to produce a range of engagement aides/products such as policy briefs, blogs and infographics;
6. Evaluate the effectiveness of themselves and others at influencing environmental policy and practice.

Recommended Resources

Recommended student system requirements 

ANU courses commonly use a number of online resources and activities including:

• video material, similar to YouTube, for lectures and other instruction
• two-way video conferencing for interactive learning
• email and other messaging tools for communication
• interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities
• print and photo/scan for handwritten work
• home-based assessment.

To fully participate in ANU learning, students need:

• A computer or laptop. Mobile devices may work well but in some situations a computer/laptop may be more appropriate.
• Webcam
• Speakers and a microphone (e.g. headset)
• Reliable, stable internet connection. Broadband recommended. If using a mobile network or wi-fi then check performance is adequate.
• Suitable location with minimal interruptions and adequate privacy for classes and assessments.
• Printing, and photo/scanning equipment

For more information please see https://www.anu.edu.au/students/systems/recommended-student-system-requirements

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	This course is delivered intensively. The online face-to-face component will run from Monday 21 November until Friday 25 November from 9 am to 5 pm each day. The course focuses on developing theoretical knowledge and practical skills and will consist of lectures, practical sessions and interactive sessions where students will be required to be present. Lectures will cover topics including, but not limited to: An introduction to politics, policy and practice. The roles of values, world-views and beliefs in decision-making. Understanding different knowledge systems, and their value in decision-making. Traits of usable science. Barriers to, and enablers of, knowledge exchange among scientists and decision-makers. Personal attributes of scientists that achieve impacts on policy and practice. Practical sessions will include, but will not be limited to: Developing policy 'pitches' and briefs. Turning your policy 'pitch' into a blog that people want to read. Developing infographics to convey your research to diverse audiences. Using social media to build you policy and practice influence. Developing a research impact plan. Managing your on-line presence. While this course will be primarily delivered by the convener it will also include a range of guest lecturers.	Work on the earliest assessment task will be done during the intensive week.

Tutorial Registration

N/A

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Policy Pitch	15 %	02/12/2022	10/12/2022	2,3
Policy Brief	20 %	09/12/2022	22/12/2022	3,5
Infographic	25 %	20/12/2022	10/01/2023	3,5
Research Impact Plan	35 %	06/01/2023	28/01/2023	1,2,3,4,5

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Integrity . In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Class attendance and participation is not assessed in SCOM8088, however, students are strongly encouraged to attend all of the online face-to-face components of the course from 21st-25th November, 2022.

Assessment Task 1

Policy Pitch

A key component of engaging for policy impact is the ability to translate complex scientific ideas into understandable and actionable messages. This assessment is designed to help you develop these skills.

Firstly, you will need to identify and select 3 peer-reviewed papers on your chosen topic. I recommend choosing recent and seminal papers on the topic (i.e. those that are attracting high numbers of citations and media attention). Then, in class you will complete a practical exercise known as ‘The Policy Box’ in relation to your chosen papers. This exercise will help you extract the key elements of a policy pitch; (i) the issue, (ii) the problem, (iii) the ‘so what’, (iv) the potential solutions and (v) the benefits. 

In this assessment, you will be required to use your policy box to develop and deliver a ‘policy-pitch’. The policy pitch will be a maximum of 3 minutes, and it must be recorded and uploaded via the TurnItIn link. In your pitch you will be required to cover each of the elements covered in the policy box. You will be assessed on your ability to distill and convey complex scientific ideas to a non-expert audience in a professional, concise and understandable manner. 

Assessment Task 2

Policy Brief

Policy briefs are becoming an increasingly common tool for communicating the practical implications of research to policy-makers and other decision-makers.  They are particularly advantageous in situations whereby it is challenging to meet the policy-maker in person, or when you want to convey the implications of academic research to broad groups of policy-makers and decision-makers. 

Writing a policy brief is quite different from essay or report writing. Emphasis is placed on the clarity and succinctness of the brief, which is essential in persuading the target audience of your key message. Policy briefs aim to be practical and well-researched in order to make timely evidence-based recommendations. In doing so, a policy brief should:

• Have a clear and specific purpose/focus, and a particular audience in mind. This could be the person making the decision, an advocacy group, or the media. It is important to keep this audience in mind when evaluating what information needs to be included in the brief. What do they know about the issue already? What new information would provide insight to the issue? The brief should be limited to one issue or problem.

• Be practical and based on evidence - a policy brief aims to be persuasive and a big part of convincing the target audience of your key message is supporting your ideas with evidence. Evidence should be used to indicate that there is an issue with existing policy and to make recommendations.
• Be accessible and succinct - a policy brief uses language that is familiar to the target audience in a clear and simple manner. It should also be logical and be easy to follow. The assumption should be made that the target audience does not have time to read a lot of text, so the brief should be formatted clearly with descriptive headings.
• Include a list of references or acknowledged sources - this is so information or statistics can be found and followed up on, if necessary.

In this assessment, students will develop a policy brief in relation to their chosen topic. It will be a maximum of two A4 pages (including images and references) will size 12 font. Students can choose their own format for their policy brief (different examples of commonly used templates will be shown to you in class) but at the very least the policy brief should include the following elements:

• Executive Summary: This section of the brief, also known as the overview, aims to provide a short summary of the brief and makes its significance (the "why") clear. It should include a description of the issue being addressed, a key message stating why the current policy needs to be revised, and any recommendations. This section is typically one to two paragraph in length.
• Purpose: This section aims to convince the target audience of the importance of the issue being addressed and why it requires action. It usually will include a brief description of the issue, a short overview of the causes, and a clear statement of the implications as it relates to current policy. The length of this section will depend on knowledge of the target audience and complexity of the issue.
• Critical Analysis: This section provides a discussion of the current policy being implemented, emphasising its strengths and limitations. This is where you make your case. It should be made clear what aspects of the policy needs to be changed. Include a short overview of the policy being critiqued and illustrate why this policy is inadequate. Address how different stakeholders are implicated in the issue. This will typically be the longest section since this is where the bulk of your analysis occurs (but take care not to ‘waffle’ on or give unnecessary of complex levels of detail that detract from the overall messages that you’re trying to convey). 
• Recommendations: This section is where you detail what changes need to be made to existing policy in light of the limitations you outlined in the analysis. It will usually contain a list of practical steps or actions that need to be taken, and by whom, to address the issue. This might contain a concluding statement that reiterates the key message and suggests the significance of the proposed recommendations. 
• Key references – references to show which ‘evidence’ you have used to inform your brief.

 

Assessment Task 3

Infographic

Visual summaries can be a great way to help convey complex scientific ideas to external stakeholders, including policy makers. In the assessment, students will develop and submit an infographic summarising the key messages of their policy-pitch (i.e. a visual summary of assessment item 1). 

Assessment Task 4

Research Impact Plan

If you want your research to make an impact, you need a plan. This assessment item is designed to help you understand the key steps of research impact planning, as well as how to apply them in practice. Specially, you will develop a research impact plan for your chosen topic that consists of the following sections:

 

·        The identification and articulation of S.M.A.R.T goals

·        A completed stakeholder analysis in relation to your specified goals

·        The identification of specific impacts that you want/meed to achieve in order to achieve your higher levels goals;

·        A tailored strategy for meeting at least three of your SMART goals; and

·        A monitoring framework to track your progress towards achieving your specified impacts.

 

Overall your research plan should be no longer that 5 pages of text using no smaller than size 12 font. This includes all headings, figures, tables and references.

 

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

N/A

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Assignments submitted through Turnitin will be returned through the system with electronic comments. 

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Resubmission not permitted.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students