Mar 31, 2009 - resulted in the devil's facial tumor disease, which is an example of what can occur when a species loses too much genetic diversity (Appendix ...
University of Otago
Commercialising Conservation: Communicating interdisciplinary strategies to reduce the conservation research implementation gap.
Veronica Harwood-Stevenson
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Communication Centre for Science Communication, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
December 2013
Abstract....................................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgements...............................................................................................................viii Terminology............................................................................................................................iix Chapter 1. Introduction....................................................................................................pg 11 1.1 Thesis structure, research question and hypotheses Chapter 2. Why conservation matters............................................................................pg 16 2.1 The role of biodiversity in ecosystem services and its importance for New Zealand.......................................................................................................................pg 16 2.2 The value of a nation’s brand........................................................................................pg 26 Chapter 3. The Gap that goes by many names..............................................................pg 30 3.1 What is the research implementation gap?....................................................................pg 30 3.2 What causes the research implementation gap?............................................................pg 31 3.2.1 Introduction....................................................................................................pg 31 3.2.2 Definitions......................................................................................................pg 32 3.2.3 Research lacks conservation intent and relevance to conservation practitioners.........................................................................................................................pg 32 3.2.4 Academic success does not encourage conservation success........................pg 35 3.2.5 Problems in the exchange of literature between conservation practitioners and scientists..................................................................................................................pg 37 3.2.6 Conclusions....................................................................................................pg 40
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Chapter 4. What commercial strategies reduce the research implementation gap?....................................................................................................................................pg 44 4.1 Web 2.0 and dissemination theory................................................................................pg 44 4.1.2 Definition of the strategy and its current use.................................................pg 44 4.1.2 Measuring the efficacy of Web 2.0 - an analysis and discussion...................pg 47 4.1.3 Article One - The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)................pg 48 4.1.4 Article Two - McKinsey and Company.........................................................pg 50 4.1.5 Article Three - Crowd sourcing for conservation: Web 2.0 a powerful tool for biologists.................................................................................................................pg 55 4.1.6 A critique of the research and the feasibility of applying Web 2.0 tools to the discipline of conservation science.......................................................................................................pg 57 4.2 Brands and Marketing Strategy.....................................................................................pg 62 4.2.1 Definition of the strategy and its current use.................................................pg 62 4.2.2 Discussion of the measures used to show the strategy's efficacy...................pg 66 4.2.3 A critique and feasibility analysis of applying brand and marketing strategy to the discipline of conservation science.....................................................................pg 69 4.3 Motivation and organisation commitment....................................................................pg 73 4.3.1 Definition of the strategy and its current use.................................................pg 73 4.3.2 Discussion of the measures used to show the strategy's efficacy...................pg 78 4.3.3 A critique of applying motivation and organisation theory to the discipline of conservation science................................................................................................pg 86
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Chapter 5. Case studies: Commercialising conservation..............................................pg 89 5.1 Aqua Flow Bionomic Corporation: A business inspired by conservation, and the economic potential of interdisciplinary collaboration.........................................................pg 89 5.2 Save the Tasmanian Devil Program: A cautionary tale in biodiversity loss and a success story of branded conservation.............................................................................................pg 96 5.2.1 Why are the devils so inbred?........................................................................pg 96 5.2.2 What is the connection between the devil facial tumor disease and biodiversity loss?.........................................................................................................................pg 97 5.2.3 Why is it so important to save the Devil and why is this disease so bad?.....pg 99 5.2.4 What is being done to stop the disease?.......................................................pg 101 5.2.5 What strategies are used to reduce the research implementation gap in the Save the Tasmanian Devil Programme?........................................................................pg 102 5.2.6 Problems encountered when using commercial strategies in conservation organisations..........................................................................................................pg 106 Chapter 6. Discussion.....................................................................................................pg 108 Chapter 7. Summary, conclusions and recommendations..........................................pg 112 Bibliography....................................................................................................................pg 123 Appendices...............................................................................................................pg 138-156 Appendix 1A: Image of the devil facial tumor disease and Save the Tasmanian Devil Program Logo....................................................................................................................pg 138 Appendix 1B: Excerpts from the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program’s Business Plan....................................................................................................................pg 139 Chapter 3.1 – Monitoring and Management.........................................................pg 139 Chapter 3.2 – Insurance Population......................................................................pg 140 Chapter 3.3 – Diagnostics Services and Research................................................pg 141
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Save the Tasmanian Program’s Table of Contents page.......................................pg 142 Appendix 1C: Save the Tasmanian Devil Scholarships and Grants Criteria........pg 143 Appendix 2A: Aquaflow Logo and the re-brand to ‘Nxt Fuels’...........................pg 144 Appendix 2B: Aquaflow Financial Investment Statement....................................pg 145 Appendix 2C: Bloom: Taking waste for all its worth. Film poster...............pg 146-147 Appendix 3A: Photos of Wellington Wetland......................................................pg 148 Appendix 4A: Pure New Zealand branding..........................................................pg 149 Fig 1. 100% Pure New Zealand Logo...................................................................pg 149 Fig 2. 100% Pure New Zealand Tourism Advertisement.....................................pg 149 Appendix 5A: The National New Zealand Science Challenges...........................pg 150 Fig: List of the 10 National Science Challenges...................................................pg 150 Fig 2: The eleventh Science Challenge: ‘Science In New Zealand Society’........pg 151 Appendix 6A: Turning Great Strategy into Great Performance...........................pg 152 Fig 1: ‘Where performance goes’ graph...............................................................pg 152 Fig 2: ‘Marketing-Strategy Implementation’ graph..............................................pg 153 Appendix 7A: Motivation and Organisation Commitment Diagrams....................pg 154 – 156
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Abstract
Agricultural and economic stability are of primary concern in this environmentally unstable and financially challenging global climate. Until recently their dependence on biodiversity has been overlooked. For New Zealand, the role of biodiversity in delivering brand status, agricultural wealth and climate stability needs to become a high priority area. However, despite massive international efforts, New Zealand and the rest of the world is failing at conserving biodiversity. It is generally accepted that we are in the process of a mass extinction, with estimates that 30% of species will become extinct in the next 40 years (Baronsky, 2001). Part of the problem is the research implementation gap that exists in conservation science. This gap is exemplified by the fact that 94% of academic conservation research does not have a practical application (Knight, 2008). Practitioners of conservation who could put the science into practice do not read the research, and collaboration between academics and conservation practitioners is rare. This causes a massive communication breakdown and general inefficiency in the discipline of conservation science. Another part of the problem is that communicating the value of conservation to policy makers, who are generally not scientists, is difficult. Conservation scientists must use communication measures that can inform policies for sustainable growth. By using the language of commerce and business efficiency, conservation scientists will be better equipped to communicate the commercial value of conservation aims and thus have those aims met. This emerging area in science communication is topical, controversial and vitally important to the conservation of biodiversity.
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Commercial disciplines such as marketing have a financial incentive to increase communication efficiency, and have developed proven strategies that do so. This thesis investigates how strategies such as branding, marketing, and Web 2.0 can be applied to conservation in order to improve its efficiency. Case studies are used to show how branding and marketing alignment are already being used by governments and conservation organisations, followed by discussion of the benefits and problems that their use has brought.
Through the analysis and critique of the case studies and literature this thesis proposes a series of strong and practical recommendations that scientists, policy makers and conservation practitioners could adopt to reduce the research implementation gap in conservation science. The implementation of these recommendations could improve the efficiency of conservation science and biodiversity, increase agricultural productivity and boost the value of the New Zealand brand.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to start by thanking my mother, Rosalind Andrew, who has housed and supported me throughout the course of this Masters. Thank you for the many late night rides home, dinners in the oven, the use of your car as the film production vehicle, and for making sure I never gave up. A huge thank you is given to the staff at the Centre for Science Communication. I have never before encountered such a diverse, talented, and committed group of teachers. You often went out of your way and above and beyond the call of duty. Ross Johnson, Robert Brown, Jean Fleming, Steve Ting, Phil Bishop, and Jenny Rock – so much of my learning experience and newfound interests have come from conversations with you. To Sue Harvey – organiser extraordinaire – thank you for staying late, coming in on your day off and for your insight into the less than straightforward bureaucracy of academia. This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance and encouragement of my wise and wonderful supervisor, Jean Fleming. I come out of every conversation with you with a new wind of inspiration and vigour. You possess a rare combination of challenging but encouraging discourse, combined with formidable knowledge in many disciplines. The Centre will not be the same without you. The interdisciplinary nature of this thesis meant I was drawing on literature outside my comfort zone. The gracious and generous nature of many staff outside the Centre ensured I was able to bring the evidence of many disciplines into one message. Thanks to Rob Aitken of the Marketing department for your insight and feedback on tying two very different areas of research together. Thanks to Ian Jamieson for insightful conversations on the realities of ‘functional’ populations in endangered species. To John Williams for confronting the flaws in my
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research and for gently highlighting my naïvety when I came into your office thinking I could fix the world in thirty thousand words. Your candid and honest words shaped and strengthened my argument. To Gerard Barbalich, my anchor. Thank you for your patience, proofreading eye and never-ending curiosity about my work. The film Bloom: taking waste for all its worth would not have been possible without my film partner Alex Duckles. I have a deep appreciation of you, and your skills in filming – even on boats without getting seasick. Your editing stamina, your work ethic, and enquiring and sceptical mind will forever impress me. The infuriating, but totally necessary, way of making me justify my aesthetic choices will stay an integral part of my creative process. My mentors on the film: Ross Johnson and Andrew Waterworth, thank you for your Socratic guidance. Your years of production experience were deftly drip-fed at precise moments of need. This allowed Alex and me to create something in our own voice, and I will be forever grateful for this. Finally, to my colleagues, peers and friends, the Centre has been a home, a clique, and a club – one that I have so thoroughly enjoyed being a member of over the last two years. To Susan Harvey, Kimberly Collins, Brandon Gantt and Jonas Goodwin, I hope to always have your guidance and friendship. You will always have mine.
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Terminology
Research Implementation Gap –The communication gap between those performing research e.g. academics and research scientists, and the needs of the managers at the 'on the ground' level of conservation (Prendergast, Quinn and Lawton, 1999). Academic/researcher – A professional whose role is mainly in an educational or research institution. Practitioner – A professional whose work is mainly hands-on and practical in nature. Conservation/Nature conservation – The preservation, protection, or restoration of natural environments and the ecological communities that inhabit them. Web 2.0 strategies - Used to describe the collection of changes in the way the Internet is used, and how content is created. Web 2.0 is content generation and information sharing that is user driven, collaborative and interactive. Examples of this are Wikipedia, Twitter and Facebook (O'Reilly, 2007).
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Chapter One: Introduction
One of the many challenges facing conservation is the existence of the research implementation gap between academics and practitioners within the discipline of conservation science (Courter, 2012; Knight et al., 2008; Rajat Gera, 2012; Rynes, Bartunek and Daft, 2001; Sunderland et al, 2009). The focus of this thesis is the examination of how existing commercial strategies could be used to reduce the research implementation gap by improving communication between key conservation stakeholders for the benefit of the New Zealand brand and economy. There are many reasons for this gap, which are discussed in depth in Chapter Three.
The aim of this thesis is to assess the advantages, difficulties and feasibility of an alignment between commercial strategies and conservation aims. This assessment aims to answer the research question: Should commercial strategies be used to reduce the research implementation gap in the conservation discipline?
Chapter Two will illustrate why conservation is critically important on an international, biological and economic level. It will define the term 'nature conservation' and explain the layers of 'biodiversity' as a means of measuring conservation success. The importance of conservation will then be linked to the specifics of the New Zealand economy, highlighting, on a local level, the agricultural value associated with biodiversity (Costanza et al, 1997). New Zealand’s valuable agricultural economy is closely linked with conservation. The premium price point our exports enjoy partially stems from the 'clean and green' brand that has come out of the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign (Fig 1 and 2 Appendix 4A). New
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Zealand’s 'national brand' is an example of a brand that has been commercially leveraged using a branding and marketing strategy around conservation. For this reason the term 'nation branding' will be defined, and the academic thought on the economic, cultural and benefits outlined.
Chapter Three will define and describe the research implementation gap that exists between academics and practitioners in multiple disciplines, including conservation. Previous research will be reviewed on the causes of the research implementation gap in the conservation discipline, and the ways in which it is a barrier to conservation success will be discussed. While there are many causes of the research implementation gap, the focus of this thesis is the lack of communication between academics and practitioners in the field of conservation science.
In Chapter Four the literature from the commercial discipline of marketing and strategic management will reveal research that aims to reduce the research implementation gap and increase strategy implementation and profitability (Bernhardt et al, 2011; Smith, 2009; Wong and Merrilees 2007). Strategies such as marketing strategy, brand orientation, Web 2.0, motivation theory and organisational commitment will be analysed with regard to their efficacy in reducing the research implementation gap. Their application in public health will be used to argue their transferability to science-based disciplines, specifically conservation science. Furthermore, these strategies will be linked to the problem that New Zealand is encountering around our national brand. A nation is like a company with a product to sell, and nation branding is evidence of this, but currently our brand message of ‘clean and green’ and the actions of New Zealand do not match. The civil and international ramifications
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of an inaccurate or dishonest national brand will be discussed with reference to the literature on motivation theory and organisational commitment.
Chapter Five presents two case studies. In line with matching New Zealand’s conservation brand with its business sector, the first case study in Chapter Five is of a company called Aquaflow. They are a phosphate capture, water-remediation and carbon neutral fuel production company.1 The conservation solutions Aquaflow provides were born of commercial opportunities: fuel is running out, water is becoming increasingly important and the need to grow more food for a booming population is felt the world over. This case study will be used to argue the benefits to innovation if conservation is in alignment with New Zealand's brand. Aquaflow is also an example of how close proximity between scientists and practitioners is a key communication strategy used by commercial disciplines to reduce the research implementation gap. Aquaflow's chemists and engineers worked in close proximity during the development of their technology, which partially reduced the research implementation gap. This is particularly important, as there is currently a push in New Zealand for innovation centred on conservational issues, as exhibited by the recently launched National Science Challenges (Appendix 5A).2 However, Aquaflow encountered implementation barriers when it came to applying the science on a practical level, because of the general lack of scientific understanding in the investment sector. This scientific knowledge gap in the investment sector was examined in the film Bloom, which was based on the story of Aquaflow. This 25-minute documentary was made as part of this thesis and is used as an example of how by communicating conservational needs in the language of economics and business, one can expose a new audience to the merits of conservation and reduce the knowledge gap in the investment sector. 1. http://www.aquaflowgroup.com/ - accessed 28.09.2013 2. http://www.mbie.govt.nz/what-we-do/national-science-challenges - accessed 01.10.2013 13
The Tasmanian Devil case study in Chapter Five identifies problems and discusses their causes within the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program. One such problem is the financial outlay the Australian government has incurred, and continues to incur, because of massive genetic diversity loss within a key species of the Tasmanian bush ecosystem. This has resulted in the devil’s facial tumor disease, which is an example of what can occur when a species loses too much genetic diversity (Appendix 1A). The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program is an example of a conservation organisation which uses marketing and branding strategies (Program, 2012; Pulitzer, 2007). The specifics of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program case study are linked to the commercial strategies discussed in Chapter Four. The use of these strategies has reduced the research implementation gap within the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program by enhancing communication between government, academic scientists and practitioners and by giving a unified and transparent assessment of the problem and the strategies being employed to solve it. The potential increases in conservation efficiency and therefore biodiversity are significant, but the case study of the Save the Tasmanian Devil also highlights how the use of commercial strategies may risk the integrity and underlying purpose of conservation. Therefore, before applying this set of strategies to the discipline of conservation science, their impact needs to be carefully considered. The Save the Tasmanian Devil case study in Chapter Five will identify problems that are linked to the use of commercial strategies within conservation organisations and discuss their causes. This is important because if the sectors of the conservation discipline were to embrace commercial solutions to reduce the research implementation gap on a large scale, the problems being seen in Save the Tasmanian Devil Program could be expected to appear more frequently. This case study will also tie in the theories of motivation and organisational commitment, discussed in Chapter Four (Smith, 2009), in order to explain the cause of these problems and how they could be prevented, should conservation organisations further
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incorporate commercial strategies to improve efficiency. Despite these problems, the benefits discussed suggest that that the research implementation gap is significantly reduced through the close geographical proximity and specific and clear project aims that arise when commercial and conservation disciplines work together.
Chapter Six will summarise the main themes and arguments around the hypothesis that conservation would be more effective if it used marketing strategies and discusses the limitations of the research.
Chapter Seven will present conclusions to the thesis research question "Should commercial solutions be used to reduce the research implementation gap in conservation?" based on the arguments summarised in Chapter Six. The ways in which New Zealand can begin to apply existing and emerging marketing strategies to conservation organisation will be discussed. Finally, recommendations for further research in this area will be outlined and encouraged.
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Chapter Two: Why conservation matters 2.1 The role of biodiversity in ecosystem services and their importance for New Zealand The experiences of my childhood ensured the development of a personal connection to and deep appreciation for nature. From an early age I observed the degradation of my local stomping grounds due to pollution and the exploitation of natural resources. Later, an academic qualification in science exposed me to the research side of conservation and I developed a sense of frustration at how difficult it is to make a positive impact on conservation. This thesis is my small contribution to the improvement of conservation.
Nature conservation, for the purposes of this thesis, is defined as the ''the preservation, protection, or restoration of natural environments and the ecological communities which inhabit them''.3
A childhood connection to nature does not inherently make its protection worthwhile, yet it is widely accepted that we should be conserving nature. This is exhibited by international collaboration to create and protect reserves in key geographical locations (Payne, 2000; Santamaría, 2012). For example, 36 countries have signed up to the 'Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources’ 4 the World Bank is overseeing the 'Amazon Protected Areas Program' to protect 32 million hectares of the Amazon Rainforest at a total cost of $85.89 million US,5 and The Convention of Biological Diversity was signed by 150 government leaders at the Rio Summit in 1992, and was 3
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/conservation - accessed 15.10.2013 4. http://www.ccamlr.org/en/organisation/about-ccamlr - accessed 28.09.2013 5. http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P114810/amazon-region-protected-areas-programphase-ii-gef?lang=en - accessed 23.10.2013 16
considered 'one of the most significant and far-reaching environmental treaties ever to have been developed' (Santamaría, 2012). Conservation efforts at the governmental and local body level are also underway through legislation, policy and the media (Susan, 2008) (University, 2007). These conservation efforts by international and local communities are costly both fiscally and bureaucratically. The Department of Conservation in New Zealand costs $270 million per year to run and when this thesis was written New Zealand had already spent over $400 million cleaning polluted lakes and rivers.6
The high costs of conservation projects, particularly in the face of a struggling global economy, means it is essential that there is a scientifically sound method of assessing the success or failure of these efforts.
It is generally accepted that the level of biodiversity within an ecosystem is a strong indicator and key measure of that ecosystem’s health (Rapport, 2002).7 Through assessment of biodiversity loss or gain the efficacy of conservation efforts can be established.
Biodiversity is a complex science, but can be broken down into four basic layers (Santamaría, 2012) (Campbell, 2003). Firstly, the existence of diverse ecosystems is beneficial as they create species diversity. For example a volcanic crater, an alpine lake or a tropical ocean will all contain very different species, which will have evolved to the environmental pressures of that ecosystem. Conditions such as temperature, humidity and acidity are selective pressures that dictate the kind of species that exist. Secondly, there must be diversity among the species that live in an ecosystem – a rainforest that has an abundance 6. Minister for the Environment, Amy Adams at the Valuing Nature conference in 2013 http://www.doc.govt.nz/about-doc/news/speeches-and-opinion-pieces/sir-robert-watson-atvaluing-nature-conference/ -accessed 11.09.2013 7. http://www.cbd.int/en/health - accessed 01.10.2013 17
of plant species is more likely to sustain a diverse range of animal and insect species, because species will adapt around access to a food source. Thirdly, there must be genetic diversity within each of those species: the genetic reasons for preventing inbreeding within humans are well documented and these dangers apply to other species too (McCallum, 2008). The effects of biodiversity loss within a species will be discussed further in chapter 5.2 with a case study of the Tasmanian devil and the contagious cancer that is threatening its existence. Lastly, diversity at a molecular level is also important in ecosystem health. Currently only twentyseven of the ninety elements are used by life. Exposure to these currently unused elements would allow for evolution and incorporation of them into life (Campbell, 2003). The sense of urgency surrounding conservation is not unfounded; it is no longer just an emotional or spiritual debate. Biodiversity is considered to be “the backbone of multiple ecosystem services including – erosion control, soil formation, nutrient cycling, pollination, biological control, as well as the regulation of atmospheric composition, climate, water and disturbances” (Santamaría, 2012). These tangible services provided by the interacting ecosystems of Earth are essential for the survival of our species and the global valuation of these services is US$33 trillion per year (Costanza et al, 1997).
