Online stakeholder engagement to bridge the science-policy interface for marine pollution research: adaptation & evaluation of the focused conversation method and ORID framework

cbd
Thumbnail Image
Files
Date
2025-06-23
Authors
Kopke, Kathrin
Agnew, Sonya
Power, Orla Peach
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Nature
Published Version
10.1007/s44289-025-00063-8
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
This paper introduces an online adaptation of the Focused Conversation Method (FCM), demonstrating through three marine pollution projects how structured online stakeholder dialogues can inform research and support informed decision-making. The approach involved applying an ORID Framework (Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, and Decisional) implemented in six online workshops (2 per project) to engage scientists, policy experts, decision makers, research funding agencies and industry representation with focus on underwater noise (JONAS), microplastics analyses of seawater samples (ANDROMEDA), and evidenced based science communication on microplastic pollution (RESPONSE). Results demonstrated that the method could be successfully implemented to maintain high quality interactions in online environments, and facilitated structured, inclusive discussions that generated actionable recommendations tailored to each project’s objectives. Participant feedback underscored the value of structured dialogue for enhancing collaboration and producing tangible outputs. The findings demonstrate the adaptability of the ORID framework and its effectiveness in online settings, offering a robust tool for stakeholder engagement. By fostering meaningful dialogue, balancing structure with flexibility, and integrating feedback for continuous improvement, the study demonstrates that online stakeholder engagement can greatly contribute to bridging the gap between marine research and relevant policy development in a meaningful way. The work underscores the importance of structured methods for advancing research relevance, influencing policy, and fostering collaboration across disciplines and sectors, with recommendations for future online stakeholder engagement strategies.
Description
Keywords
Stakeholder perspectives , Policy implementation , Public engagement , Stakeholder engagement , [ProfessionalServices] , ORID Framework , Microplastic pollution , [MaREI] , [ERI]
Citation
Kopke, K, Agnew, S & Power, O P 2025, 'Online stakeholder engagement to bridge the science-policy interface for marine pollution research: adaptation & evaluation of the focused conversation method and ORID framework', Discover Oceans, vol. 2, no. 1, 23, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44289-025-00063-8
Link to publisher’s version
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10468/19353
Collections
Pure
Copyright
© 2025, authors. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.