2025 Summer School: Science & Policy for environmental action

From climate change to biodiversity loss or plastic pollution, environmental crises have become more complex and intertwined, calling for active engagement between scientists and policy actors towards science-informed solutions. To achieve this, a great number of stakeholders need specific skills and capacities to navigate the science-policy interface related to environmental governance towards ecological transition. In this context, international Geneva is host to a rather unique ecosystem that creates opportunities for science to join the policy table and for policy to inform science on knowledge gaps, thus allowing to pair knowledge and action for the common good across a wide pool of expertise.

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This Geneva Summer School offers a unique opportunity for early career researchers, policy professionals and civil society actors to:

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• Explore how science-policy interfaces work in practice in the environmental field
• Learn about strategies, practices, and skills required to span the boundary between science and policy and apply these to the context(s) of participants
• Get practical advice and experience from actors working at the science-policy interface
• Networking with experts and practitioners from the international Geneva ecosystem

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Course Description

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The course will include conceptual framing sessions, interactive sessions with practitioners, practical, experiential activities and field visits. It will involve high-level experts and practitioners working at the science-policy interface.

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Module 1: Environmental governance - understanding decision-making, power dynamics and the role of expertise

Module 2: Knowledge brokering - practical skills to translate knowledge in support of policymaking

Module 3: Communication and relation-building - the art of building trust and connection across the science-policy boundaries

Module 4: Process management - facilitating science-policy engagement activities

Module 5: Leadership and career paths at the interface

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The speakers and complete programme will be announced soon.

Registration and more details are available here.