Many of New Zealand's top export industries are environmentally dependent and generate more than $25,635 million per year. These include the production of cheese, milk and butter; the growth of wood, wool, wine and fruit; and the harvest of fish, molluscs and crustaceans.8 Our primary industries of agriculture, forestry and fishing alone contribute 7.6% to New Zealand's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).9 Therefore, ecosystem services such
8. http://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/investing-in-nz/opportunities-outlook/economicoverview - accessed 22.09.2013 9. http://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/investing-in-nz/opportunities-outlook/economicoverview - accessed 22.09.2013 18
as erosion control, soil formation, nutrient cycling, pollination, biological control, and the regulation of atmospheric composition, climate and water, are all of particular value to New Zealand's economy.
These primary sectors have expanded using a monocultural model that erodes the biodiversity of the ecosystems they depend on. Visible and measurable loss of ecosystem services in the form of drought, flooding, water degradation, and loss of pollinators are already being seen (DOC, 2007).10
Over 70% of New Zealand's indigenous forest cover has been cleared, and much high country farmland that was once covered in tussock has been grazed bare by livestock. Both of these activities have water loss attributed to them. Without forest and tussock cover to capture water vapour from mist, dew, and condensation, atmospheric moisture cycling is reduced by as much as 33% (DOC, 2006). Native tussock is so well suited to water capture that a 22,000 hectare plantation, called Te Papanui Catchment, supplies Dunedin with water for its population of 120,000.11 Without this efficient ecosystem service Dunedin would have a yearly water bill of $11 million dollars. (Conservation, 2006) (Walker et al, 2006) (Van der Ent et al, 2010).
In recent years there has been an increase in the length and severity of droughts in New Zealand and farmers are being urged to prepare for an additional 35 days of drought by 2040 (Ministry for Primary Industries, 2011). While the droughts throughout New Zealand
10. http://www.wwf.org.nz/?8941/Paradise-lost-New-report-shows-20-years-ofenvironmental-inaction-threatens-NZs-natural-heritage - 22.09.2013 11.http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2006CensusHomePage/QuickStats/AboutAPlace/SnapSh ot.aspx?id=2000071 - 22.09.2013 19
have no singular origin, deforestation and land conversion are contributors to the reduction in atmospheric water cycling and therefore the droughts’ severity.
The ability to capture water is reduced by deforestation, but the ability to retain water is also lost with the conversion of wetlands to grazing. This makes land susceptible to drought and flooding as wetlands act like a sponge by absorbing excess water in a time of high rainfall and releasing it in times of drought. Te Papanui Catchment, discussed above, provides $12 million of irrigation to the farms on the Taieri plains (Conservation, October 2006). The majority of the plains were once wetlands, therefore they flood regularly and cause pastoral damage and increased feed costs. For example, in 2010 two farmers had an additional $60,000 grazing bill for their cows.12 The Whangamarino Wetland, near the lower Waikato river in New Zealand's North Island has been a case study of drought and flood prevention as an ecosystem service, and was formally protected in 1989 (DOC, 2007). The wetland’s ability to store a flood with a peak flow of 1800 cubic metres per second, nearly an Olympic swimming pool in volume every second, gives it a value of many hundreds of millions of dollars. Despite their astonishing ability to capture and release vast amounts of water, we have drained 90% of them in New Zealand and continue the practice (DOC, 2007).
Wetlands are also sophisticated water remediation systems; they act like a filter and are a vital component for maintaining water quality. Just some of their complex and varied abilities include the removal of some heavy metals, powerful acid neutralisation, nitrate and sulphite removal and the reduction of toxic faecal bacteria (Rowe et al, 2009; Williams et al, 1994).
12. http://www.odt.co.nz/news/farming/108612/farmers-anticipate-big-feed-bills - accessed 22.09.2013 20
These attributes have been harnessed in Wellington with an artificial wetland, created to filter and clean the city's catchment before it enters the harbour [images in Appendix 3A].13 This initiative has won design and ecology awards and has greatly improved the water quality of the harbour so it may remain a source of recreational enjoyment.
Water degradation can be attributed to nitrogen and phosphate use as well as animal faecal run-off, and with their abilities of detoxification, wetlands could be a saving grace for the farming and agricultural sector (Davies-Colley and Ballantine, 2010). But with the boom in the dairy trade, herd sizes have increased by 20% since 1991, which has seen farmers using all available grazing land and still requiring imported feedstock in the form of palm kernel (WWF, 2012). A lack of environmental enforcement, inefficient policy and the difficulty in attributing pollution to a single polluter mean there is no incentive for farmers to keep a diverse forest cover, nor an incentive to restore or retain wetlands (WWF, 2012). For these reasons 90% of our pastoral catchments and all of our urban catchments are unsafe for recreational contact, which means the days of swimming in the local creek or the lake are over, as 43% of monitored lakes are now classified as polluted.
For many New Zealanders fishing is the sport of choice, particularly during the whitebait season. But the realities of water quality are ruining these traditions too. Native fish are struggling to survive in our polluted waterways, with 60% of native aquatic species now under threat from extinction, including three of the four whitebait species (WWF, 2012). The ecological functions of waterways are to provide a stable ecosystem for aquatic species, to act as a nursery for those aquatic species, and to serve as a filter, where nutrients are cycled up the food chain (Worm et al, 2006). However, biodiversity loss from deforestation, wetland
13. http://www.rcaforum.org.nz/waitangi-park-wellington-2/ accessed - 03.10. 2013 21
draining, and grazing of native tussock combined with a massive input of nitrate and phosphate from the monoculture that is the collective herd of the dairy industry mean that our waterways are nearly unable to provide these essential ecosystem services.
Water flows downhill and out to sea, passing through estuaries where the realities of the agricultural industry begin to impact the fishing industry. The water coming off farmland and into the ocean brings high levels of nitrates and phosphates that are used by famers to stimulate growth of grass and crops. When this nutrient-rich water is combined with warming sea temperatures, the result is an increase in the severity and frequency of toxic algal blooms (Worm et al, 2006; Grifo and Rosenthal, 1997). Blooms cause toxicity in shellfish, rendering them inedible, and the algae cling to the gills of fish causing them to suffocate. This is an environmental effect that was featured in the creative component of this thesis with the use of archival news footage. The film Bloom (Stevenson and Duckles, 2013) shows the devastating economic effect to the salmon aquaculture industry in 1989 and to the shellfish industry in 1993.
The results of our ecosystem management are dire: ocean fish species are declining, algal blooms are increasing, sand dunes and coastal areas are washing away due to wetland draining, and uncontrolled flooding is causing estuaries to become choked by sediment. It is no wonder that our coastal ecosystems are failing in their ability to provide the ecosystem services they once did (Worm et al, 2006). It is difficult to say exactly how this loss of local biodiversity will affect the food chain in the ocean at large, but it is suggested that it has a knock-on effect on plankton, other microbial species, and invertebrate taxa which are the foundation of much of the ocean’s food chain. For New Zealand, a major exporter of fish and
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shellfish, the biodiversity and its correlative robustness in a changing climate should be of considerable importance (Worm et al, 2006).
By extrapolating and applying the above examples to New Zealand's current methods of land and water management, it can be anticipated that the agricultural and financial inputs needed to compensate for the loss of the ecosystem services will increase as biodiversity decreases.
In 1997 a book called Biodiversity and Human Health was published (Grifo and Rosenthal, 1997). . Its third chapter, "Biodiversity and Emerging Infectious Diseases: Integrating Health and Ecosystem Monitoring", warned of losing key predator species in an ecosystem, that allow pathogens within that ecosystem to breed unchecked, of which the mosquito born disease malaria is an example (Grifo and Rosenthal, 1997). Until recently, it had not been quantified that the cost to the health sector is sometimes far greater than preserving the ecosystem and the service it provides. Phil Weinstein, Professor of Ecosystem Health from the University of South Australia, gave this quantification in 2013, when he spoke on the issue at Otago University. He gave three examples of biodiversity loss affecting human health outcomes. Ciguatera is a common pathogen that lives on algae. When reef ecosystem fail to adapt to changing environmental conditions such as coral bleaching, and increased surface temperature, or reef damage due to human interference and nutrient levels, the algae can increase in number. When fish graze on the algae, the poisonous Ciguatera pathogen accumulates in the flesh of the fish and then travels further up the food chain, eventually arriving at the top predator, humans. Humans value the largest fish, which tend to be those with the highest amount of bioaccumulation. When ingested, the effects of Ciguatera can be
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pronounced and very damaging. The neurological effects of this pathogen can continue for years after the infection: there are no cures, and no simple method of detecting the presence of the pathogen. The second example given by Prof Weinstein was the levels of THM, or Trihalomethane, in the water supplies of cities in Western Australia. Trihalomethane is a toxic by-product of disinfecting water for human consumption. Its presence is the result of a reaction between chlorine and bromine and has been shown to cause a statistically significant increase in birth defects. Prof Weinstein argues that building decontamination plants, buying chlorine, and dealing with the lifelong effects of birth deformities are far more expensive than preserving the water catchment. By planting riparian vegetation and restoring the biodiversity of plant life, the water catchment is able to provide its ecosystem service of filtration and remove the need for chlorine-intensive detoxification, thereby reducing the levels of Trihalomethane (Chisholm et al, 2008).14 The final example given by Prof Weinstein relates to the degradation caused by the clearing of native forest for agriculture. In Australia the loss of forest cover has caused a reduction of water vapour cycling and the groundwater no longer has the deep root systems of native forest to keep its levels low, which has resulted in salination. The rising saline in the groundwater has caused the soil to become high in salt too. Australia has lost 7% of its arable land as a result of forest clearing (Jardine, Corkeron and Weinstein, 2011). The creation of saline-rich water bodies has seen a revival of the Ross River Virus, as the principle vector of the pathogen thrives in salty conditions. The virus causes an enlarged spleen, the presence of blood in the urine, kidney inflammation, a burning or prickling sensation of the skin, headaches, stiff neck, and photophobia. The symptoms can last between one week to a year, and affect those within the 20-60 year age range (Jardine, Corkeron and Weinstein, 2011). 14. http://www.councilofsocialservices.org.nz/ai1ec_event/phil-weinstein-environmentalchange-disease-and-biodiversity/?instance_id= - accessed 12.12. 2013 24
As biodiversity losses give rise to infectious diseases, neurological pathogens and teratogens (Chisholm et al, 2008; Jardine, Corkeron and Weinstein, 2011; Liu et al, 2011), we may see more costs associated with agricultural loss, an increased need for water remediation infrastructure, and ongoing public health risks.
The significant loss of arable land in Australia is of importance to New Zealand as an agricultural provider. However, it is important to note that the policies of past governments were not necessarily informed by science of this kind. Farmers were encouraged to drain wetlands and fell native forest. To stop and reverse biodiversity loss is an enormous task; therefore a ‘them’ and ‘us’ approach that blames or alienates the farming community for anachronistic actions is contrary to the purpose of this thesis. Now that the evidence exists regarding biodiversity and its link to ecosystem services, public health advantages, and agricultural and economical advantages, to continue on as we are in spite of this knowledge would be unwise. But if this science is not communicated to policy makers in a language they can understand, then the expectation for them to develop a strategic solution is unrealistic.
Given the above benefits, preventing biodiversity loss the world over is of great importance. Both New Zealand and Brazil have an additional reason, as they are biodiversity hotspots. A hotspot is a place with an extremely high proportion of the world’s plant and bird species and one of the highest rates of losing them. New Zealand possesses 0.5% of the world’s vertebrate species, and 0.6% of the world’s plant species are endemic to its land. However, because of pollution and habitat loss we have already caused the extinction of 32% of our land and freshwater birds. There are currently over one thousand other indigenous species in New Zealand that are threatened with extinction. This threat can largely be
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attributed to the fact that over 70% of our original forest cover has been felled and not replaced (Myers et al, 2000; WWF, 2012). This extreme loss of biodiversity is a poor reflection on New Zealand, not only because biodiversity is involved in reducing agricultural inputs, improving agricultural outputs, and reducing public health risks, but also because of our national brand. The reason New Zealand's brand – built around its scenery and exotic flora and fauna – has been so successful is that it resonated deeply with the people of New Zealand (Dinnie, 2008). We are tied through our brand to this land and the special number of diverse species that dwell here (Lodge, 2002).
2.2 The value of a nation’s brand Not only is the need to prevent further biodiversity loss and restore habitats an environmental, health, and economic imperative, but also a cultural one. The additional cost to New Zealand associated with biodiversity loss is the erosion of the value linked to our national brand of being 'clean and green'. In order to understand the true cost of this value erosion for New Zealand, some context is required of what a national brand is, how the concept was developed, and its benefits for a country.
A nation's brand, or competitive identity, is defined as "the unique, multi-dimensional blend of elements that provide the nation with culturally grounded differentiation and relevance for all of its target audiences'' (Dinnie, 2008).
Countries keen to differentiate themselves on the world stage are increasingly using this strategy. It is an effective means of communicating a country's character and its commercial and cultural offerings. Its benefits include ''increasing internal investment,
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attracting talent, restoring or creating international credibility, enhancing nation building through the nourishment of pride, harmony ambition and national resolve'' (Dinnie, 2008). However, it is not something a country should undertake lightly. National brands require ongoing nourishment and should be seen by governments as an aspect of national policy. In addition to this, their development and instigation is a long, expensive and in-depth process that requires collaboration with a country’s key stakeholders, in the form of both government and non-governmental organisations (Lodge, 2002) (Dinnie, 2008). If a country gets it wrong, or has to change their brand, the results are significant and intensely political.
“While it is marketers who initiate the design of the branding process, it is the buyer or the end user who forms a mental image of the brand” (de Chernatony and McDonald, 2012). A country's end users, or its target audience, are not restricted to the people who purchase its exports or the tourists who visit on holidays: they include the people who choose to live there and pay taxes. Therefore, a country's elected government and the brand development stakeholders have an economic and cultural obligation to ensure that the country's brand is honest and respectful, as they are asking its citizens to own it as part of their national identity. Consequently, successive governments have a responsibility to uphold the value of an existing and successful brand.
When New Zealand was 're-branded' in the wake of the European single market in the early 1970s, it attempted to shift focus from being “a food producing colonial outpost, with its citizens living in bungalows” to a “scenic paradise with amazing birds, forests and the producer of exotic fruits” (Lodge, 2002). The success of this re-brand is primarily due to New Zealanders genuinely identifying with that natural beauty and taking it into their cultural ethos. This new brand also used the scarce quantities that the European Community permitted
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New Zealand to export to its advantage. The sales strategy had to be one of high value and high margins: "only the most tender lamb, the softest wool, the most perfect kiwifruit'' (Lodge, 2002). This created a sense of value around our produce and fostered a reputation for superior quality: "The chef at the Dorchester would only use oysters from New Zealand and the mature cheddar we sent would be spontaneously and immediately auctioned at the docks" (Lodge, 2002). This brand of superior quality has developed and is now embedded in slogans like 'clean and green' and ‘100% Pure’. We continue to trade extensively on this reputation when selling our produce in the global market. However, our products are of a lower quality than before, particularly our dairy products. As freshwater ecologist Mike Joy states, "We are neither really clever nor efficient. Rather, we are simply world-leading consumers of nonrenewable fertiliser to be world-leading producers of low-value milk powder".15 For how long can New Zealand trade on a reputation built on the practices of yesteryear?
However, one could argue that New Zealand is not living up to its brand, as its current methods of faming are seeing New Zealand products pulled from China, Russia and Vietnam. 16
The consequences of a brand breaking its promises can cause an erosion of that brands
reputation (Wong and Merrilees, 2007). A survey revealed that only 2% of New Zealand citizens believe the country lives up to the brand slogan ‘100% Pure’ and our Prime Minister, John Key, has stated that a freshwater ecologist's scientific research on New Zealand's water pollution was a 'matter of opinion'. 17 18 This attitude as well as the scientific realities of our
15
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/9067550/Reputation-draggedthrough-the-muck - accessed 12.12.2013 16 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/05/fonterra-botulism-import-ban - accessed 16.12.2013 17 http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1308/S00323/our-clean-green-image-to-take-anotherhit.htm http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/8023412/100-Pure-Fantasy-Living-up-to-our-brand 28
water quality and rates of biodiversity loss could cause the erosion of brand value and the economic value of our produce. Furthermore, some current government policies could be seen as contradictory to the New Zealand brand e.g. mining on conservation land and deep sea drilling. If New Zealand’s brand promise is seen to be broken, the citizens of New Zealand and the tourists we wish to attract might re-think their brand loyalty. New Zealand’s main brand promise is the use of clean and green practices and placing a high value on our environment. There are some examples in the media expressing the kind of feeling created when our brand promise is seen to be broken, such as this testimony from an immigrant to New Zealand, given on a national news media site: "As with many immigrants, my expectation of New Zealand was based on what I had read about its green/environmental philosophy and its boasting of a more relaxed lifestyle than other countries...The green/environmental image that New Zealand presents to the world is only theory not reality. Dairying has tampered with the lands, as has wide use of 1080 poison."19 Brand inconsistency causes customers to stray (Dinnie, 2008), therefore an erosion of our brand could cast doubt on the qualities of our export products on which our economy depends, and cause the citizen customer with 'talent' to look elsewhere (Dinnie, 2008).20
The erosion of biodiversity does not make agricultural, environmental, economic or cultural sense, particularly to a country with a brand such as ours. Can we get back on brand by increasing biodiversity through sound conservation practices?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5497038/Kiwis-slam-NZs-clean-green-image 18 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9480610.stm - accessed 21.12 .2013 19. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/assignments/welcome-to-new-zealand/8995163/NZlike-a-third-world-country - accessed 13.12.2013 20
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/05/fonterra-botulism-import-ban - accessed 16.12.2013 29
Chapter Three: The Gap that goes by many names 3.1 What is the Research Implementation Gap? If New Zealand included the conservation discipline as a stakeholder in our national brand it could deliver a rich and diverse environmental landscape that may benefit our brand and strengthen our agricultural sector. What it might also do is highlight the underlying communication problems and inefficiencies that exist within the conservation discipline. Improving the efficiency of the conservation discipline by expanding the communication of academic research and exposing the economic value of conservation to policy makers and the commercial sector is vital, but it is also a difficult task.
Within the conservation discipline there are those involved in conservation research and those involved in conservation practice – simply put, researchers and on-the-ground practitioners or in other words, the people doing conservation science and the people putting it into practice (Arlettaz et al., 2010; Bernhardt et al., 2011). Currently, there is a communication gap between them, which is a major barrier to the success of both parties, and also for the prevention of biodiversity loss. It is a weakness that needs to be addressed if New Zealand is going to genuinely align its national brand with conservation.
The gap between researcher and practitioner has many names: the Research Implementation Gap, the Knowing Doing Gap, the Strategy Implementation Gap, or the Scholar Practitioner Divide. It exists internationally and across disciplines (Kreuter and Bernhardt, 2009; Gera, 2012), and it is both costly and damaging. It causes uninformed or irrelevant questions to be researched, and findings that mostly fail to be disseminated to key parties, thus slowing the uptake and implementation of new and more effective strategies and
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techniques (Braunisch et al., 2012; Kuebbing, Nuñez, and Simberloff, 2013; Laurance et al, 2012).
3.2 What causes the Research Implementation Gap in conservation science? What inefficiencies does the gap create? What is the most effective method for reducing it?
3.2.1 Introduction: In the past thirty years there has been a large increase in the amount of conservation assessments published in peer-reviewed literature (Pressey, 2002). Despite this new and extensive body of work the number of conservation plans implemented as a result of this research is small (Cabeza and Moilanen, 2001; Whitten, Holmes and MacKinnon, 2001; Balmford, 2003). What is the point of conservation research if not to facilitate efficient conservation?
This question has given rise to one of the most significant current discussions in conservation science: the causes of the research implementation gap or knowledge action gap and the methods proposed to reduce it (Sunderland et al, 2009). The following literature review focuses on the large volume of published studies describing the causes of the research implementation gap. Through a critique of the way in which these studies’ conclusions were reached I aim to evaluate which causes of the research implementation gap have the highest impact on conservation success and to discuss the most effective methods for mitigating the research implementation gap.
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This review is divided into four parts grouped according to the major trends in the literature: each section focuses on one cause of the research implementation gap.
3.2.2 Definitions: Conservation practitioner, conservationist and practitioner mean the people involved in the practical 'on the ground' aspect of conservation. Conservation scientists, researchers and academics mean those people primarily associated with an academic or research institution.
3.2.3 Research lacks conservation intent and relevance to conservation practitioners: There exists a wide gap in communication between scientists performing conservation research and the needs of the managers at the 'on the ground' level on conservation' (Prendergast, Quinn and Lawton, 1999). The type of research being done in conservation science is not reflective of the problems encountered by conservation practitioners, resulting in information that cannot be utilised. It is thought that this occurs due to research priorities that are influenced by the academic institutional structure, which focuses on conservation assessment from a technical perspective. Research that does couple conservation assessment with a plan for effective conservation action is rare and undervalued by institutions (Knight et al, 2006b; Whitten, Holmes and MacKinnon, 2001; Prendergast, Quinn and Lawton, 1999).
Fazey, Fischer, and Lindenmayer (2005) illustrates the low priority for researchers of conservation implementation by looking at 547 articles from three high impact conservation journals Conservation Biology, Biodiversity and Conservation and Biological Conservation in order to determine the kind of research being generated by conservation scientists. Their
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results showed that only 20% of research had a high degree of relevance to conservation policy, and only 37% to conservation management. Despite research dedicated to biodiversity threats ''dominating the literature'' at 40%, only 12.6% of the research actively reviewed conservation action.
