Science communication training and support for the IDRC’s Collaborative One Health Research Initiative on Epidemics

Science communication trainingWorkshopsStrategic communication

Nov 7

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC)'s Collaborative One Health Research Initiative on Epidemics (COHRIE) aims to enhance epidemic preparedness and response by supporting research that employs a One Health approach. This initiative focuses on innovations in policies and practices to better prevent and respond to emerging infectious diseases, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

The initiative includes four projects in nine countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.

Human Element Communications provided science communication training for COHRIE researchers and facilitated a session on communicating cross-project findings for impact at a workshop held in Cape Town.

Science communication specialist Brendon Bosworth running an online science communication training session for researchers with the IDRC's Collaborative One Health Research Initiative on Epidemics (COHRIE).

What we did

Ran an online science communication training session covering the fundamentals of effective science communication. With participants joining from Cali to Kampala, we had great discussions about how to communicate complex disease-related science in accessible language using locally relevant analogies and reference points.
Worked with panellists taking part in a moderated panel discussion at the World One Health Congress in Cape Town to collaboratively shape key messages about project impacts and prepare for the live event.
Ran an in-person session with the researchers and the IDRC team on communicating cross-project findings for impact as part of a one-day knowledge synthesis workshop in Cape Town (led by facilitator extraordinaire Dr. Marie Parramon-Gurney, Chief Transformative Impact Officer at Skultcha).
Wrote an article for the IDRC website about the work COHRIE teams are doing with local communities to monitor and report on diseases and prevent and detect outbreaks. (Read the article: Community first: One Health projects collaborate with communities to respond to epidemics).