The problems with the research conducted by Fazey, Fischer, and Lindenmayer (2005) are the small number of journals surveyed (three) and the single year (2001) snapshot of the publications, which mean these statistics are potentially unreflective of the reality of conservation research. However, given the international scope and reputation of these journals these should not be considered confounding factors. It would be beneficial to repeat this research at regular time intervals to assess whether these statistics are changing; furthermore, if this research were to be repeated the use of standard definitions of the assessment terms such as 'management' and 'policy' would be beneficial (Salafsky et al, 2008).
Furthering the research undertaken by Fazey, Fischer, and Lindenmayer (2005), Knight (2008) conducted an international survey of authors of conservation science research in order to assess the extent to which their conservation assessment research translated into conservation action. All articles concerning 'conservation assessment' that appeared in peerreviewed articles between 1998 and 2002 were identified and the survey was subsequently sent to 159 authors. It is unclear if this n value is reflective of the actual number of conservation assessments published or just those with contact details to send the survey to. Looking at the results of this paper, the extent of research lacking conservation intent and relevance to conservation practitioners becomes clearer – only 5.7% of papers promoted nature conservation on the ground, and in 62.5% of studies, conservation implementation was
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not mentioned. While nearly 70% of the conservation assessments had the aim of improving research techniques, they lacked entirely any intention for conservation implementation. Interestingly, despite their apparent lack of intent, 33% of assessments led to some kind of conservation action, but only 13% of those were considered ''highly effective''. 58.3% were considered "fairly effective'' and 19.4% were either "poorly effective" or "ineffective"(Knight et al, 2008). It is no wonder that conservation practitioners feel that research science is ''too broad, conceptual or too abstract'' to be of any relevance (Sunderland et al, 2009).
The studies whose objective it was to implement conservation action had a success rate of more than 94% (Knight et al, 2008). This suggests that when conservation is part of the researcher’s objective the research implementation gap is reduced and conservation success is greatly increased (Arlettaz et al, 2010).
The conservation researchers surveyed by Knight (2008) had published their results between three and five years prior to the circulation of the survey. This timeframe gave conservation practitioners time to act on the findings of the research and therefore strengthens the conclusions reached by this study. The factors influencing the validity of the research conducted by Knight (2008) are that the survey questions are not given, so their quality cannot be assessed, and the definitions of keywords are not cited, so their relevance to this area of research cannot be analysed. The latter brings up the issue of the need for a consistent taxonomy to ensure a unanimous understanding of the questions being asked (Salafsky et al, 2008).
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The research conducted by Arlettaz 2010 summarises the role of effective communication in conservation success, and is therefore valuable because it suggests that lack of intent is a cause of the research implementation gap. It does this by providing an examination of the way in which conservation science is successful when informed by conservation practitioners, as well as a conservation assessment of a species under threat.
3.3.4 Academic success does not encourage conservation success: The first few universities in the world had only four subjects: Medicine, Philosophy, Theology, and Law. Contrast this with a 1950 publication by the University of Illinois, which described over 1,100 disciplines, not including humanities subjects. The current structure of specialisation within universities supports a uni-disciplinary approach to research and academia. This structure is inefficient with regard to conservation, because matters of climate change and biodiversity loss require a multidisciplinary approach (Max-Neef, 2005; Sunderland et al, 2009).
The stigma that new multidisciplinary or online journals have adds to the research implementation gap because it affects the likelihood that an academic will publish in them (Campbell, 2005; Briggs, 2001; Coloma and Harris, 2005). This is because, for an academic, success is measured by the amount of information produced, the prestige of where it is published, and how often their research is cited. Success is not measured by the implementation of their research (Sunderland et al, 2009 and Arlettaz et al., 2010).
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If the above rationale for academic success is followed, the infrastructure and reward systems of academic organisations serve to widen the research implementation gap, because an academic who wishes to become successful does so by staying close to the status quo of that institution (Starbuck and Dunbar, 2006; Murphy et al, 2000).
Finally, an academic’s livelihood is often directly linked to funding availability (Sunderland et al, 2009), and funding issues described by Briggs (2001) highlight this as a factor influencing the research implementation gap. The interdisciplinary funding required for scientists to work with conservation practitioners and community groups is described as “arduous to apply for and complex to administer”. The funding is often cut midway through projects relating to conservation, which makes scientists reluctant to become involved with them (Briggs, 2001).
A limitation of the research conducted by Briggs, (2001) and Campbell, (2005) is that while their assertions are based on professional accounts and experiences, these are singular. Whilst this does not discount their findings as relevant to this review, there is room for comprehensive research into the views of academics on what they believe the measures of academic success to be, and the reasons (if any) for being reluctant to work with on-theground conservation groups.
Starbuck and Dunbar (2006) focused on general organisations, which limits the validity of their findings with respect to academic organisations, as these findings are not necessarily transferable between different types of organisations. This is another reason that further research in the field of organisational design should be undertaken.
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3.2.5 Problems in the exchange of literature between conservation practitioners and scientists: The ineffective exchange of information between researchers and conservation practitioners is considered one of the main reasons for the research implementation gap (Sunderland et al, 2009; Knight et al, 2008; Prendergast, Quinn and Lawton, 1999). There are conflicting views within the literature as to who is responsible for this ineffective exchange; consequently, the section below begins with the principle problem, followed by a review of the reasons for it.
Conservation practitioners do not access the research in their area (Redford and Taber, 2000; Sunderland et al, 2009) and often create and implement their own conservation strategies, which can remain unpublished (Hopkinson, Evans and Gregory, 2000), thus limiting the ability for others to identify and replicate them should they prove successful.
A reason briefly touched on in the literature dealing with conservation practitioners’ failure to assess scientific research is that they underestimate its value in its practical application to science conservation. This is evidenced by the research of Sutherland (2004), which found that in the United Kingdom only 2.4% of conservation practitioners research the primary scientific literature to support their work despite having access to journal subscriptions and the Internet. In light of the research done by Knight (2008), which summarised the low level of conservation intent among research scientists, this result is not surprising.
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A contrasting suggestion evident in much of the literature is that the reason practitioners do not access published literature is not lack of interest, but lack of access (Arlettaz et al., 2010). This is mainly due to the high cost of subscriptions, as evidenced by the fact that access to scientific journals has risen in price by 227% between 1986 and 2002 (Coloma and Harris, 2005; Prendergast, Quinn and Lawton 1999). This aspect of the research implementation gap particularly affects developing countries, and a study undertaken by the World Health Organisation in 2000 showed that 56% of institutions in 75 countries whose per capita income was less than US$1000 had no subscription to international journals, and had not done for five years (Sunderland et al, 2009).
However, cost is not the only factor in this aspect of the research implementation gap. The literature surrounding the issue of conservationists not accessing literature appropriate to their conservation field also cites scientific illiteracy as a main cause (Sunderland et al, 2009; Arlettaz et al., 2010; Redford and Taber, 2000). Practitioners, even those who are English speakers, are not necessarily trained to discern the difference between peer-reviewed literature and generic publications, and this impacts their ability to effectively appraise the information available to them (Arlettaz et al., 2010).
The formal structure and language of science hinders both English- and non-Englishspeaking researchers and conservation practitioners, as opportunities for training in converting information gathered into publishable manuscripts are scarce (Caloma and Harris, 2005). This problem is particularly significant in developing countries where English, the major academic language of science (van Weijen, 2012; Genç 2010) is not the conservation practitioners’ native language and access to education in the formal register of publication is limited (Sunderland et al, 2009; Caloma and Harris, 2005). Given that the language of
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academia is English, it is understandable that in non-English speaking countries this literacy gap is a major hindrance to effective communication and therefore a major contributor to the research implementation gap.
While the language barrier is a large part of the reason that practitioners do not publish their findings, it is often the funders of on-the-ground conservation science who – like the funders of research – do not want to hear about negative results, and in this way play a significant role in the lack of information dissemination (Sunderland et al, 2004; Redford and Taber, 2000; Sutherland et al, 2004). Understanding the causes of failure in any field of research is valuable as it prevents both the doubling of efforts and the duplication of mistakes. However, reports are often written by the development staff, who are often responsible for securing funding, and funders – even the most philanthropic – want to feel that their money has been successfully spent. In the interest of securing further funding, the failings of the previous conservation attempts are not reported on, not published, and – unless a researcher has the resources and connections to gather an unpublished data set – they are not analysed in peer-reviewed literature (Hopkinson, Evans and Gregory, 2000; Redford and Taber, 2000; Knight and Cowling, 2006).
Redford and Taber (2004) and Coloma and Harris (2005) were special feature reviews on the topic of the research implementation gap. These articles are a blend of multiple discussions, drawing conclusions from professional experiences in conservation science, and reviewing the large body of literature on the research implementation gap. They are valuable confirmations of the conclusions reached by Arlettaz (2010), Prendergast, Quinn and Lawson (1999), Sunderland (2009), Knight (2006b) and Hopkinson, Evans and Gregory (2000), who conducted thorough on-the-ground conservation research or algorithmic analysis of data sets
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and whose methods were published alongside their research, thus making their conclusions more valuable to the analysis in this review.
3.2.6 Conclusions: This literature review has given an account of the causes of the research implementation gap and the reasons for them. It has aimed to evaluate which causes of the research implementation gap have the highest impact on conservation success and to discuss the most effective methods for mitigating the research implementation gap.
The strongest trend in this review is the well-documented assertion that academic institutions fail to support conservation scientists in generating relevant research (Knight et al, 2008; Sunderland et al, 2009; Briggs, 2001; Prendergast, Quinn and Lawson, 1999; Campbell, 2005) and it is strongly linked with complaints by practitioners that scientists are difficult to bring on board in practical conservation projects (Briggs, 2001). It also shows the background reason behind practitioners' lack of interest in sifting through scientific literature, which is highly likely to be irrelevant (Prendergast, Quinn and Lawson, 1999; Fazey, Fischer, and Lindenmayer; 2005; Knight et al, 2008). This trend places a great deal of responsibility for the research implementation gap on the shoulders of academics and academic institutions. However, conservation practitioners do not often publish their findings. Therefore, a change in the structure of academic institutions may simply result in a frustrating exercise for academics seeking to structure their research questions around the undocumented findings of conservation practitioners.
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This cause of the research implementation gap will continue until the idea of 'success' changes in the eyes of academics and conservation funders from citation 'hits' or 'philanthropy feel-good' factors, to long-term conservation success (Kapos et al, 2009). The Journal of Negative Results is a step in the right direction towards changing the attitude towards negative results but it currently lacks the conservation focus required for it to have an effect on the research implementation gap, and given that it is a new journal (founded in 2004) it is subject to the academic stigma discussed above. 21
The second trend shows that the language barrier results in the inability to communicate the areas in need of research to conservation scientists. The fact that the language of academia is English inhibits the ability for practitioners from many countries – particularly those in the developing world – to publish their results and limits these results’ impact if they do (Redford and Taber, 2000; Sunderland et al, 2009; Coloma and Harris, 2005).
However, in the scope of this review, the language barrier is considered a more minor contributor to the research implementation gap, as research facilities do exist in many developing countries and often conservation success is ecologically localised (Payne, 2000). There are also online solutions such as http://www.journalexperts.com/ that are enabled with text recognition software to proofread and correct articles, and http://translate.google.com/ which is a multilingual translation service. Both of these resources greatly increase the ability for non-English speaking research scientists and conservation practitioners to submit findings, in English, to international journals and they therefore mitigate language as a contributor to the research implementation gap.
21
www.JNR.eeb.org - accessed 21.10.2012 41
Returning to the question posed at the beginning of this review, it is now possible to say that the literature reviewed shows that the most significant reason for the research implementation gap lies in the structure of academic and research institutions. Further work needs to be done to establish what conservation scientists who are currently undertaking research in New Zealand academic or research institutions believe the measures of academic success to be, their reasons (if any) for being reluctant to work with community/on-theground conservation groups, and the barriers to developing research questions with conservational intent. However, there exists a large limitation to this statement. Those publishing articles about their frustrations and thoughts on the causes of the research implementation gap are, for the most part, academic scientists. This suggests that scientists within academic and research institutions might also feel frustration at research that is not implemented and welcome methods to reduce the research implementation gap in conservation science. Furthermore, given that practitioners of conservation rarely read academic literature or publish in academic journals, it would be one-sided to suggest that a shift in academic or research intent will completely change this fact with any great speed. To assert that the issue lies solely with academics and research scientists or solely with practitioners runs the risk of further alienating the two parties of conservation science. It is therefore proposed that in order to effect a balanced and long-lasting change conservation scientists should be encouraged to engage with practitioners, and academics and research scientists should form their research with practical implementation in mind.
One method of achieving this would be to alter the requirements for academic research funding at a governmental level, so that new research is required to have a practical intent which is shown to increase practitioner uptake and conservation success (Knight et al, 2008). Academics and their institutions would thus be encouraged to engage with
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practitioners to devise strategies for making their research fit the new practical requirements. This possibility is discussed further in Chapter 4 with regard to postgraduate study and in Chapter 5 with regard to New Zealand’s National Science Challenges (See Appendix 5A).
Furthermore, it is thought that the combination of ecological economics and conservation aims through the communication of natural capital (Knight et al, 2008; Knight et al, 2006; Balmford and Cowling, 2006; Salafsky et al, 2008) will provide further incentive for policy shifts in the decision-making of local governments and the World Bank (Balmford and Cowling, 2006; Chhatre and Saberwal, 2005). As ecological economics becomes more integrated into policy, and the pressure of the current global economic climate increases, the government, conservation departments, and academic institutions should be asked to improve their efficiency in achieving the goal of preventing biodiversity loss. Conservation stakeholders are not alone in the communication gap. It exists across disciplines, but government and academic institutions have not had the kind of financial incentive to reduce it that commercial disciplines such as marketing and management have. Given the commercial spirit of this thesis, its aim is to find solutions in the literature of these disciplines to improve communication between conservation researchers and practitioners and, ultimately, the efficiency of the field of conservation science.
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Chapter Four: What commercial strategies reduce the research implementation gap?
What communication solutions do commercial disciplines use, and could they be used to reduce the research implementation gap in conservation science? The multidisciplinary nature of the research implementation gap is both an overwhelming problem in the realm of academia, and an opportunity to search for solutions across disciplines. This literature review looks at the strategies used by disciplines with a commercial and public health motivation to close the research implementation gap. This review is divided into four sections, with each section dealing with one of the strategies being used to improve communication and reduce knowledge and implementation gaps within commercial sectors. Within each section the following elements will be explored. 1. Definition of the strategy and citation of its current use. 2. Discussion of the measures used to show the strategy's efficacy.
4.1: Web 2.0 and dissemination theory 4.1.2 Definitions of the strategy and its current use: Dissemination is defined as ''actively spreading evidence-based interventions to target audiences via specified channels using planned strategies'' (Rabin et al, 2008). The effective dissemination of academic outputs is crucial to the implementation of new techniques and best practice. If those who are meant to be using new products or implementing new techniques are not even aware of them, then their importance and relevance is lost, or, at best, significantly slowed.
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If academics were to use Web 2.0 strategies to improve the dissemination of their academic outputs, and if practitioners used them to share their findings and propose research questions, then Web 2.0 could partially close the research implementation gap.
Web 2.0 is not a term used to describe any specific technical Internet update: it is used to describe a collection of changes in the way the Internet is used, and in how web content is created. Web 2.0 is content generation and information sharing that is user driven, collaborative, and interactive. It is opposed to Web 1.0, which constituted a passive viewing of websites created by others and over which users had no input (O'Reilly, 2007). Examples of Web 2.0 are social media and networking sites such as blogs, wikis, video sharing sites, virtual communities, and mashups. Some well-known examples of these are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, YouTube, Mac Forum and SoundCloud.
The use of Web 2.0 to reduce the research implementation gap has been researched in public health practice. The literature shows that evidence-based clinical services are not being given to patients and that fewer than half of the strategies in community-based prevention programmes are practically implemented (Bernhardt et al., 2011) (Bero et al., 1998). This knowledge dissemination issue is thought to exist in the public health sphere due to a lack of infrastructure in the supply chain between medical researchers, practitioners and patients. Kreuter and Bernhardt (2009) published a paper in the American Journal of Public Health (Kreuter and Bernhardt, 2009) that looked at distribution models used in the marketing discipline. They argued that the use of Web 2.0 could be transferred from the marketing discipline to the public health sector, and greatly increase the sector’s ability to disseminate research evidence to clinicians and practitioners.
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Some health, science and conservation networks are making use of Web 2.0 strategies for knowledge dissemination. The Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network have a member directory with links to research publications, videos of talks, templates, apps, and meeting minutes. 22 This is a much more inclusive method of knowledge distribution than traditional academic journals: no longer a one-way street, it is more of an exchange of usergenerated information, and therefore belongs in the realm of Web 2.0. Even academic journals are venturing into the world of Web 2.0: Nature and the New England Journal of Medicine use Twitter and Facebook to ''actively disseminate findings'' (Bernhardt et al., 2011). Forest and Bird (forestandbird.org.nz), an independent conservation organisation in New Zealand, has conservation campaigns that users can actively become involved in, for example Restore our Dawn Chorus, Save the Maui Dolphin, and Shark Finning – New Zealand’s shame. Forest and Bird are active bloggers, with an archive dating from 2008; they are frequent users of Twitter, with 3,985 followers and 2,419 tweets; and they successfully engage with their member base using Facebook, evident by their 13,904 'Likes' and 794 'talking about this' indicators (details accessed 17th October, 2013).
Given that there are already scientific disciplines like public health using Web 2.0 for knowledge dissemination as well as conservation organisations using it for awareness-raising and campaign strategy, Web 2.0 could also be used to reduce the research implementation gap in conservation science. Therefore, the following literature assessment aims to evaluate which Web 2.0 tools would be best suited to the reduction of the research implementation gap in the conservation discipline. It focuses primarily on the lack of communication between academics and practitioners of conservation science and on how Web 2.0 could facilitate an exchange of information between these two parties. 22
www.cpcrn.org - accessed 27.11.13 46
4.1.2 Measuring the efficacy of Web 2.0 – an analysis and discussion: Many companies have jumped on the 'follow us on Twitter', 'find us on Facebook' bandwagon, but while this trend suggests Web 2.0 is a successful method of disseminating a company's product or an organisation’s message, this trend cannot be taken as evidence of its efficacy.
Finding relevant research or academic publications on Web 2.0 tools and their efficacy in improving the productivity of business or the conservation science sector has been extremely difficult. Web 2.0 software technology is being used across multiple disciplines: academic research (Newell, Pembroke and Boyd, 2012), business (Andriole, 2010 ; JacquesBughin and Miller, 2009) and public health (Newell, Pembroke and Boyd, 2012). However, the literature deals mainly with the implementation of Web 2.0 tools and not the assessment of their efficacy after implementation. The literature that assesses the efficacy of Web 2.0 post-implementation is not being published by academic journals, but by business-minded computing or management consulting firms. Therefore, this section analyses three articles: the first produced by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the second by McKinsey and Company, and the third an article discussing the use of Web 2.0 in the conservation discipline. Note: In the case of the first two articles, the Web 2.0 strategies that scored below 20% efficacy in contributing to business success were not considered strong enough tools to discuss further in this thesis.
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4.1.3 Article One – The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM): The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), who describe themselves as ''the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society'', provide a digital library to the computing profession, containing ''leading edge publications, conferences, and career resources'' (www.acm.org). In 2010 they published a qualitative article called 'The Business Impact of Web 2.0 Technologies' (Andriole, 2010 ), which investigated the following five business sectors by questioning a total of fifteen senior managers and assessing the methods of Web 2.0 they used and the perceived efficacy of these methods in increasing corporate productivity. Business Sectors Investigated 1. Pharmaceutical 2. Global chemicals 3. Global IT 4. Real Estate and Mortgage 5. Large Financial Services Table 4.1 (Andriole, 2010 ) Respondents were asked about the contribution of Web 2.0 strategies to different aspects of their business (List One). They were then asked to rate the Web 2.0 strategies (List Two) that were most effective. In this way it was possible to answer two questions: 1. What areas of business is Web 2.0 most effective in? 2. Which type of Web 2.0 is best for specific business areas? Note: For all questions, respondents were asked to tick all strategies they felt had contributed.
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List One The elements of corporate productivity assessed Collaboration/Communication Knowledge Management Rapid Application Development Customer Relationship Management Training Innovation Table 4.2 List Two Web 2.0 strategies being evaluated Wikis Internal employee blogs External customer blogs RSS Filters Folksonomies/content management Mashups Virtual words Internal crowdsourcing External crowdsourcing Internal social networks Table 4.3 (Andriole, 2010 )
The following results show that the areas of business that were most improved by Web 2.0 were collaboration and communication, and knowledge management. The best Web 2.0 tools for both these areas were Wikis and internal blogs. Interestingly, while each company found Web 2.0 techniques effective, they all had higher expectations of what these techniques might deliver than was found to be the case in practice.
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A. What areas of business is Web 2.0 most effective in? Collaboration and communication - 81.6% Knowledge management - 53.9% Innovation - 21.1% B. In the area of collaboration/communication which Web 2.0 strategies work the best? Wikis - 67.1% Internal employee blogs - 42.1% Internal social networks - 25%. C. With regard to knowledge management, which Web 2.0 strategies contributed the most? Wikis - 69.7% Internal employee blogs - 30.3% D. Innovation benefited the least by the implementation of Web 2.0 strategies. Wikis - 50% Internal blogging - 30.3% Table 4.4 (Andriole, 2010 ) A lack of dialogue between conservation practitioners and academics was discussed earlier in section 3.2, as an issue that contributes to the research implementation gap. As Wikis and internal employee blogs were most effective in increasing business communication and collaboration, it is suggested that their use could provide an infrastructure linking practitioner groups and academic conservation researchers and thereby contribute to the reduction of the research implementation gap.
4.1.4 Article Two - McKinsey and Company: McKinsey and Company conducted a larger and more comprehensive analysis on Web 2.0 than the Association for Computing Machinery. It was entitled 'How companies are benefiting from Web 2.0’ and was published in 2009. The company was established in 1926 and is self-described as a "global management and consulting firm" and "a business advisory service to the world’s leading businesses, governments and institutions."23
23. http://www.mckinsey.com/about_us - accessed 27.11.2013 50
Their research surveyed over 1,700 executives from four main industries: 1. High tech/telecommunications 2. Business/legal/professional services 3. Manufacturing 4. Financial Table 4.5 (Jacques-Bughin and Miller, 2009) McKinsey and Company is a global business, which gave international scope to the survey, with geographies from China, India, North America, Latin America, Europe, AsiaPacific and developing nations represented.
The benefits of Web 2.0 were broken into three benefit classes across the businesses. 1. Internal purposes 2. Customer-related purposes 3. Working with external partners/suppliers Table 4.6 (Jacques-Bughin and Miller, 2009)
The second benefit class, customer-related purposes, is not discussed in this thesis. It could be argued that conservation outreach centres like Zealandia or the Orokonui Wildlife Sanctuary are customer-based services, but the potential benefits of Web 2.0 to this sector of conservation must be dealt with elsewhere. In what follows, I focus on ways in which the research implementation gap can be reduced within conservation institutions and communication with key stakeholders and suppliers of information increased.
1. Benefits of using Web 2.0 for internal purposes Increasing speed of access to internal experts - 35% Increasing speed of access to knowledge - 30% Reducing travel costs - 20% Reducing communication costs - 20% Increasing employee satisfaction - 20% Reducing the time to market for products/services - 20% Increasing number of successful innovations for new products of services - 20% Table 4.7 (Jacques-Bughin and Miller, 2009)
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2. Benefits of using Web 2.0 when working with external partners/suppliers Increasing speed of access to external experts - 30% Increasing speed of access to knowledge- 25% Reducing travel costs - 20% Reducing communication costs - 20% Increasing satisfaction of suppliers, partners, external experts - 20% Reducing the time to market for products/services - 20% Reducing product development costs - 20% Increasing number of successful innovations for new products/services - 20% Table 4.8 (Jacques-Bughin and Miller, 2009) The structure of this survey gives a different insight into the benefits of Web 2.0 than the survey conducted by the Association for Computing Machinery. It is useful to isolate where in the supply chain different Web 2.0 strategies are more effective when choosing where to apply them, thereby providing potential assistance to those who employ these strategies by giving them a more realistic expectation of the strategies’ effects and cost savings prior to implementation.
As with the previous survey, any benefit that attracted less than 20% of respondents was not deemed to be of sufficient benefit to discuss further in this thesis.
The benefits of Web 2.0 (listed above in table 4.7 and 4.8) were analysed by sectioning the benefit classes into internal and external partners, and asking the respondents if they used a given Web 2.0 tool and if they felt it had contributed at least one measurable benefit. The respondents were also asked if the Web 2.0 tool had no benefit at all. The following percentages are the Web 2.0 technologies that scored above 20% in benefit contribution, and those deemed by fewer than 30% of respondents to have no benefit. This percentage limitation was applied to both the internal and external benefit classes. The limitation was thought to be necessary, because when the benefit and no benefit percentages were almost equal across the respondents, the strength of that Web 2.0 tool was not
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considered sufficiently robust for the trans-disciplinary purposes of this thesis. Only the strongest-performing strategies are analysed for their potential role in the reduction in the research implementation gap in conservation science. This tightening on the proof of efficacy saw a great many apparently strong Web 2.0 strategies fall by the wayside, particularly in the external partners/suppliers section.
Web 2.0 technologies
Internal
External partners/suppliers
Video sharing
48%
50%
Blogs
-
-
RSS
-
-
Social networking
42%
-
Wikis
40%
-
Podcasts
36%
-
Rating
22%
24%
Tagging
-
-
P2P (peer to peer)
20%
25%
Microblogging
-
-
Mashups
-
-
Prediction markets Table 4.9 (Jacques-Bughin and Miller, 2009)
In the McKinsey survey, authored by Bughin (2009), the Web 2.0 tools that rated above the 20% cut-off – thus displaying their high efficacy in delivering benefits to business – aligned closely with the results of the Association for Computing Machinery survey (Andriole, 2010).
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The three elements of corporate productivity that most benefited from Web 2.0 in the Association for Computing Machinery survey were: - Collaboration/Communication - Knowledge management - Innovation
The McKinsey survey demonstrated that the benefits of using Web 2.0 were heavily focused around the following: - Increasing speed of access to external and internal experts - Increasing speed of access to knowledge
For the purposes of this thesis it is accepted that 'access to internal and external experts' is analogous to 'collaboration/communication' and that 'knowledge management' is analogous to 'access to knowledge'. Thus, these two research papers measuring the efficacy of Web 2.0 for business indicate the two key areas that are most benefitted by its use.
The results from both surveys show that the strongest Web 2.0 strategy was the use of Wikis. However, second place differed in the two surveys. McKinsey’s second-best Web 2.0 strategy was social networking, but internal employee blogging was second in the Association for Computing Machinery survey. This is interesting, because blogging is considered a form of social networking as it brings together a group of people under a common thread or interest. Despite this commonality, the Association for Computing Machinery differentiated between blogging and social media as Web 2.0 tools, therefore it was not possible to compare the use of social networking between articles and include blogging.
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4.1.5 Article Three – Crowdsourcing for conservation: Web 2.0 a powerful tool for biologists There were even fewer studies when it came to the use of Web 2.0 and its efficacy within the conservation science discipline. In fact there was only one. Published in 2012, 'Crowd Sourcing for Conservation: Web 2.0 a powerful tool for Biologists' (Newell, Pembroke and Boyd, 2012), was a study aimed at testing the efficacy of the Web 2.0 tool Application Programming Interface (API) in Google Maps when collecting data on cane toads from citizens. Cane toads are an invasive pest in Australia, and the insight gained by surveying citizens and communities is extremely valuable in controlling them. The cane toad population is large, their habitat immense, and they often reside on private land (Newell, Pembroke and Boyd, 2012). Research on the cane toad investigates their spread, their impact on biodiversity, and the efficacy of methods used to reduce their chances of breeding successfully in areas they have not yet invaded.
The sending out of physical paper surveys and maps is the traditional method for gathering data. However, this method of survey distribution is expensive and the surveys and maps frequently go unreturned (Newell, Pembroke and Boyd, 2012).
The study by Newell, Pembroke and Boyd (2012) utilised a few different types of technology. Firstly, they bought the domain name and built a simple website called 'Toad Tracker', which is no longer live.
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The website consisted of an Application Programming Interface from Google Maps24 and the MySQL open source database system.25 A Google Maps Application Programming Interface gives specific information on the ways in which Google Maps and other components of software talk to each other. There are many kinds of Application Programming Interfaces which allow the Google Maps interface to be embedded into a website. This enables businesses or projects with specific data sets or software to interact with Google Maps. In this study ‘Toad Tracker' used the MySQL database to talk to the Google Maps Application Programming Interface so that when citizens sighted a Cane Toad, or had information to share with the researchers, they would go to the website and mark on the Google Map what they had seen and where they had seen it. The Application Programming Interface allowed the information the citizens were entering to be stored in an accessible way on the MySQL database for the researchers to analyse and validate later.
Even though it was a test study, and only promoted to a few communities in New South Wales, this novel approach attracted three hundred respondents and significant enthusiasm and engagement from the communities. The authors considered the pilot study a success and believe Web 2.0, and in particular the Google Maps Application Programming Interfaces, to be of great potential benefit to the conservation discipline and to the engagement of communities in conservation (Newell, Pembroke and Boyd, 2012).
24. https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/webservices/ - accessed 29.112013 25. http://www.mysql.com/products/ - accessed 27.11.2013 56
4.1.6. A critique of the research and the feasibility of applying Web 2.0 tools to the discipline of conservation science
The trial discussed in the article 'Crowd Sourcing for Conservation: Web 2.0 a powerful tool for Biologists' was considered a success by the article’s authors due to its three hundred participants, one thousand hits on the ‘Toad Tracker’ website, and the enthusiasm with which the surveyed communities became involved. However, they did not publish a comparison of how many respondents they would generally get with the traditional method of posting paper forms and maps. While this limits the benefit of the research, it is not considered a confounding factor.
It could be seen as a weakness that the website 'Toad Tracker' only used one Web 2.0 tool, and thus only contributes a small amount to this section’s assessment of the efficacy of Web 2.0. However, given that this was a trial research study with a specific aim, the use of an interactive website as the only Web 2.0 tool does not detract from the potential of Web 2.0 as a method for data collection. The fact that Web 2.0 is beginning to be used by conservation biologists is evidence that these tools can be transferred to the conservation discipline. There is further scope for this kind of research to use other Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, Twitter, and other social media to spread the word and improve the scope of data collection. Also, this was a study that came out of Australia, which suggests that its results have greater relevance to the New Zealand conservation discipline.
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The authors of 'Crowd Sourcing for Conservation' encountered significant resistance from government conservation managers when conducting their research. They describe how this resistance limited the publicity of the ‘Toad Tracker’ website and the project as a whole, potentially hindering its success. The major issue for the government conservation managers seemed to be the idea of data ownership, as it was felt that this project created a 'privately run database', which was inappropriate for a government-funded research project. The authors insisted that the intention was not to create a new, privately owned database, but to illustrate the possibilities of Web 2.0 technology in the field of conservation. In the design of the website, the participant’s particulars were kept secure and the authors felt comfortable with the public/private nature of the data. However, the government conservation managers did not (Newell, Pembroke and Boyd, 2012).
In order for Web 2.0 tools to be useful and maintain their relevance, they rely heavily on collaboration and data sharing. Newell, Pembroke and Boyd (2012) felt that the resistance they encountered was evidence of a larger issue in the changing landscape of copyright and intellectual property, which has been challenging established scientists, publishers, and authors across many disciplines (Ramalho-Correia, 2005). The shift from a top-down information hierarchy to one where knowledge and information is collected from many people has been aptly named 'the age of amateurs' (Ramalho-Correia, 2005). The most famous example of collective knowledge is Wikipedia, which summarises the philosophy of this knowledge shift with its tagline "No one knows everything, everyone knows something".
The authors of ‘Web 2.0: A powerful tool for conservational biologists’ acknowledge that data collected by amateurs runs the risk of causing suspicion regarding validity of outcomes (Newell, Pembroke and Boyd, 2012). However, they insist that this type of
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technology is not meant to replace experts and that much time was spent checking each 'Toad Tracker' entry for its validity. Also, the success of Wikipedia illustrates that there is a degree of societal trust in collective knowledge – even if one would never cite such a source in academic publications.
Newell, Pembroke and Boyd (2012) searched the literature for potential ways to get around the distrust they encountered regarding the ‘Toad Tracker’ project. They surveyed the literature on ‘innovation diffusion and computer-supported collaborative learning’, and found that in order to increase the chances of new technology experiencing a majority uptake, managers need to be included in the adoption of the new technology and training needs to be given. It was found that if technology was understood and its benefits made clear, any concerns could be addressed and uptake was improved. This idea will be touched on in a later section of this chapter pertaining to the strategy implementation gap and the use of motivation and organisation theory.
The research on the efficacy of Web 2.0 in the business sector was conducted by independent consulting agencies whose survey designs were not governed by scientific method. Therefore, these two surveys were structured differently and neither gave mention of how their data were gathered – for example, via an anonymous online survey or via email. This fact creates room for bias, particularly if those surveyed are clients of the surveyors. The structural difference of methodologies limited the conclusions that could be drawn in this thesis.
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When comparing these surveys two contradictions in the results were found. Firstly, video sharing, which was very strong in both the internal and external supplier area of the McKinsey survey, did not even feature as a Web 2.0 category in the Association for Computing Machinery survey. However, given that video sharing is often done within the parameters of blogs and social networks, the significance of video sharing could be hidden in the results regarding blogs and social networks in the Association for Computing Machinery survey. The second contradiction was the use of internal blogs, which were seen to have a big impact on collaboration, innovation and knowledge management in the Association for Computing Machinery survey, however the high number of respondents in the McKinsey survey marking 'no benefit seen' for blogs negated its strength. The McKinsey survey saw 47% of respondents in the internal area indicating a benefit from blogs, but 44% indicated no benefit, and in the external supplier area the division was greater still, with 51% of respondents noting a benefit versus 60% who felt there was no benefit to blogs. Given this discrepancy within the blog data, it would be beneficial to research this area further with conservation practitioners using blogs, perhaps looking at Google analytics for the efficacy of blogs on external outreach, combined with a survey for 'in house' internal efficacy.
Neither McKinsey nor the Association for Computing Machinery had considered the amount of time that each Web 2.0 tool had been being used. This would greatly affect the efficacy of any given tool as wikis, blogs, social media, and podcasts take time to build an audience and become part of a person’s daily tool set. This is true both within companies and of a public audience.
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The results in the Association for Computing Machinery article showed that all companies who used Web 2.0 strategies had a higher expectation of their efficacy than the strategies actually delivered. This fact adds to the need for further research if Web 2.0 strategies are to be applied to conservation science in order that an appropriate amount of money is allocated to them and management and policy makers have realistic expectations of their results.
The results from the Association for Computing Machinery survey showed that the most effective Web 2.0 strategies were also those that had been implemented. This fact highlights the need for more research in this area before transferring findings from business to conservation science. A possible reason for the implementation finding may be a flaw in the design of the study, in that some businesses were asked to rate the efficacy of a strategy they had not implemented. Alternatively, the rated efficacy of a tool may not be a true representation of its contribution to a business, instead merely demonstrating the limits of the tool’s capacity given its current frequency of use.
It would be of great interest and importance to the discipline of science communication and conservation if a selection of conservation organisations – for example Forest and Bird and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – were surveyed their use of Web 2.0 and its efficacy in the areas of membership numbers, donations and volunteer numbers. Furthermore, it would be useful to know whether those conservation charities that bridge the gap between researchers and practitioners, such as Save the Tasmanian Devil, use Web 2.0 to enhance knowledge exchange between their research scientists and their practitioners on the ground. If so, how effective is it?
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For the purposes of this thesis it is possible to say that Web 2.0 positively benefits the areas of communication/collaboration and knowledge management to a significant degree in key sectors of business. This result is exciting as it is efficiency in these areas that would most contribute to the reduction of the research implementation gap in conservation science by facilitating communication and knowledge exchange between practitioners and academic researchers. It is also possible to say that the one example of conservation science that used Web 2.0 was a success and that the problem encountered in that study highlights a larger issue in academia. Having identified this problem and hypothesised its potential causes could contribute to the smooth adoption of Web 2.0 technology in the conservation discipline.
4.2 Brands and Marketing Strategy 4.2.1 Definition of the strategy and its current use: Exposure to branding and marketing strategy is so ingrained in the day-to-day life of society that attempting to define the parameters of their use is beyond the scope of this thesis. However, an experiment that used a piece of technical equipment called the ID Magasin26 gives a small insight into the breadth of advertising as a product of marketing strategy. The experiment’s aim was to investigate how many advertisements a Londoner is exposed to in 90 minutes. The Magasin ID records a subject’s eye movements in order to track which advertisements are looked at and for how long. The researchers found that in a 90-minute period the subject was exposed to 250 advertisements, or 2.7 advertisements per minute. The experiment was run in conjunction with The Guardian27 newspaper in 2005 and the ID Magasin technology was later sold to TNS Global, one of the worlds largest market research
26. http://www.research-live.com/news/id-magasin-buy-strengthens-tns-shopperpractice/3003741.article - accessed 02.12.2013 27. http://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/nov/19/advertising.marketingandpr - accessed 03.12.2013 62
companies. 28 The ubiquitous presence of advertising is testament to the importance of branding and marketing strategy, and the sheer amount of literature on these two disciplines illustrates their value and widespread use in maintaining a competitive advantage in business. There are entire academic journals dedicated to these two subjects, for example The Journal of Brand Management, which recently celebrated twenty years of publication.29 In 1997 a study called ‘Faculty Perceptions of Marketing Journals’ surveyed over one thousand marketing academics to create a forty-seven-strong list of the top marketing journals and publications. Those that made it onto this list were considered the best at disseminating scholarly marketing knowledge (Hult et al, 1997). Market strategy is defined by Professor David Aakar at Berkeley's school of business as "a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its resources on the optimal opportunities with the goals of increasing sales and achieving a sustainable competitive advantage”.30 Put simply, this is the concept that a brand needs to be leveraged towards its target market, and to meet the customer’s needs within the limits of a company’s skills and resources. It is no use advertising beautiful scenery or pristine waters to people who live in the Swiss Alps in the hope that they will become tourists. In the same way, the mobility frame company for elderly persons, 'Zimmer', would not advertise in a teen magazine, because their customers are not the magazine’s readers. When correctly executed a marketing strategy builds brand loyalty, brand reputation and brand awareness. It also lowers marketing costs, creates new customers, and, as the value of the brand increases due to these elements, it provides the company with greater trade leverage (Wong and Merrilees, 2007).
28. http://www.tnsglobal.com/ - accessed 8.12.2013 29. http://www.palgrave-journals.com/bm/index.html - accessed 29.11.2013 30. http://facultybio.haas.berkeley.edu/faculty-list/aaker-david - accessed 01.12. 2013 63
A good marketing strategy is no guarantee of securing the aforementioned benefits for a business. It is true that marketing strategies are meant to result in a higher-performing business, but the literature shows that in application marketing strategies often fall short of their anticipated return (Wong and Merrilees, 2007). A Harvard study, published in 2005, revealed that 'companies typically only realise 60% of their strategy's potential value, because of defects and breakdowns in planning and execution’ (Steele and Mankins, 2005) (See Fig .1 in Appendix 6A). This is the marketing discipline’s version of the research implementation gap, called the strategy implementation gap – the translation of plan to action – and it is partially closed by the use of brand orientation.
The role of a brand in today's competitive and global economy is crucial to the success of the company, and, increasingly, to the success of a country (Dinnie, 2008). A superior product is no longer enough to guarantee a long-lasting competitive advantage: a strategically directed and rigorously protected brand is essential (de Chernatony and McDonald, 2012; Wong and Merrilees 2007).
"Brand orientation is an approach in which the processes of the organisation revolve around the creation, development and protection of brand identity in an ongoing interaction with target customers with the aim of achieving lasting competitive advantages in the form of brands"(Urde, 1999). Brand orientation needs to be a holistic view that is shared by all staff, not just the marketing department or the top tiers of management. By creating a collective mindset the brand will be ''recognised, featured, and favoured in the marketing strategy" (Urde, 1999). Or, put more simply, when everyone in the company is on the same wavelength with regard to brand orientation the implementation of the marketing strategy is more successful.
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To understand how a brand contributes to the success of a company and feeds its marketing strategy, empirical evidence and success measures are required. The term ‘brand performance’ has been used to describe the efficacy of a brand at contributing to the success of a company. Brand performance has been measured though the use of the following three terms: brand reputation, brand loyalty, and brand awareness. The idea is that if a brand has a good reputation, its current customers feel good about buying that brand, which translates into loyalty when they re-purchase. If the brand has good brand awareness in the marketplace many people at least know the brand exists, and are closer to becoming customers. These three elements have frequently been used in studies as indicators that a brand is doing its job of customer creation and retention (Wong and Merrilees, 2007).
Currently, New Zealand's national brand of 'clean and green' and 'small yet savvy' provides the brand orientation for our tourism industry and for the marketing of our produce (de Chernatony and McDonald, 2012) (Dinnie, 2008). However, our brand performance in terms of brand reputation is at risk, as discussed in chapter 2.2. By analysing the effect that branding and market strategy have on increasing communication across commercial and disciplinary silos, this thesis investigates the validity of whether these two tools could be used to benefit New Zealand's national brand as well as deliver a conservation-focused marketing strategy that would benefit primary industries (discussed in Chapter 2.1). If this marketing strategy were implemented carefully, it could reduce the research implementation gap in conservation science. The article discussed below assesses the impact of brand orientation in closing the marketing strategy to performance gap.
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4.2.2 Discussion of the measures used to show the strategy's efficacy The article 'Closing the marketing strategy to performance gap: the role of brand orientation' by H Y Wong and B Merrilees was published in 2007 in Australia (Wong and Merrilees, 2007). Its authors noticed that the literature gave significant attention to the development of a marketing strategy and often overlooked how that strategy was implemented. They found that the reality of the process was that poor implementation significantly undermined a sound marketing strategy.
In previous studies, the literature on brand orientation had been conceptual or casebased rather than empirical in nature. The authors identified six items that were a common thread in the literature and were used to measure brand orientation. They are as follows.
(1) Branding flows through all our marketing activities. (2) Branding is essential to our strategy. (3) Branding is essential in running this company. (4) Long term brand planning is critical to our future success. (5) The brand is an important asset for us. (6) Everyone in this firm understands that branding our product/service is a top priority for our business. Table 5 (Wong and Merrilees, 2007)
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Hypothesis One, pertaining to brand orientation: "The marketing strategyperformance link is moderated by brand orientation'' (Wong and Merrilees, 2007).
This hypothesis was tested using a standard multiple regression analysis that compared the impact of marketing strategy on businesses between firms with high and low levels of brand orientation. The firms with low brand orientation had a standardised beta value of 0.49 as regarded their relationship with market strategy, and the high brand-oriented firms had a 0.63 value. This suggests that firms with a high level of brand orientation have a stronger relationship with their marketing strategy. The T value test also supported the hypothesis, as low brand-oriented firms had a value of 7.41 and high brand-oriented firms had a value of 12.04. The authors went further in the statistical testing of Hypothesis One and conducted a Chow Test, which tests whether two sets of data (high or low brand orientation firms) 'contain significantly different regression coefficients for the same theoretical equation.' The results of this additional analysis further confirm Hypothesis One with the existence of a positive relationship between brand orientation and marketing strategy.
When looking at the literature on brand performance the authors found three studies that used the measures discussed previously – brand reputation, brand loyalty and brand awareness – in order to measure empirically the efficacy of a brand’s performance. They used these three terms and 'an item that measures the subjective evaluation of the success of the brand' in order to measure the success of brand performance.
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1) Our firm has built strong brand awareness in the target market 2) Our film has built a strong brand reputation 3) We are very satisfied with our brand marketing 4) Our firm has built strong customer brand loyalty Table 5.1 (Wong and Merrilees, 2007)
Hypothesis Two pertaining to brand performance: "Marketing strategy is a positive determinant of a firm's brand performance''. This hypothesis was strongly supported in results generated using a standard multiple regression analysis. The standardised beta analysis for marketing strategy as a positive determinant of brand performance gave an R2 value of 0.56 and a T-value of 13.85.
The R2 value associated with the above regression analysis was R2 = 0.56, which indicates that other independent variables outside of the two included in this study (brand orientation marketing strategy, and innovation) have an impact on the dependent variable (brand performance). This is to be expected as in business there are many other variables that impact brand performance e.g. customer service quality, the economy, and number of competing brands in the market. This R2 value tells us that the two independent variables have some impact on the dependent variable, i.e. that innovation, marketing strategy and brand orientation impact brand performance. (Hair et al, 2009)
The methodology of the study was the use of the Queensland Yellow Pages to generate a random list of senior executives such as 'Chief Executive Officers, marketing managers, general managers, managers and managing directors'. The study’s authors sent out 2,559 surveys and received 403 in return, a response rate of 16%. All surveys were
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confidential, so it was not possible to isolate role-specific responses. The surveys were put through a statistical software package called 'SPSS' as a reliability test, followed by a regression analysis and an AMOS for confirmatory factory analysis. The statements (listed above in table 5.4) were accompanied by a seven-point Lickert scale: 1=decreased enormously to 7=increased enormously, which were used for the brand performance construct, while 1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree were used for the marketing strategy construct.
The authors concluded "firms with high brand orientation get significantly more out of their marketing strategy than firms with low brand orientation." With a loss of 60% in potential value from their marketing strategy in firms with a low brand orientation (Steele and Mankins, 2005), the case is strong for a business or indeed a country to become more focused on brand orientation and thus improve the implementation of their marketing strategy, particularly as the results from this study suggest that brand orientation partially reduces the marketing strategy-performance gap.
4.2.3 A critique of the application of the strategy to the discipline of conservation science Having done only one statistics paper at the beginning of an undergraduate degree, conducting a critical analysis of this article was outside the comfort zone of this author. In order to understand the validity of its analysis the types of statistical tests (listed below) performed on the data were researched in order to ascertain if they were appropriate given the hypotheses, number and type of variables. The Multivariate Data Analysis textbook Hair (2009) was used as a reference around the interpretation of the R2 value as it pertained to the significance of the independent variables included in the Wong and Merrilees study.
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In addition to this, the Princeton University Data and Statistical Services (DSS) site31 was used as a reference for statistical evaluation of the following tests and values. - Standard multiple regression analysis - Standardised beta analysis - T value generation
According to the Princeton online education site on 'Data and Statistical Services', standard multiple regression analysis, as used in this study, should be applied when there are several independent variables being used to predict a dependent variable.32 The dependent variable in this study was 'brand performance' and the independent variables were 'market strategy', 'brand orientation' and 'innovation'. For the sake of concision and clarity, innovation is not analysed in this thesis. The Data and Statistical Services site states that while regression analysis of naturally occurring variables can ascertain causality, analysis of experimentally manipulated variables can only predict relationships. This is an important distinction, although for the purposes of this thesis it is concluded that these pieces of data are observational, market driven, and influenced externally and therefore constitutes ‘naturally occurring variables’.
Standardised beta analysis uses a standard unit that is the same for all variables regardless of their measurement. This is a useful tool in the study under discussion, as the three measures of brand performance – awareness, loyalty, and reputation – do not have the same units. The beta coefficient is the name given to the number generated by the standard multiple regression analysis and its positive or negative value gives the direction of the 31. http://dss.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/dataresources/guides.cgi - accessed 5.12.2013 32. http://dss.princeton.edu/online_help/analysis/interpreting_regression.htm http://dss.princeton.edu/online_help/analysis/regression_intro.htm#smr - accessed 05.12.2013
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relationship’s impact between the variables. In this case the beta coefficients were all positive and thus the relationship between the dependent and independent variables were positive in direction: brand orientation positively influenced the implementation of marketing strategy.
The T value is the standard beta coefficient divided by its standard error, the latter being a precision measure that estimates how much variation exists across cases. The size of the coefficient for each independent variable indicates the size of that variable’s effect on the dependent variable, and the sign – positive or negative – gives the direction of that effect. In the study under discussion, the T value was large compared to the positive standardised beta value, which suggests a strong positive relationship between marketing strategy and brand orientation.
The R2 value, also known as the co-efficient of determination assesses the combined effects of all the variations when predicting their effects on the dependent variable (Hair et al, 2009). Issues that arise when using this statistical tool is the phenomenon that occurs when introducing new variables, even those without any significant influencing factor. For example, if brand colour were to be included in the independent variables along with brand orientation marketing strategy, and innovation the R2 value would increase. This would make the model appear to be a better ‘fit’ when in reality it is of no analytical importance. One way of determining if the R2 value is ‘overfitted’ is to compare the number of independent variables with the sample size. According to Hair, 2009 ‘overfitting’ is minimised when the sample size is much higher than the number of independent variables. In Wong and Merrilees’ study the sample size was n=403 and the number of independent variables was three, thus the risk of the model being ‘overfitted’ was minimised and the resulting R2=0.56 value is deemed sound.
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Based on the statistical significance of the results, the statistical tests done on this data and the conclusions reached appear sound. The authors did a Cron Bach reliability test on the statistics for pieces of data that were inconsistent or incomplete. However, not all the assumptions of regression analysis outlined in the Princeton Data and Statistical Services webpage were addressed in the methodology. The number of cases to independent variable ratio is an assumption, as are outliers, the normal distribution pattern of the data, and the linearity of the data. Lastly, homocedasticity, multicollinearity and singularity33 are all assumptions not addressed in the methodology of the article 'Closing the marketing strategy to performance gap: the role of brand orientation'. If, as asserted by Princeton's Data and Statistical Services website, these are all assumptions required of the data in order for this kind of analysis to be legitimate, it could be of concern that they are not mentioned. However, given that the article underwent the peer review process in order to be published in the Journal of Strategic Marketing, it is presumed that the elements that are not discussed in the methodology were taken into account by the authors. Therefore, their omission does not weaken the conclusions reached by the authors regarding the strength of the relationship between the marketing strategy-performance gap and brand orientation, nor the role of marketing strategy on brand performance.
While the authors felt the number of survey respondents (403) was sufficient to proceed with analysis, the mix of business sectors was not ideal in terms of the results and their transferability to the conservation science discipline. Of the 403 respondents, 40% were retail businesses and 35% were in the service industry. Given that the main aim of this thesis is to assess the use these strategies to improve communication between academics and practitioners in conservation science, these sectors of business are not hugely relevant to the 33. http://dss.princeton.edu/online_help/analysis/regression_intro.htm#smr - accessed 5.12.2013 72
activities of either of these groups. However, as branding becomes a more important part of business and national strategy perhaps research on the relationship between brand and marketing in other sectors and disciplines will be undertaken, particularly given the empirical nature of the authors’ analysis in the study under discussion and the strength of their results.
As New Zealand is already using a marketing strategy based on our brand to sell a myriad of products and services, these results are quite poignant. Based on the results of the above study New Zealand's marketing strategy may be being de-valued and undermined by the inconsistency of the collective mindset that is brand orientation. This is important in terms of trade, because we are largely an export country,34 but it is also important to the employees of New Zealand: its citizens. This mis-match between marketing and brand orientation has larger implications in terms of the motivation and commitment felt towards the New Zealand brand, which is so deeply rooted in our culture.
4.3 Motivation and organisation commitment An integrative model of work motivation can be found in Appendix 7A, Figs. 1 and 2 (Meyer, Herscovitch and Topolnytsky, 2002).
4.3.1. Definition of the strategy and its current use The post-industrial world is one of efficiency, so it is no surprise that the streamlining of production has wound up in the disciplines of organisational and motivational psychology. Workers are the hardest tool to tinker with, the squeakiest of wheels, and with an evergrowing body of employment law, one of the most expensive to keep in check. With this in mind, the body of literature on motivation theory and organisational commitment has
34. http://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/investing-in-nz/opportunities-outlook/economicoverview - accessed 22.09.2013 73
extended from psychology to strategic management, marketing disciplines, the study of vocational behaviour, and business (Parish and Busch, 2008; Meyer, Herscovitch and Topolnytsky, 2002; Locke and Latham, 2004; Smith, 2009; Steele and Mankins, 2005; Park, Spitzmuller and De Shon, 2013).
Both commitment and motivation have been written about, discussed and utilised extensively in the field of strategy management (Smith, 2009). However, their origins in the field of organisational psychology have previously been overlooked. The study of a person’s commitment to an organisation developed out of the sociology and social psychology disciplines, whereas motivation – specifically workplace motivation – came from 'the more generalist theories of motivation' (Smith, 2009). This focus on psychology means that this section differs from previous sections. All of the methods in Chapter Four have the theme of reducing the strategy implementation gap, but by honing in on the psychological drivers of implementation failure this section delves deeper into the human roots of the problem. To find out what causes motivation and generates commitment within an organisation their roots in organisation psychology are investigated. This psychological approach to understanding an implementation gap may be more transferrable as a tool to the conservation science discipline and the reduction of the research implementation gap, as human psychology is a common thread throughout any organisation, regardless of aim.
In order to understand how motivation and organisation commitment can affect strategy implementation, a more in-depth look at the development of strategy implementation is required. Strategy implementation was defined by Noble (1999) as “the communication, interpretation, adoption, and enactment of strategic plans.” This definition makes the process sound simple, and by following its rationale it would be possible to say that a “strategy
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failure is simply the gap between planned activity and enacted activity” (Smith, 2009). However, the problem with the definition given by Noble (1999) is that it does not take into consideration the emergent nature of implementation: the adaptation of the original strategy based on its encounter with the realities of a given organisation (Smith, 2009). Smith (2009) critiques Noble (1999) for this reason and adds the need for adaptation when implementing, particularly in areas such as resource allocation. This is an area that is usually decided on in advance, when preparing a budget. However, when budgets encounter the realities of implementation, they often need to be reconsidered. By having a more dynamic process a strategy is made more robust and fluid (Smith, 2009), and the chances of those implementing the strategy feeling it is more 'theirs' is much higher (Newell, Pembroke and Boyd, 2012). The phenomenon of improved adoption, when an employee is made to feel included in the development of the strategy, was previously cited in this section in its discussion of Newell, Pembroke and Boyd (2012) in relation to the adoption of the 'Toad Tracker' website. By taking the nature of change into consideration, Smith (2009) redefine strategy implementation as ''the communication, interpretation, adoption and enactment of explicit resource-allocation and activity decisions, at whatever point in the strategy process they may occur." As the strategy-implementation gap is a concern in many disciplines, including strategic management (Smith, 2009), the new definition by Smith (2009) highlights the changing structure of communication. Instead of a top-down management structure, a shift is occurring towards a model where communication is an exchange of information that flows up the chain of command in order to facilitate an adaptive implementation process. For an employee down the corporate food chain, this new inclusive implementation style could be a force for fostering commitment to a strategy that previously might have been seen as something to be done, rather than something he/she is a part of. This focus on interaction and
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exchange of information as something that improves marketing strategy implementation supports the use of Web 2.0 tools as effective in improving communication.
Commitment is defined as “the force that binds an individual to a course of action that is of relevance to a particular target” (Meyer, 2001). As the role of organisational commitment in strategy management has become more important to a variety of fields, its definition has become more segmented (Parish and Busch, 2008). It is now defined as having three separate forms: 1) Affective commitment
Attachment to the organisation
2) Normative commitment
Obligation to remain in the organisation
3) Continuance
The perceived cost of leaving the organisation
Table 5.2 (Meyer, 2001).
There are several theories on workplace motivation that deal with achievement, equity, and behaviour modification through punishment and incentives (Smith, 2009). For the sake of concision these theories are not discussed in this thesis, but could provide an avenue for further research.
The academics Locke, Latham and Vroom have all contributed greatly to the theories of motivation, and it is their theories that this thesis focuses on. The focus of this section will be Locke's goal-setting theory and Vroom's expectancy theory. The latter is considered to be the first 'over-arching' theory of workplace motivation (Smith, 2009; Vroom, 1966) (Locke and Latham, 2004).
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Expectancy theory is divided into four concepts related to motivation (Vroom, 1966) 1) Force
‘The compulsion of an individual to behave in a certain way’
2) Valence
'The preference for consequent reward', ‘whether the incentive is desirable to the individual.’
3) Expectancy
'The perceived likelihood that the individual’s behaviour will result in the intended outcome'
4) Instrumentality
‘The perception that the intended outcome will lead to the intended reward', or ‘whether if the individual has successfully completed a task, the incentive will actually be delivered’
Table 5.3 (Vroom, 1964).
Goal theory has the following four moderators (Locke and Latham, 2004) 1) Feedback 2) Commitment
3) Ability
4) Task complexity
The idea that a manager will give some feedback and/or direction as to the way the task is being carried out (Locke and Latham, 2004). This depends on the reason for the employee being in the job. Either affective, continuance or normative in their commitment (Parish and Busch, 2008; Meyer and Herscovitch, 2001). Stretching an employee beyond their abilities and giving them an unattainable goal will see them fail. However, setting a goal well below the abilities of an employee could leave them insulted, bored, or it could lower their commitment to the organisation. This relates to valence in expectancy theory, as the reward for a task beneath one’s ability is likely to be of lower value (Locke and Latham, 2004). Is similar to ability in that a task’s complexity must be equal to the ability of an employee. However, even an able employee may lose motivation when wading through a very complex task, particularly without feedback (Locke and Latham, 2004).
Table 5.4
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4.3.2 Discussion of the measures used to show the strategy's efficacy This section looks at the research on the reasons for using motivation and commitment within an organisation, with an aim to improving strategy implementation. The majority of the articles constitute in-depth literature reviews and critical discussion: these include Meyer and Herscovitch (2001); Locke and Latham (2004); Smith (2009); and Vroom (1966).
The study by Meyer and Herscovitch (2001) consisted of meta-analyses that scanned PsychLit (1985-2000), PschInfo (1985-2000), ProQuest Direct (1990-2000) and the Social Sciences Citation Index using the keywords 'commitment’, ‘organisation commitment’, ‘normative’, ‘affective’ and ‘continuance’ (Meyer and Herscovitch, 2001). They also looked at eighteen dissertations and publications from the past fifteen years and performed meta-data analysis using the Hunter and Schmidt procedures from 1990.
The work by Parish and Busch (2008) 'Want to, need to, ought to: employee commitment to change' was the only survey-based work analysed. They used a web-based survey and got a 32% response rate. They used the Meyer and Herscovitch (2001) procedure, which was to take verbatim responses to the question "Please describe a recent or ongoing organizational change that has had an impact on the way that you perform your job." The responses were then subjected to structural equation modelling using Meyer and Herscovitch's 2002 'three components of commitment scale' and Mogan and Hunts’ 1994 ‘relationship scale'.
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While empirical evidence gathered under the scientific method is rare in this kind of research (with literature reviews, observational studies and meta-analyses being the preferred tools of analysis), the results are poignant. This section will summarise the studies’ findings and pull out trends relating to commitment and motivation as they relate to improving the strategy-implementation gap.
The implementation of strategy is difficult and costly, with even the most successful of companies struggling to do it successfully. In Steel (2005) several Fortune 500 companies were interviewed and the success of their strategies analysed. The authors found that the companies generally saw less than 60% return on input (Steele and Mankins, 2005) (See Appendix 6A for a graph entitled ‘Where Performance Goes’). The top executives in Europe agree that 90% of the effort to effect strategic change lies in the implementation of strategy, and not the generation of it (Smith, 2009). When two of the key factors affecting successful implementation are at the level of motivation and organisational commitment among employees, they are worthy of investigation (Alexander, 2007; Smith, 2009).
Lack of commitment, even when strategic aims are understood, can cause countereffort and the deliberate thwarting of a plan (Smith, 2009). The reasons for this are thought to lie in the type of commitment – affective, normative, or continuance – that an employee feels towards an organisation, and their motivation for entering that organisation in the first instance (Parish and Busch, 2008; Meyer and Herscovitch, 2001; Smith, 2009; Vroom, 1966).
It is agreed that commitment is a multidimensional construct consisting of three types, as listed in Table 5.4 above (Meyer, Herscovitch and Topolnytsky, 2002; Smith, 2009). The first type of commitment is termed 'affective commitment'. This term has various levels of
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psychology attached to it, ranging from simply 'an attachment to an organisation' to an employee feeling a sense of identity in belonging to that organisation and it being an important cognitive component of their sense of self. The knowledge that they are an integral part of something worthwhile and important generates strong affective commitment (Meyer and Herscovitch, 2001). This more in-depth analysis and psychological assessment of affective commitment better explains the sometimes-contradictory behaviour of employees in the face of forces or restrictions that might otherwise make them leave their position.
The second type of commitment is 'normative commitment’; it is described as the obligation to remain in an organisation. If there is sufficient affective commitment, the chance of positive normative commitment is higher (Parish and Busch, 2008; Meyer, 2001). For example, normative commitment can arise out of an extension of affective commitment, as when an employee has commitment to the cause or action of that organisation, rather than to the organisation itself. As illustrated by this quote "Bound by desire to perform is stronger than bound from obligation" (Meyer, Herscovitch and Topolnytsky, 2002).
The third type of commitment is continuance commitment. It is a negative trait in an employee and a damaging culture in an organisation, and is used to describe the kind of job commitment generated when employees remain only because they cannot get another job, either because their skills will not translate well to another field, they are too old, or the market for employment creates greater risk around leaving (Meyer, Herscovitch and Topolnytsky, 2002). Using fear tactics to retain or motivate employees is likely to result in an increase in continuance commitment among the staff of an organisation (Meyer, 2001). Changing continuance commitment into positive normative or affective commitment requires diligence from head management, and the acknowledgement that the commitment of
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staff directly affects the bottom line. If frontline managers understand the value of their employees’ relationship to them and formally assess the 'commitment profile of employees' (Meyer, 2001), they can begin to give the type of nurturing feedback that each individual needs to nurture or maintain their commitment to the goals of the organisation. These feelings have previously been overlooked and contribute to poor success rates in strategy implementation (Steele and Mankins, 2005). Some organisations use incentives in the form of bonuses. These can work, but only if the bonus is reflective of the employee's 'personal competence', and not merely a 'retention bonus'. Retention bonuses run the risk of paying employees to stay in their job and can become part of a continuance mindset where leaving is not worth losing the bonuses (Meyer, Herscovitch and Topolnytsky, 2002). Another strategy shown to increase the shift from continuance commitment to affective commitment is fostering a culture of autonomy and influence. Providing employees with the chance to have input into the implementation of a strategy, and then trusting them to play their part, is shown to develop affective and normative commitment and reduce continuance commitment (Parish and Busch, 2008). Autonomy and feedback between staff and management has become a theme in this section, as it was discussed by Newell, Pembroke and Boyd (2012) in relation to Web 2.0 and conservation as well as being included in the wider definition of motivation discussed by Smith (2009).
It is agreed that fostering affective commitment is the most effective method of reducing resistance to strategy implementation in organisations (Parish and Busch, 2008; Meyer, 2001). While it might seem obvious, it was also shown that people do not simply get dropped into employment and stay there. They have the power to choose and change their circumstances (Locke and Latham, 2004) and they tend to position themselves in employment where they will have great affective commitment. This is exhibited by the fact
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that people will, given the opportunity, apply for positions in organisations where they feel they have a good chance of reaching their own goals. Within that position they wish to feel they will have an impact within that organisation, that they will be part of a team who shares their values and who are working together in the pursuit of a common aim (Vroom, 1966). What happens within an organisation that causes an employee to move from being highly committed to exhibiting behaviour that works against the organisations aims? This leads to the theory of motivation, of which commitment is a constructive concept.
In the 1930s academia became interested in the causes of motivation, specifically with the Hawthorn experiments on supervision, incentives and working conditions (Locke and Latham, 2004).
Motivation is defined as a set of “internal factors that impel action and external factors that enforce or induce action” (Locke and Latham 2004). There are four mediators of motivation (table 5.3) that were first described as part of the 'over-arching construct' called 'Vroom's expectancy theory' (Vroom, 1966), and which go some way towards explaining the behaviour of employees and the difficulties in strategy implementation. The first mediator is ‘force’. It is described as ‘the compulsion of an individual to behave in a certain way’. Force can be inherent in the individual’s character or personality, which is why diligence when hiring is crucial for an organisation’s culture (Steele and Mankins, 2005). It can be partially explained by unconscious motivations, which may arise from early childhood experiences, or from parental or societal pressures. In addition to unconscious motivations, a person’s 'force' can be a result of external factors affecting that person or their team. For example, in the case of the 'Toad Tracker' website, academics were reluctant to support the new technology as they felt it would undermine their role in academic
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research (Newell, Pembroke and Boyd, 2012). While motivational force within an individual or team is organisation specific, perceived threats to individuals’ jobs could be a powerful negative force (in the Vroom sense) acting upon a strategy. This dynamic could arise in the case of large mergers, which create job uncertainty. Force is relevant to the reduction of the research implementation gap as it allows managers to realise the motivations behind employees’ actions in order to better understand their motivations for choosing to work in a given field or workplace. The second mediator of motivation is valence, described as the 'preference for consequent reward'. It considers whether an individual worker has an incentive to work that he or she finds desirable. The display of incentive should be frequent, but need not be financial. It could be promotional, educational or beneficial in terms of professional development. The crucial thing is that the employee (Locke and Latham, 2004) sees the reward as desirable. The third mediator of motivation is ‘expectancy’: this is defined as 'the perceived likelihood that an individual’s behaviour will result in the intended outcome'. This is the idea that an employee’s work will have an impact within the organisation. It could also extend to the organisation possessing the ability to have a wider impact, because if an employee joins a company due to its cause and finds that it holds no power or sway, a lowered expectancy may result. Expectancy is the mediator that most relates to the closure of the research implementation gap in conservation science, and to the feeling within New Zealand in relation to the country’s brand. Many academic authors and conservation practitioners go into conservation believing that their work will make a positive difference to environmental issues, but find that factors including the implementation gap between research and practical activity inhibit this. If one applies expectancy theory to this scenario, a potential loss of motivation in both academics and practitioners can be perceived (Laurance, 2012; Gera,
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2012). This is poignantly illustrated by an interview with a Department of Conservation worker on his work in New Zealand: "Conservation is mostly common sense. What I do is fly around in helicopters. It’s fun, but is it really conservation?" This quotation relates to the New Zealand brand and the way in which the actions of our country are contradicting its projected vision and philosophies, as the scenario described is exactly the kind that would create low expectancy motivation, particularly if the country is not behaving in the way that it was believed it would or should. Furthermore, the ability to change the behaviour of the country is relatively low, as elections only take place every three years, which may further reduce expectancy. The final mediator of motivation is instrumentality: it is defined as 'the perception that the intended outcome will lead to the intended reward'. This is an individual’s belief that if a task has been successfully completed, the incentive will actually be delivered. It relates to the outcome of reward in valence; if an employee is promised a desired reward (valence), but does not believe that he or she will actually attain that reward, negative instrumentality results.
As discussed earlier in this section, goal setting theory has four moderators: feedback, commitment, ability, and task complexity (Locke and Latham, 2004) (table 5.4). Feedback and individual ability have been tied into the four variables of expectancy theory, which include the additional moderators of ‘self-esteem’ and ‘role perception’ (Smith, 2009).
While expectancy theory explains certain behaviours and gives insight into some internal and external factors that influence motivation, goal setting theory explains phenomena which result from varying task difficulty and the motivational response to managerial feedback (Smith, 2009). With regard to feedback, it seems management is a
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delicate task. Goal setting theory recommends that a manager ought to give 'appropriate and timely feedback' in order to generate an increased performance. This is a deeply subjective recommendation, and while important and relevant to motivation it is not a strategy that can be disseminated in a specific and meaningful way and will therefore not be discussed further in this thesis. Regarding task difficulty, however, the results are more applicable on a large scale. When an employee is given a detailed task they tend to exhibit increased effort; also, when given a more difficult task, an employee will try harder (Smith, 2009). Employees respond positively in terms of motivation and effort when they are given challenging and specific goals. This finding directly relates to the aim of this thesis as often practitioners are faced with 'wicked' problems, which are hugely complex ecosystem-related conservation problems. Practitioners often find that academics choose to research obvious or irrelevant topics, which asides from frustrating practitioners, might actually result in a lower level of motivation from the academics (Knight, 2008). This is particularly the case if the academic cannot see that his or her research will have an impact on the chosen field, a phenomenon described as low expectancy by Vroom (1966) and discussed earlier in Chapter Three.
Goal setting, expectancy and force play an important analytical role in the research implementation gap and the growing dissonance between the New Zealand brand and the conservation reality. They also go some way towards explaining the dissatisfaction of academics in relation to their work and the frustrations of conservation practitioners, discussed in chapter three. Therefore, the assertions discussed above could help reduce the research implementation gap and increase the efficiency of conservation and the New Zealand brand.
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4.2.3. A critique of the application of the strategy to the discipline of conservation science While the meta-analysis in Meyer, Herscovitch and Topolnytsky (2002) only gives correlations between relationships, it was found that the three-component model of commitment analysis could be conducted outside North America. Therefore, while the results may not be directly applicable to New Zealand as they stand, the use of this method for further research in New Zealand and Australia is valid (Meyer, Herscovitch and Topolnytsky, 2002). However, given that the results of the meta-analysis conducted by Meyer, Herscovitch and Topolnytsky (2002) were consistent with the other articles relating to the validity of the three types of commitment, they need not be dismissed in their application to the conservation discipline while awaiting the replication of this kind of research in New Zealand.
The publication of Vroom’s paper on work and motivation in 1964 could lead one to argue that nearly fifty years later it is no longer relevant to the fields of commitment and motivation. However, given that it is referred to in current literature relating to these subjects it is deemed safe to include expectancy theory, as it applies to motivation theory in this thesis. It is suggested that theories put forward by Vroom (1964) are more of a foundation stone than an outdated concept. Therefore, the concepts of force, valence, expectancy and instrumentality as a means of understanding motivation in completing a task within an organisation are of great import to the reduction of the research implementation gap. Their use will be of particular importance to the success of conservation research should the discipline continue to expand its use of novel technologies and communication strategies.
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The work done by Locke and Latham (2004) is the most progressive in terms of its recommendations for the field of motivation theory to expand into different areas. However, in contrast to the theories of goal setting, these recommendations are so conceptual and broad that they would be difficult for a researcher to take on board. For example, two recommendations are to "create a boundary-less science of work motivation" and to "study subconscious and conscious motivation and the difference between them" (Locke and Latham, 2004). However, some excellent definitions and diagrams are provided, which have been used in this thesis to help explain visually the interconnectedness of motivation and organisation theory (see Appendix 7A). On the whole, the conceptual proposals of Locke and Latham are not directly relatable to conservation science and the research implementation gap. The survey by Parish and Busch (2008), ‘Want to, need to, ought to: employee commitment to change', drew on proven methodologies and the repetition of successful measures and scales. However, the sampling bias was cause for concern. The study looked at only one volunteer transport organisation, within a university. The specifics of the data collection are lacking detail, so it is not possible to know what the age range was, or if some of the part-time workers were also students at the university. This latter consideration is important, as it would alter the workers’ affective and normative commitment to the organisation. Of the articles analysed, this is the only one whose methods drew into question the validity of the results: were these not wholly in line with other research in the same area they would be dismissed entirely.
The commercial tools discussed and analysed in the above section provide a framework, which could be applied to New Zealand's conservation sector and brand strategy. The role of brand orientation and marketing strategy in terms of improving not only price
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point but reputation, loyalty and citizen satisfaction is an exciting prospect for New Zealand and the ecosystems which we rely on. With technological tools like Web 2.0, the conservation sector could be an inclusive and empowering method of building affective and normative commitment in the citizens and clients of New Zealand towards the cause of conservation science. The force or compulsion of New Zealanders to act like New Zealanders is bound up in our brand, land, and culture. Given that specific and difficult tasks improve motivation and commitment, it is time New Zealand owned up to the extent of the problem and provided a strategic solution that everyone can be a part of in order that they may see, hear and experience the difference they are making.
These strategies make sense not because they originate in the commercial sector, but because our economy in its entirety relies on the ecosystem services that nature provides. Solution strategists in this new area of 'economic ecology' or 'commercial conservation' exist in New Zealand, and one of them is discussed in the following section. Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation are creating opportunities where others see problems, and their success has partly been due to their commitment to New Zealand and their employment of some of the commercial strategies discussed above.
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Chapter Five: Commercialising Conservation 5.1 Case Study Aquaflow: Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation35 is a commercial venture which also has several conservation outcomes. It produces carbon neutral algal fuel, remediates polluted water, and recovers phosphate and nitrate. This is achieved by extracting algae from polluted water bodies, thereby upgrading the water so it can be used for irrigation. Algae use nitrogen and phosphate in order to grow, which means that these nutrients are trapped in the algal body, making its removal a source of nutrient recapture (see Appendices 2A and 2B). As peak oil and peak phosphate are either approaching or have recently passed, these conservation solutions are born of a commercial and – more importantly for New Zealand – an agricultural need.
Aquaflow’s Chief Executive Officer, Nick Gerritsen, is an Intellectual Property Lawyer turned entrepreneur, who grew up in the Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand. The story of Gerritsen and Aquaflow was the focus of the 25-minute documentary film, Bloom: taking waste for all its worth, made in fulfilment of the creative portion of this Masters in Science Communication (Stevenson and Duckles, 2013). One of the filming locations was the Blenheim oxidation ponds, which treat the sewage from all residents in the area. It is this site at which Aquaflow trialled their algae extraction technology. The extraction method was engineered to use the least amount of energy, utilising gravity and pressure to remove excess water. The algae were then sent to Nelson, New Zealand, where the Aquaflow refinery and chemistry laboratories are situated. Gerritsen had insisted that the refinery and the laboratories were in the same location, because the engineers and chemists needed to be able to communicate and collaborate on the development of catalysts and the physical properties 35. http://www.aquaflowgroup.com/ -accessed 12.12.2013 89
of the refinery equipment. It is of no use in the process of oil manufacture if the pipes or holding tanks cannot withstand the pressure or temperature required of them. This close physical proximity of scientists and engineers is something Gerritsen believes to have been instrumental to the success of the technology and the speed of its development, as both chemical and structural as problems could be solved quickly. A hypothetical example of developing this kind of technology without a close collaborative environment is useful to understanding the benefits of such an environment. If a chemistry department within a university researched and developed the kind of catalysts that Aquaflow uses to convert algae into petrol, they would probably publish their findings in an academic journal, and perhaps move on to another project. In another department of the university, a structural engineer may have created a low energy siphon for filtering tiny microbes from water and have published his or her work in an engineering journal. The chances that these two pieces of science would be found and translated into the commercially viable innovation that Aquaflow is now in the position to offer would be considerably smaller.
During the production of this film, and through discussions with Gerritsen, it became clear that the departmental structure of our society creates bureaucratic barriers that hinder innovation. There is room for improved collaboration on conservation strategy and implementation between key New Zealand stakeholders like the Department of Conservation (DOC), conservation charities, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) and Callaghan Innovation. If these institutions are to be efficient in addressing conservation concerns, they and the government need to be able to develop methods for communicating on projects related to conservation strategy.
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Keeping in mind the discussions of Chapter Three and the case study of Aquaflow, it is understood that collaborative communication is more efficient if it takes place between academics and practitioners in real time. This allows academics the opportunity to incorporate the insight and expertise of ‘on the ground’ practitioners when formulating their research questions (Kreuter and Bernhardt, 2009), which has been shown to increase the chance of implementation success (Fazey, Fischer, and Lindenmayer, 2005). It would also assure conservation practitioners that there is research being done to solve a problem they are actually encountering, and perhaps encourage them to read academic literature.
The issue then becomes the infrastructure that would enable academic researchers and practitioners to communicate in real time. Given that it would be impractical and expensive to create physical professional housing for all stakeholders, it is recommended that Web 2.0 tools are used. In Chapter Four the use of wikis and blogs were seen to be the most beneficial Web 2.0 tools in the areas of knowledge management and collaboration. In some cases, there is potential for implementing the innovation arising from the use of these tools and the relationships they foster (Andriole, 2010 ; O'Reilly, 2007). If knowledge exchange on specific problems were facilitated it could bring about practical and implementable solutions. This kind of knowledge exchange and project development would be evidence of Web 2.0 tools reducing the research implementation gap.
Once collaboration between academics and practitioners has been facilitated, a clear product aim or company vision is required, such as the one overseen by Gerritsen in the development of Aquaflow. Vroom (1964) describes the effect caused by a lack of strategic direction. The lack of strategic direction gives rise to continuance commitment (the need to remain because of the perceived cost of leaving) within an organisation, and arguably, within
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an institution like a university, it creates a low level of expectancy (Vroom, 1964). Within the conservation discipline, expectancy translates to the perceived likelihood that the work or research being done will have a positive impact on conservation. However, the research implementation gap within conservation hinders this end goal, potentially resulting in low levels of expectancy. Therefore, having an attainable end goal – such as that offered by Aquaflow in terms of products and conservation outcomes – is considered crucial for delivering motivation and commitment to conservation science academics and practitioners.
Brand orientation has been shown to reduce the marketing strategy to implementation gap, as discussed in Chapter Four (Wong and Merrilees, 2007). Similarly, brand orientation may be applied to the research implementation gap. However, it must first be accepted that the New Zealand brand is under-performing and in need of a brand reputation boost. Second, the theories of expectancy, commitment, and the use of brand orientation need to be linked to New Zealand's national brand, whose economic and cultural value is embedded in conservation. When these two elements are accepted, they unite towards a common goal: improved motivation and efficiency in the conservation disciplines, with the aim of increasing biodiversity. If this goal is achieved, New Zealand may also see an improvement in the performance of the agricultural sector, as discussed in Chapter 2.1 (Costanza, 1997; Partners, 2006). The movement towards this goal would lead to conservation success and revalidation of our 'clean and green' brand in both internal and external markets.
New Zealand has recently begun to implement interdisciplinary collaboration and project-based initiatives (MBIE, 2013), which provide opportunities to implement the communication strategies discussed in this thesis. The announcement of the National New Zealand Science Challenges (2013) is evidence of this.
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On page one of the New Zealand Science Key Principles document36 appear the following statements.
- The Challenges are science-led so the research focus is developed by scientists familiar with existing research, gaps and opportunities. - The Challenges' mission-led research will respond to the most important, nationalscale issues facing New Zealand.
The next page in the New Zealand Science Key Principles document has a section dedicated to multidisciplinary collaboration. •
The nature of the problems the Challenges are seeking to address will require collaboration and multidisciplinary research, including social science, in each research plan.
•
Researchers and end users will need to have a shared understanding of the themes, objectives and outcomes and how the Challenge will contribute to these.
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The private sector, which will benefit from many Challenges, is encouraged to co-fund research in the Challenges. (MBIE, 2013)
These initiatives are an opportunity to put into practice the communication strategies that reduced the research implementation gap in the development of Aquaflow's technology, and the strategies discussed in Chapter Four. If the Science Challenges reside entirely within research facilities, the possibility of bringing the public on board is greatly diminished. The public will not see the experiments happen, and the long arduous and repetitive nature of 36. http://www.msi.govt.nz/assets/Update-me/National-Science-Challenges/Keydocuments/NSC-principles-key-mesages-nov-2013.pdf - accessed 16.12.2013) 93
laboratory work is never shown. By involving citizens at the grass-root level with community and conservation initiatives such as Count that Kereru37 (run by the New Zealand Bio Recording Network Blog 38) community gardens, the sale and purchase of local produce, and the Wetland restoration Trust,39 the public would have the opportunity to see the changes begin to happen. Based on expectancy theory (Vroom, 1964), motivation for engagement would come – if it is accepted that everyone is working towards a common aim. This kind of citizen engagement would be further advantaged if user-friendly Web 2.0 tools aided the projects.
Gathering data is an area where citizen scientists could aid academic research. When doing field research, there is no accounting for weather or the behaviour of animals, and these variables can considerably slow down university-based research of biological systems. However, by using established data sets, research could be sped up. The data collected by citizen scientists would need to be verified and published by a trusted institution, like the Department of Conservation. This would ensure accuracy and credibility, and mitigate the kind of organisational resistance discussed in Chapter Four. The access to established and verified data sets could be a drawcard for studying in New Zealand. Another drawcard for studying disciplines like Ecology, Botany or Zoology in New Zealand is that the country is a biodiversity hotspot (Myers, 2000), and is therefore inherently interesting to study from a biological perspective.
37. http://nzbrn.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/count-that-kereru.html - accessed 16.12.2013 38. http://www.nzbrn.org.nz/ - accessed 16.12. 2013 39. http://www.wetlandtrust.org.nz/latestupdates.html - accessed 16.12.2013 94
By providing postgraduate students with interesting data sets, academic research would be included in the practical aspect of conservation. This could also stimulate more ambitious research, as there would be access to data that might not otherwise have been possible to gather. The use of students to further conservation science is being described as a 'unique opportunity' to engage postgraduate students so that they may 'meaningfully contribute' to the problem of the research implementation gap (Courter, 2012). If universities were more flexible and encouraged postgraduate students to choose a practitioner as a cosupervisor or member of their research committee, the research implementation gap could be reduced (Courter, 2012). Universities contribute substantially to the research implementation gap (Chapter 3.1), and through instilling ethics of collaboration into conservation scientists early in their academic career, long-lasting habits of collaborative research will be formed (Courter, 2012). If this kind of collaborative research were conducted between academics and practitioners, the measure of success for a piece of research would be less focused on the number of citations – and the reputation of the journal in which it is published – and more focused upon its usefulness to the discipline of conservation science.
Attitudes towards journals must also be assessed in order to close the research implementation gap. If academics begin to research relevant questions, practitioners could find academic journals more engaging, but the chance of conservation charities and nongovernmental organisations having access to academic databases is slim. For the research implementation gap to be closed further, postgraduate students should be encouraged to publish in open source journals (Courter, 2012). Contrary to popular opinion, publishing in open source journals has not been shown to greatly affect the number of citations an article receives (Davis, 2007). Articles that were published in open source journals received 89% more full-text downloads, 23% more unique visitors, and 42% more PDF downloads, but
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24% fewer abstract downloads in the first six months post publication (Davis et al, 2007). In this case, fewer abstract downloads can be explained by the large increase in full-text downloads, which are preferable, but had previously been costly.
These statistics are encouraging to academics and practitioners in conservation science. They should also be encouraging to the business and innovation sector if we are to use research to find marketable products in the way that Aquaflow has.
Collaboration on conservation aims between governments and universities can be very successful, particularly when there is has a brand vision behind this collaboration that the New Zealand brand and the National Science Challenges would benefit from. With this in mind the following case study is on the 'Save the Tasmanian Devil Fund', which is charged with preventing the species from becoming extinct. Its use of brand and marketing strategy has generated significant benefits, and caused some unexpected problems.
5.2: Case Study - Save The Tasmanian Devil 5.2.1 Why are the devils so inbred? It is thought that the devils migrated to Australia from either modern-day Antarctica or South America (Brown, 2006), and eventually reached Tasmania. When Tasmania was cut off from the mainland, the population of the devils encountered their first genetic bottleneck. Their population recovered from the initial geographically isolating bottleneck (Miller et al, 2011), only to be culled and hunted by human settlers as a threat to livestock. Later, it was discovered that the predation of the devils on livestock had been greatly exaggerated, and the hunting stopped. However, this human predation had caused the population to decline
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drastically and created a second genetic bottleneck (Owen, 2005). Nevertheless, the population was in recovery again, until the devil facial tumor disease appeared.
5.2.2 What is the connection between the devil facial tumor disease and biodiversity loss? The devil's facial tumor disease (hereafter referred to as 'the disease') was first sighted in 1996 (McCallum and Jones, 2006). Originally the tumor was thought to be an isolated case of repetitive injury carcinoma (Jones and McCallum, 2011) caused by the violent mating ritual that involves facial biting (McCallum and Jones, 2006). However, by 2006 scientists had karyotyped (photographed) enough chromosomes from tumor cells to conclude that they all carried the same genetic mutations, which suggested they originated from the same source (Kreiss et al, 2011). Later, it was discovered that the cancer cells came from a single devil in the East of Australia (Miller et al, 2011). As devils can travel between 30-80km a night to feed and mate, the disease quickly infected the surrounding population (McCallum and Jones, 2006). It is now estimated that 95% of the wild devil population has been killed by the disease (Jones and McCallum, 2011). The disease is transmitted between individuals because of the Tasmanian devil population’s lack of genetic diversity, thought to have been caused by the two genetic bottlenecks described above. As a result of this lack of genetic diversity, the immune system of a healthy devil can no longer tell the difference between its own cells and the cancerous cells (Hamede et al, 2012).
This inability of the immune system to tell 'self' from 'non-self' is related to the MHC (Major Histocompatability Complex), a section of genes discovered in 1958. The MHC is the basis of approximately half of all vertebrate immune responses (Acevedo-Whitehouse and Cunningham 2006). The MHC is broken into two sections: MHCI is responsible for immune
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responses associated with intracellular pathogens such as viruses and transplants; MHCII regulates the immune response for extracellular pathogens such as bacteria (McCallum, 2008). In mammals with placentas, the two MHC regions are distinct. However, in marsupials, like the Tasmanian Devil, they are intermixed. This is thought to have contributed to the susceptibility of the devil to this disease (McCallum, 2008). Not only do the devils have linked MHCI and II gene complexes, they also have reduced diversity within the complex itself (Cheng et al, 2012).
Devil Facial Tumor disease is considered to be a warning in conservation biology. If this disease can arise in devils, it could happen in other species that have become genetically bottlenecked. Primate populations such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans are under threat due to habitat loss, which is causing their species to lose genetic diversity. If a contagious cancer arose, and human contact persisted, it could potentially jump species, particularly if those who are most likely to be in contact with them are immunocompromised, such as in countries with high rates of Auto Immune Disease (AIDS), where many incidents of poaching occur (Jones and McCallum, 2011). Jones and McCallum (2011) also predicted that with an increase in the number of carcinogens expelled into the environment, more cases of species-specific cancer would arise. However, lack of species biodiversity is likely to be a crucial factor in the generation of cancer and the rates of contagion.
In 2012 a small population of devils in West Pencil Pine, Northwestern Tasmania, were found to have an MHC that was distinct from the tumor. This allowed these devils’ immune systems to recognise and attack the foreign cancerous cells. While no devil has been able to survive infection, including those with unique MHCs, the unique MHC did lengthen the time taken to succumb to the disease (Hamede et al, 2012). The alleles responsible for
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triggering the immune response had not, at the time of publishing, been identified. It was hypothesised by Hamede (2012) that the disease might adapt to become less virulent so as to ensure passage, but in doing so allow the devil to develop a defence. This defence could mean the devil would survive infection and live with the disease: it is beneficial for the disease to have a live host, as it ensures passage into a larger population of the species. This loss of virulence is thought to have occurred in the only other case of contagious cancer in the wild: canine transmissible venereal tumor, which evolved 10,000 years ago. Like the devil's disease, it was spread during mating, but it co-evolved over time to decrease in virulence and therefore increase the success of the tumor (McCallum and Jones, 2012). Hamede (2012) also suggested that less aggressive devils may be positively selected for, as biting causes the disease to be transmitted, meaning that a devil that bites less is more likely to be healthy.
5.2.3 Why is it so important to save the Devil and why is this disease so bad? Since the extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger in 1936 (McCallum, 2008) the Tasmanian Devil has progressed from scavenger to hunter. With the arrival of the disease, 95% of the wild population have died (Hamede et al, 2012), which has resulted in an unstable population of ground-dwelling predators, of which the Tasmanian devil is one. There are few other predators to keep pest numbers low, and the absence of competition causes 'trophic cascades' in the ecosystem of the bush. This has resulted in an increased population of wild cats. The cats carry a parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, the occurrence of which is also increasing. This parasite is causing the decline of the Australian barred bandicoot, whose population was already under threat and who are no longer to be found on the mainland of Australia (Hamede, McCallum and Jones, 2008; Stewart et al, 2008).
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The devil facial tumor disease is extremely debilitating and painful. The tumours start as small lesions on the mouth, which eventually impair the animal’s ability to eat. As they grow, the tumor cells metastasise, the cancer cells travelling from the original site of infection into the devils’ lymph nodes. They then develop full facial and neck tumours (see tumor image in Appendix 1A), which lead to starvation (Stewart et al, 2008) (McCallum, 2008). The devils’ mating ritual involves biting, which means that a female devil may become infected the first time she mates. The disease is a new environmental pressure, and is beginning to alter the onset of sexual maturity in the female devil (Jones et al, 2008). As they now have a shorter life expectancy, it is beneficial for the devils to reach reproductive maturity sooner (Jones et al, 2008). The disease is considered to be a sexually transmitted disease; therefore its continuation is dependent on the frequency of the disease, and not on population density. Thus "there is no threshold population density for disease persistence " (Hamede et al, 2012), which means that even one remaining infected individual could drive the species to extinction. Culling for disease control is therefore ineffective and further reduces genetic diversity of the species (Lachish et al, 2010) (Hamede, McCallum and Jones, 2008). The Tasmanian devil is somewhat of an icon in Australia, and many brands and sports teams use it as the defining image of their logos. From a conservation perspective, to lose both the Tasmanian devil and the Tasmanian tiger "would look like carelessness" (McCallum and Jones, 2006), and it would be costly to control pests that were previously controlled by a top predator. For these reasons, Australia founded the 'Save the Tasmanian Devil Program' in 2003, which committed to a five year plan and currently has a plan in action until 2013 (Program, 2012).
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5.2.4 What is being done to stop the disease? As disease defence would be benefited by greater diversity in the MHC gene region, which controls immune response, each devil that dies is a blow to the population (Cheng et al, 2012), (Acevedo-Whitehouse and Cunningham, 2006). Therefore, the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program is funding research on possible ways to cure and prevent the disease. To preserve the remaining genetic diversity of the devils, it is conducting new methods of crystalography to cryogenically freeze the oocytes (eggs) of diseased but living female devils and the sperm cells of either live or recently deceased male devils (Czarny and Rodger, 2010; Keele, 2011). GPS (Global Positioning Systems) is being employed for two tasks: to track devils and map the spread of the disease, and to monitor the devils in West Pencil Pine who are thought to be developing a resistance because of their distinct MHC gene region.
A captive breeding program is run in approved zoos throughout Australia to build a disease-free 'insurance population' (Program, 2012). The program has collected genetic data of all male and female captive devils. These data – collectively known as 'The Devil’s Studbook' – is used to selectively pair two captive devils for mating, in order to improve genetic diversity (Program, 2012). Essentially, this strategy makes sure the 'insurance population' devils are as genetically diverse as possible (Miller et al, 2011), as genetic difference increases with geographical distance (Lachish et al, 2011). It is predicted that the wild population will become extinct, and the insurance population will have to be reintegrated to the wild (Lachish et al, 2010; Miller et al, 2011).
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5.2.5 What strategies are used to reduce the research implementation gap in trying to save the Tasmanian Devil? This research is expensive. The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program allocates $135,000 in grant, scholarship and research money every year, and it has an annual budget of $5,000,000 (Program, August 2012). The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program also has an official fundraising arm, and they have used some clever and lucrative branding, marketing and awareness raising strategies to their benefit. In the popular cartoon series Looney Tunes there is a character called Taz, a grumpy and destructive character based on the Tasmanian devil. Taz is one of the reasons that the species is so well known internationally. In May 2007, the Australian minister for state tourism, arts and environment announced that a deal had been struck with Warner Bros so that one Australian dollar from every DVD sale would be donated to the University of Tasmania for research funding (Pulitzer, 2007). The DVDs also have a sticker of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program’s logo on them (see Appendix 1A). This kind of brand alignment and brand publicity is a commercial device that is being used to effectively publicise the program to Australia and to the world.
As previously discussed in Chapter Three, one of the main reasons for the research implementation gap is the lack of communication between conservation stakeholders such as governments, academic institutions and on-the-ground practitioners. The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program has used a Strategic Plan since 2007, and a Business Plan since 2010 (see Appendix 1B for the 'contents page' of the Business Plan), in order to achieve communication between all stakeholder parties. This ensures that all parties are aware of the aims of the program and the methods being used to achieve those aims (Program, 2012).
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This large-scale co-operative program to save the Tasmanian devil has a variety of stakeholders. They are as follows: The Government of Australia The Commonwealth Government of Tasmania University of Tasmania Australian Species Management Program Biosecurity and Product Integrity Division (DPIPWE) Animal Wildlife Health Network Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water, and Environment Meta-population Advisory Committee Scientific Advisory Committee Zoo and Aquarium Association Save the Tasmanian Devil Program
Everyone on this list knows their role and where they are in relation to the other stakeholders, as shown in Fig 1. Governance Structure for Save the Tasmanian Devil programme shown on the following page.
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Fig.1: Governance Structure for Save the Tasmanian Devil Program
Fig 1. (Program, 2012).
This is a commercial communication approach to a conservation problem, and is successful both as a method of strategy implementation, and as a method for reducing the research implementation gap between policy makers, academics and practitioners.
The above strategy works well at managing the number of stakeholders involved. However, when it comes to conservation action, the following collaboration is an excellent example of what can be achieved when a government and a university work together on specific projects. The following three areas of research, Monitoring and Management, Insurance population, and Diagnostics, are the key areas of interest in the current business plan. The sub-sections from Chapter Three of the 2010-2013 business plan are provided in 104
Appendix 1B and give more detailed questions that have been developed with the consultation of both academic and ‘on-the-ground’ practitioners (Program, 2012).
However, when one looks at Section 2.0 (see Appendix 1C) of the grant guidelines for accessing funding,40 these go into the more specific requirements of research, as one would expect when guiding academics to formulate research questions. They closely align with the aims of the business plan, and with the literature that has been published on the subject of Devil Facial Tumor Disease between 2010-2012. This shows the success of this relationship and the way in which it has reduced the research implementation gap through the development of research questions in accordance with the clear guidelines of this goalorientated program. This goes some way to validating the precise recommendations for reducing the research implementation gap given by a multitude of conservation scientists (Fazey, Fischer, and Lindenmayer, 2005; Knight et al, 2008; Lauber et al, 2011), discussed in Chapter Three.
The official Save the Tasmanian Devil Program website contains two more areas of interest: Wild Management, and the Road Kill project.41 The latter is an example of utilising citizen science to gather data. The online form adopts lessons from the Toad Tracker’s use of Web 2.0 to increase the scope and accuracy of data. Currently, only the option to enter an address is available, which is less practical and user-friendly.
40. TDRAC_GrantGuidelines_FINAL_September 2013.PDF downloaded in December 2013 41. http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/tasdevil.nsf/TheProgram/6CDA5008203C24A6CA2576C7001651E0 accessed 13.12.2013 105
5.2.6 Problems associated with using commercial strategies in conservation organisations The work of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program was the initial idea for the documentary film associated with this thesis, and my film partner and I were in touch with the Program’s staff frequently at the end of 2012. However, when liaising with various employees in the program we encountered significant frustration within what had initially appeared to be a well-run operation. Having learned more about commitment and motivation theory, the frustration and comments expressed to me by employees of the programme make more sense. The cognitive dissonance between conservation and commercialisation aims can be damaging to motivation and commitment for conservation practitioners. While the website says "100% of the funds raised by the appeal go to the research and management activities that have been prioritised as important to the long-term solution to Devil Facial Tumour Disease",42 one anonymous ex-employee spoke of the rampant waste of funds. When asked about his reason for leaving the program, he said: "It should be, and sometimes is, called the save the program program''. When the methods of an organisation are inconsistent with its goals – like excessive spending on items to justify funding, instead of on science to save the devils – a loss of organisational commitment results (see Chapter Four). Based on the literature (Meyer, Herscovitch and Topolnytsky, 2002), the organisation would see a rise in normative commitment, according to which the employee feels the need to stay because of obligation to the cause, or in continuance commitment, according to which the employee stays only so long as the costs of leaving are higher than remaining.
42. http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/tasdevil.nsf/TheAppeal/0D8A4EC518E111C8CA2576CB007997D8 - accessed 12.12. 2013 106
The reduction in the research implementation gap within the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program is an excellent reason for using communication and management strategies. However, the program is not only a cautionary tale of what can happen when biodiversity is lost, but also what can occur when a conservation organisation becomes misaligned with its goals. One cannot entirely attribute this ill feeling and lack of organisational commitment to the ‘new and novel’ use of marketing and branding strategies discussed in Chapter Four. However, their use may have attracted individuals whose motives for being a part of the organisation were different to those of dedicated conservation scientists and practitioners. Potentially, the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program could benefit from investigating the level of commitment within the organisation so as to increase strategy implementation (Smith, 2009).
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Chapter Six: Discussion
This thesis lacks the numerical results section traditionally found in a science thesis. However, one area of the scientific article that has always been useful is the section in which the limitations and faults of the research undertaken are discussed. The research analysed in this thesis is not without weaknesses and they are discussed below. One of the largest limitations in the research for this thesis was the lack of quantifiable evidence of New Zealand-specific data. This limitation applied both to the research on ecosystem services and the research on commercial strategies. The Department of Conservation case studies on the economic benefits of conservation largely focused on tourism, with a few exceptions that were discussed. The analysis that quantified the economic value of the earth’s ecosystem services was done in 1997. It is likely that, given that use of land and water systems has increased to feed a growing population, and there has been a global trend of currency inflation, these services have increased in value. However, despite this, the results of work currently being done on by the World Bank on the economic value of biodiversity and its resulting ecosystem services would have been an extremely useful resource for this thesis.
When it comes to biodiversity loss, a gap exists because of a lack of data on New Zealand’s biodiversity prior to large-scale colonisation. If data from early colonial soil and species do exist, they were not found.
The history of New Zealand's brand and its significance in our society was written by academics involved in the brand’s development, and strongly contributes to the argument of this thesis. However, a national survey of general feeling about both the New Zealand brand
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and the current methods of farming and industry would have been extremely valuable. The New Zealand 'story' is an area that is currently being looked at by the government.43
The arguments reached regarding the causes of the research implementation gap in conservation science were the strongest in terms of the literature available. Ideally there would have been research on organisational assimilation within academic departments and practical conservation organisations, which would have provided a more accurate description of the problems, felt by both sectors in the conservation discipline. This was an area that this thesis had hoped to investigate with the use of a survey, but given length and time constraints this was not feasible. It is a possible avenue of future research, and is discussed in the concluding chapter (Chapter Seven).
Several arguments were based on international literature that made little mention of New Zealand, however because of the international nature of the research presented it is not thought this limited their relevance. The research on the use of Web 2.0 and its impact on productivity had either an international or an American focus. While the international article included Oceania, the data were not region-specific. The argument of this thesis would have been strengthened if there had been research on New Zealand companies and their use of Web 2.0. Of particular use would have been research on the use of Web 2.0 in New Zealand conservation organisations: this is also an area of further research discussed in Chapter Six. However, the fact that academics in Australia used a Web 2.0 tool for conservation strengthens the feasibility of their use in New Zealand.
43. http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/nz-story-assist-kiwi-firms-overseas-markets accessed 12.12. 2013 109
With regard to the strategies of motivation theory, knowledge dissemination strategy, organisation commitment, and branding and marketing strategy, the analysed literature was of international academic credibility, and widely accepted in the disciplines from which it came. Therefore, the lack of local research in this area is not considered to be a limitation, as the literature that was looked at and discussed in this thesis had been developed over a long period of time. Furthermore, its use by globally successful companies suggests that the methods it discusses are worthwhile.
The argument driven by the Aquaflow case study intertwines New Zealand's current push for innovation, the issue of conservation inefficiency, and our national identity. Aquaflow is an example of a compelling idea that could see our nation’s innovators fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in the creation of green-tech solutions. By doing so our intellectual progress would align with the image of a 'clean and green’ New Zealand, benefiting both the brand and the country that is so tied to it. The limitations of Aquaflow as a case study reside in the fact that the research was done through a film producer’s eye. It was not a survey or a questionnaire, consequently the analysis is qualitative and subjective and certainly not anonymous. However, the reality of offshore investment interest brings credibility to the technology and its large-scale applications. For this thesis, the Aquaflow case study represents the innovation potential for New Zealand that could be fuelled by its citizens’ attachment to, and enjoyment of, the natural landscape and their desire to preserve it.
While not centred on New Zealand, the case study of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program highlights the need for caution and further research before the strategies discussed are used to increase efficiency and reduce the research implementation gap in conservation.
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The issues of communication and commitment that were found within the program cannot be directly attributed to the commercial strategies used. However, some of the feelings that were communicated by ex-employees strongly aligned with the kind of outcomes described in Chapter Four on expectancy theory, and which are seen when an employee does not feel their work will have the desired outcome. In other words, something caused employees within the program to believe their work would not contribute to the aim of saving the devils from extinction. The lack of commitment towards the program could also be a result of the kind of 'fear of the new, fear of being replaced, fear of eroding scientific legitimacy' observed in Chapter Four’s section on Web 2.0 and the 'Toad Tracker' website. It was found by the scientists who implemented 'Toad Tracker' that when they met with governmental conservation managers there was significant resistance to the adoption of a novel methodology. This could explain the behaviour and feelings within the program. It could also explain the confusing experience had by the science communication film crew looking to make a documentary on the program. Initially, communication between the film crew and the program’s management, marketing and media departments was enthusiastic. However, dialogue quickly became stilted and later, non-existent, and this resulted in the abandonment of pre-production by the filmmakers. The causes of these communication and commitment issues are worth researching in order to assess the risk of using these strategies in conservation organisations and, crucially, in order to save the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program.
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Chapter Seven: Summary and Conclusions
Conservation is the term used to describe the methods for preserving and preventing the loss of biodiversity. Until recently, the loss of biodiversity was not a concern, and the services provided by biodiversity were taken for granted. As agriculture followed the path of industrialisation, respect for a diverse ecosystem as an abundant producer was replaced by a drive for intensification. Advances in biochemical science turned previously unproductive land into a profit-generating asset and allowed for the vast production of single-species crops that brought efficiencies in harvest and distribution. However, biodiversity, or more specifically the loss of biodiversity, is beginning to become a topic worthy of international investigation and assessment. This worldwide assessment is highlighting the fact that it is more expensive, and more costly to human health, to replace the services a healthy and diverse ecosystem provides with man made technology (Chapter 2.1). This fact is of great importance to New Zealand, not only because of the large role that the ecologically dependent primary sector plays in our economy, but also because our brand identity is tied up in the perceived quality and purity of New Zealand (Chapter 2.2).
The importance of biodiversity and our national brand have not been given sufficient consideration by current and previous governments, and this should be remedied. The fiscal incentives to fell forests, drain wetlands, graze tussock and switch to monoculture rearing of crops and animals have eroded much of the diversity on and around farmland. The costs of the lost or weakened ecosystem services are needless, and damage not only the land we rely on, but also the brand we trade under (Chapter Two). The 'clean and green' brand of New Zealand and the perceived value and point of difference that New Zealand continues to
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leverage in the international market is rooted in long-gone methods of farming which delivered low quantity but extremely high quality products (Chapter 2.2). Given the social, political and economic benefits associated with increasing biodiversity in New Zealand it is considered unwise to continue down the path of industrialised farming, mining, water pollution, and erosion of the conservation sector. Such a direction will only fuel our internationally recognised loss of biodiversity (Chapter 2.1), the costs of farming, water remediation and, potentially, the costs of public health. It is one thing for this to be obvious to the reader of this thesis, a citizen, or customer of New Zealand. It is quite another to discern a feasible solution for the required redirection.
Reducing the research implementation gap would improve communication between key stakeholders in the New Zealand economy and increase efficiency in conservation. It could also, if managed and marketed well, instigate a much needed brand revival for New Zealand (Chapter Two).
The legitimacy of the research implementation gap is illustrated through the sheer quantity of literature on the subject (Chapter Three). The initiatives created by researchers and institutions such as Google translate, open source journals, and templates for academic articles, offer encouragement and further validate the existence and importance of the research implementation gap. However, it continues to be a real barrier to conservation success. These initiatives mitigate some of the causes of the research implementation gap, but they do not solve the underlying issues of physical, logistical and bureaucratic communication barriers between policy makers, academics and practitioners.
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Discussion in the academic research argues that outcomes in the field of conservation should translate into implementable processes, and not just into citations (Chapter Three). However, there is currently little incentive for this to happen, and a solution to this multilayered problem is urgent. Given the global loss of biodiversity and failures in conservation, an increasing population and the destabilisation of climate, it is of utmost global importance to increase the efficiency of conservation. Reducing the research implementation gap will address this issue. New Zealand has a weighty incentive to do this, given the nature of its brand, and its current poor performance in the field of conservation (Chapter Two).
The existence of similar 'gaps' in other disciplines shows the widespread ‘research to action communication gap’, and Chapter Four proposed and assessed solution strategies. Through the examination of other disciplines that have strong motivations to reduce the communication gap, either because of an interest in humanity (for instance, public health) or because of fiscal motivation (for instance, marketing and management), an interdisciplinary solution was investigated. The literature from these disciplines shows, globally successful businesses in diverse sectors – pharmaceutical, chemical, financial, real estate, legal, manufacturing, and telecommunications – are increasing communication, reducing the strategy to implementation gap, and increasing profitability. This is being achieved using strategies such as Web 2.0, motivation and organisation theory, knowledge dissemination strategy, and brand orientation.
The New Zealand brand could also benefit from the use of brand orientation to reduce the market-strategy implementation gap. This brand and strategy alignment would benefit the maintenance of the long-term competitive edge associated with the high quality nature of New Zealand’s products. For the purposes of this thesis, the New Zealand brand is similar to
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a company's brand vision, and a company's employees are similar to a country's citizens. By taking seriously the measures of brand orientation (brand reputation, brand awareness, and brand loyalty) the New Zealand brand would perform better in our internal and external markets. New Zealand could thus reduce production and demand higher prices. However, for brand reputation, loyalty, and awareness to increase, there is a need for the aims and actions of the company to align with the values it espouses. Without this alignment, a discordant effect of lost motivation, resentment and poor commitment could occur. The root of this misalignment in New Zealand is the 'clean green' image contrasted with the reality of its poor water quality, agricultural practices, fossil-fuel dependence and biodiversity loss. In order to understand and remedy existing motivation and organisational commitment problems potentially caused by brand mis-alignment, the assessment of employee commitment and motivation and adaptation and a fluid management style were effective in reducing the strategy to implementation gap and boosting productivity (Chapter Four). It is suggested that a similar assessment of New Zealanders be undertaken to gauge the level of brand commitment felt within the county.
A current strategy in New Zealand is the National Science Challenges, which are encouraging the collective engagement of scientists in achieving ten common goals (see Appendix 5A), three of which directly relate to biodiversity loss and conservation: ‘New Zealand’s biological heritage’, ‘Our land and water’, and ‘Resilience to nature’s challenges’. It is concluded that the previously discussed strategies of Web 2.0, brand and marketing strategy, knowledge dissemination and motivation and organisational commitment theory would aid the success of the Challenges. Given the National Science Challenges are longterm economic and ecological strategies, it makes sense to utilise all available resources, such as citizen scientists, conservation practitioners, and postgraduate students, as well as
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academic scientists. Fortunately, the key areas of the research implementation gap that could be addressed using these strategies were found to be knowledge management, acceptance of strategy and motivation to implement it, and the engagement of citizens as scientists. These are not mutually exclusive tools, and a combination of Web 2.0 and motivation and organisational commitment strategies would work to increase the efficiency of knowledge exchange and ensure public engagement as well as the engagement of institutional employees. While the aim of the Science Challenges to bring together the academic and innovation sectors is to be commended, many environmental problems are symptomatic of biodiversity loss. The solutions are largely known, but the economic benefit of abundant biodiversity to New Zealand's primary sector has not yet been estimated, nor has it been compellingly communicated. The communication of conservation and the importance of biodiversity to policy makers in an economic and business language is a significant tool for science communicators in effecting the changes discussed in this thesis. This is an exciting area for the new discipline of science communication to expand into (Chapter Four).
The primary sector also lacks strategy and incentives to begin the agricultural shift towards increased biodiversity. The dollar value associated with biodiversity and the ability of biodiversity to reduce agricultural inputs and boost price points through brand reputation are powerful motivational tools within the primary and government sectors. If the conservation and primary sectors had the same aims, the nation would have a strong, quantified, brand-affiliated direction. The use of branding and strategic direction for commercial gain is not a novel approach, and the case studies of Aquaflow and the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program are small scale examples of this.
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In order to illustrate the success of improved communication and strategic direction arising from the employment of commercially produced strategies, Chapter Five used the biofuel company Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation as a case study. Aquaflow is a company with commercial offerings with conservation benefits in the form of water remediation and carbon neutral fuel production. The strategies discussed in Chapter Four were looked at in Chapter Five with regard to Aquaflow’s use of them and their benefits with regard to efficiency of communication, particularly between disciplines. It was found that close proximity between researchers and practitioners resulted in quick solutions and novel approaches to innovation. It was also found that a strategic aim – in the form of a product – was efficiently delivered through a brand vision. The brand vision gave focus and direction to the researchers, scientists and engineers. However, this ideal physical proximity between disciplines working on specific projects is unrealistic as a large-scale solution to reducing the research implementation gap. The infrastructure tools of Web 2.0 are thought to be an underutilised method of knowledge exchange and management, which could simulate the kind of success experienced by Aquaflow due to their unique developmental arrangement.
The collaborative strategy used by Aquaflow links to the potential of the National New Zealand Science Challenges. The Challenges are, at heart, a means of instigating economically viable scientific solutions in areas where there is a current or anticipated problem. For example, the Challenge 'New Zealand's biological heritage' reflects the government’s acknowledgement of biodiversity loss as a very real issue. Equally, 'Aging well' addresses the health and economic problems associated with an aging population (Ministry for Business, 2013). Aquaflow addresses the issue of water remediation and fuel production. In order for the Science Challenges to be as successful as possible, each project or piece of research ought to be developed with a commercial implementation in mind, or at
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least as part of a larger collaborative project that would lead to a commercial offering. Ideally, these innovations would produce economically viable products of benefit to the conservation discipline, and therefore the national brand. A collaborative process was shown to increase the chances of research being successfully implemented. This was the case with Aquaflow, and it is the case with academic research when implementation intent is factored in from the outset, and when conservation practitioners are involved in the development of the research questions (Chapters Three and Five).
Aquaflow is an example of this collaborative, conservation-focused vision, but as shown in the film Bloom, there is difficulty in commercialising this kind of novel technology to an innovation sector who do not necessarily understand science or the economic benefits of conservation (Chapter 2.1). It does not help that New Zealand is a country whose investment sector continues to prioritise investment in coalmines, oil drilling, and waterpolluting farming practices. The continuing reliance on these brand- and land-corrupting methods further strengthens the need for a nationally cohesive brand strategy that has conservation as a stakeholder.
This idea of government and conservation working together leads to the second casestudy in Chapter Five: the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program. The program was founded in 2003 to lead a large group of Australian stakeholders on a scientifically grounded quest to prevent the extinction of the Tasmanian devil. In order to facilitate clear communication of the program's aims (give priority to key areas of research, make grant and scholarship decisions, allocate funds, build awareness and stakeholder hierarchy), the program used some of the commercial strategies discussed in Chapter Four. Firstly, the strongly communicated aim of 'preserving a functioning population of Tasmanian Devil'
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(Program, August 2012) is delivered through the use of a visual brand (see Appendix 1A). Secondly, the development of a three-year business plan (2010-2013) outlining the areas of research and the strong ties between researchers and practitioners ensured research questions were able to be implemented on a practical level. Thirdly, the program's website has recently launched an online campaign that enlists the help of citizens in the gathering of data to help map the devils’ movements. The success of this case study in alleviating the research implementation gap through the use of commercial and communication strategies is an example of what could be achieved on a larger scale in conservation disciplines. These are also tools that could be applied to the National New Zealand Science Challenges to ensure a more thorough national engagement.
The case of the devils was relevant to this thesis for another reason: it is an example of a conservation organisation using commercial tools, and a cautionary tale of what happens when a species loses too much genetic diversity. In Chapter 2.1, biodiversity was shown to be a measure of an ecosystem’s or a species’ health. The contagious cancer described in Chapter 5.2 is an example of the severity of the possible outcomes of biodiversity loss. The extinction of the Tasmanian devil would be the loss of an Australian icon, its decline is a very real threat for the ecosystem of the Tasmanian bush (low numbers of devils are already impacting the survival of other species), and finally it is a large cost to the government, who in these times of economic austerity could find something else to spend three million dollars a year on.
New Zealand’s damaged brand and falling biodiversity does not have an easy or quick fix. However, there exists a cultural and fiscal motivation to improve the legitimacy of the New Zealand brand. There are solutions – some of which are discussed in this thesis – for improving the relevance and effective implementation of conservation science. By
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communicating the benefit in cost of 'ecosystem services', and not just their value as 'natural heritage', we can begin a collaborative communication between the public, the existing conservation organisations, and academic institutions as part of a strategic mission to restore New Zealand's biodiversity and brand. There is also an opportunity for this motivation and the solutions discussed in this thesis to work in conjunction with existing conservation organisations and the National Science Challenges. If the conclusions reached in this thesis are applied to the Science Challenges, a meaningful dialogue with practitioners, academics, and the investment sector will occur. The research outcomes will be of a more practical and applicable nature, improving the likelihood that the new innovations can be taken to market.
Furthermore, if the tools of Web 2.0 and citizen science are used to gather large-scale data sets for research, the motivation and commitment to the aims of the New Zealand National Science Challenge may increase. The gathering of such data, given the unique nature of New Zealand as a biodiversity hotspot, could also prove to be a boost for the intellectual economy of New Zealand. However, it is not feasible to ask Department of Conservation workers to do all of the required data collection of flora and fauna when they function with a skeleton staff, and if academics are to use data sets from conservation practitioners these must be reliable. In Chapter Four, ways in which the public can be engaged in collecting data were outlined. Improvements to the usability and visibility of these websites would greatly improve the likelihood of them being utilised. Also in Chapter Four, methods of knowledge dissemination and exchange that attempt to ensure these data sets do not sit unused were discussed. Analysis of this data could make the progress of New Zealand’s conservation aims and the success of its strategies more visible.
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There are many government-funded organisations that have developed resources independently even though the organisations share functional similarities. These resources could also be used by non-governmental organisations, as often their aims complement those of government policy, or are socially beneficial. These resources are often software-based, but can extend to surveys and market research reports. This doubling of research and resources is extremely wasteful, and the software development and data gathering would provide better value for money if the information and software were open source and actively disseminated to the user market. This mode of dissemination would increase communication between departments and might be a strategic starting point for building infrastructure between key stakeholders of conservation.
The research outlined in this thesis has given rise to the following findings: 1) Conservation would be more effective if it used commercial strategies such as branding, marketing and Web 2.0. 2) The cultural and economic value of the New Zealand brand would be improved if it were genuinely aligned with the aims of the conservation discipline.
The research question was: should conservation use commercial solutions to increase efficiency? Given the above summary of research and analysis it can be said that yes, conservation should use the commercial communication solutions discussed above, particularly as some the problems involved in implementing a new strategy, like the one suggested in this thesis, have been identified.
The first finding ‘conservation would be more effective if it used commercial strategies such as branding, marketing and Web 2.0’, has very strong evidence supporting it.
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However, there are opportunities for further research to quantify the efficiency that these tools could bring. The second finding, ‘the cultural and economic value of the New Zealand brand would be improved if it were genuinely aligned with the aims of the conservation discipline’, is somewhat less certain. The economic value that should come with improved ecosystem services is the strongest argument in this thesis, but it does not necessarily impact the New Zealand brand. While the literature does suggest that the brand would benefit, the extent of the cultural benefit to New Zealand’s brand is unknown and certainly requires further research. Some potential research questions follow.
Possible research questions for furthering the themes of this thesis: By conducting an Organisation Assimilation Index survey (Wrench et al, 2008) within conservation organisations and academic departments, one could ascertain the current commitment and motivational feeling of employees, thereby identifying areas for improving strategy implementation and adding to the research discussed in Chapter Four. The tools of Web 2.0 are a large and fast-growing field. An assessment of specific tools being used in communal decision-making, knowledge management and community engagement would be fascinating. Thus a possible research question is: “What Web 2.0 tools do conservation organisations use, which tools are most useful and in what areas?” To inform the research area around the cultural benefits that could come with a stronger, and more genuine alignment with the New Zealand brand, a survey of the general public would provide enormous insight into the commitment felt towards the New Zealand brand, and begin to shed light on the impact of current practices and whether they alter our citizens’ feelings towards the country. Suggested areas of questioning are: product choices, brand
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affiliations, reasons for living in New Zealand, things most enjoyed or disliked about New Zealand, and feelings towards the country’s brand.
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Appendices Appendix 1A: Image of the devil facial tumor disease and Save the Tasmanian Devil Program Logo Appendix 1B: Excerpts from the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program’s Business Plan 2010-2013 Chapter 3.1 – Monitoring and Management Chapter 3.2 – Insurance Population Chapter 3.3 – Diagnostics Services and Research Save the Tasmanian Program’s Table of Contents page Appendix 1C: Save the Tasmanian Devil Scholarships and Grants Criteria Appendix 2A: Aquaflow Logo and the re-brand to ‘Nxt Fuels’ Appendix 2B: Aquaflow Financial Investment Statement Appendix 2C: Bloom: Taking waste for all its worth. Film poster Appendix 3A: Photos of Wellington Wetland Appendix 4A: Pure New Zealand branding Fig 1. 100% Pure New Zealand Logo Fig 2. 100% Pure New Zealand Tourism Advertisement Appendix 5A: The National New Zealand Science Challenges Fig1. List of the 10 National Science Challenges Fig 2. The eleventh Science Challenge: ‘Science In New Zealand Society’ Appendix 6A: Turning Great Strategy into Great Performance Fig 1: ‘Where performance goes’ graph Fig 2: ‘Marketing-Strategy Implementation’ graph Appendix 7A: Motivation and Organisation Commitment Diagrams
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Appendix 1A: Image of a devil facial tumor disease and the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program logo
Image courtesy of Murchison et al, 2012 ‘Genome sequencing and analysis of the Tasmanian devil and its transmissible cancer’
Logo courtesy of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program (Programme, August 2012) 138
Appendix 1B: Excerpts from the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program’s Business Plan 2010-2013 & Table of Contents
Courtesy of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program (Programme, August 2012)
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Courtesy of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program (Programme, August 2012) 140
Courtesy of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program (Programme, August 2012)
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Executive Summary Program Overview 2.1 Background to the Partnership 2.2 Program Vision 2.3 Program Design A Program Governance B Program Structure C Program Logic D Relationship to Other Activities 2.4 Program Goals and Multiyear Targets A Program Strategic Goal B Program Performance Goals C Program Multiyear Targets Deployment Plan 3.1 Sub-program Plan - Monitoring and Management A Sub-program Support of Program Strategic Goal B Sub-program Support of Program Performance Goals C Sub-program Challenges and Barriers D Sub-program Milestones and Decision Points 3.2 Sub-program Plan - Insurance Population A Sub-program Support of Program Strategic Goal B Sub-program Support of Program Performance Goals C Sub-program Challenges and Barriers D Sub-program Milestones and Decision Points 3.3 Sub-program Plan Diagnostics Services and Research A Sub-program Support of Program Strategic Goal B Sub-program Support of Program Performance Goals C Sub-program Challenges and Barriers D Sub-program Milestones and Decision Points 3.4 Cross-cutting issues (whole of program) A Communication B Information Management C Other Issues Program Portfolio Management 4.1 Program Portfolio Management Process A Program Budget B Performance Assessment Strategy and Plan REFERENCES ACRONYMS
Courtesy of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program (Programme, August 2012)
5 6
4
3
1 2
CONTENT 4 5 5 5 5 5 7 8 9 9 9 9 9 11 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 13 13 13 13 14 14 14 15 15 15 16 17 17 17 18 19 19
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General criteria against which all applications will be assessed
Courtesy of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Programme (STDP, 2010 )
TDRAC Grant Guidelines Sept 2013
Mitigating other (non-DFTD) threats Model and quantify the socio-economic impacts of a loss of devils from various landscapes (including agricultural and natural landscapes) Quantify the impacts of habitat fragmentation on devils Determine the specific habitat requirements of devils Quantify the rates of devil road mortality in various landscapes and contexts (e.g., in the presence /absence of traffic calming measures) Model the ecological interaction between devils and introduced foxes in Tasmania
Preparing for future scenarios Quantify the impacts of DFTD on devil sub-populations across their natural range (including demographic, behavioural, genetic, and phenotypic impacts) Model and quantify the co-evolutionary trajectory of devils and DFTD Model and quantify the likelihood of extinction of devils in the wild
Model ecological impacts Model and quantify the ecological impacts of the loss of Tasmanian devils from across their natural range Quantify the ecological impacts of translocating devils to offshore islands
Managing devils and DFTD in the wild Determining the incubation and latent periods of DFTD Increase the capture rate of wild devils using ethical means
STDP PRIORITIES FOR RESEARCH INTO FREE-LIVING DEVILS Improving genetic outcomes Identify devil genotypes that demonstrate reduced susceptibility to DFTD Model and quantify the lifetime reproductive fitness of optimally out-crossed devils Model and quantify the genetic trajectory of devil sub-populations translocated to offshore islands
2
Optimise the insurance population Optimise the lifetime reproductive success of devils in captivity Optimise the wellbeing of devils in captivity Optimise the retention of wild behaviours in captivity Develop a vaccine and/or treatment Develop an effective vaccine against DFTD (particularly one that is deliverable on a landscape level) Develop an effective treatment against DFTD (particularly one that is deliverable on a landscape level) Investigate the immune system of devils with respect to DFTD Improving genetic outcomes Identify devil genotypes that demonstrate reduced susceptibility to DFTD
2.1 Alignment with the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program priorities Applications for all grants must be aligned with the current key Program priority areas. The Program is broad and covers the following priorities:
Only high-quality projects will be supported.
Additional specific criteria relating to each type of grant are identified under their specific headings in the relevant sections of these guidelines.
The general criteria in Sections 2.1 and 2.2 are applicable to all grant applications and will be used to assist in the assessment of all grant applications.
2.0
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Appendix 1C: Save the Tasmanian Devil Scholarships and Grants Section 2 ‘Grants Criteria’
Appendix 2A: Aquaflow Logo and the re –brand to ‘NXT Fuels’
Logo’s courtesy of Nick Gerritsen, CEO of Aquaflow & Nxt Fuels – December 2013
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Appendix 2B:Aquaflow Financial Investment Statement Frequently asked investment questions WHAT DOES AQUAFLOW DO?
Aquaflow is a young company, having been incorporated in October 2005. It aims to be a leading player in the sustainable and economic production of clean water solutions and green crude (biofuel) and other products from wild algae. More information about Aquaflow’s technology can be found by clicking the “about Aquaflow” tab on this website, then choosing “The Technology” from the drop-down menu.
WHERE IS AQUAFLOW BASED?
The company’s office is in Nelson, New Zealand. Aquaflow is conducting ongoing laboratory and field development work in the Marlborough region of New Zealand’s South Island.
WHO ARE THE DIRECTORS?
The directors of the company are Barrie Leay ( chairman ), Ann Poindexter, Nicholas Gerritsen and David Milroy.
WHAT IS AQUAFLOW’S SHARE TRADING HISTORY?
Aquaflow raised initial capital in the New Zealand market without a prospectus and was therefore limited to investors who were close business associates or relatives of the directors, or who were otherwise exempt or eligible persons under the New Zealand Securities Act 1978. Aquaflow issued its first Prospectus and Investment Statement to raise money from the public in December 2006. This offer closed on 31 March 2007. The subscription price for shares at that time was $0.50 per share. Following the first Prospectus, Aquaflow’s shares were subject to a 1 for 3.122 subdivision. This means that each share that existed immediately before the share subdivision, became 3.122 shares immediately after the share subdivision. This was done to expand Aquaflow’s share base and to facilitate trading. Aquaflow issued its second Prospectus and Investment Statement in October 2008. This offer closed on 31 March 2009. The subscription price under this offer was also $0.50 per share. Currently, Aquaflow has approximately 97 million shares on issue to approximately 150 shareholders. The majority of these shareholders are New Zealand investors, but there is also a small but significant contingent of overseas investors, both companies and individuals.
Page 1
Sourced from http://www.aquaflowgroup.com/about-group/investment (December, 2013)
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Poster design Brandon Gantt
Courtesy of Veronica H-Stevenson and Alex Duckles, © 2013
146
Appendix 2C: Bloom: Taking waste for all its worth. Film poster
Images by V. H Stevenson ©
Appendix 3A: Photos of Wellington Wetland
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Fig 2 100% Pure New Zealand Tourism Advertisement
Fig 1. 100% Pure New Zealand
Appendix 4A. Pure New Zealand branding
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Appendix 5A: The National New Zealand Science Challenges Ten Na'onal Science Challenges announced On 1 May 2013 Prime Minister John Key and Hon Steven Joyce, Minister of Science and InnovaJon, today announced the final 10 NaJonal Science Challenges. The ten research areas idenJfied as New Zealand's first NaJonal Science Challenges are: 1. Aging well – harnessing science to sustain health and wellbeing into the later years of life 2. A be9er start – improving the potenJal of young New Zealanders to have a healthy and successful life 3. Healthier lives – research to reduce the burden of major New Zealand health problems 4. High value nutri'on – developing high value foods with validated health benefits 5. New Zealand’s biological heritage – protecJng and managing our biodiversity, improving our biosecurity, and enhancing our resilience to harmful organisms 6. Our land and water – Research to enhance primary sector producJon and producJvity while maintaining and improving our land and water quality for future generaJons 7. Life in a changing ocean – understanding how we can exploit our marine resources within environmental and biological constraints 8. The deep south – understanding the role of the AntarcJc and the Southern Ocean in determining our climate and our future environment 9. Science for technological innova'on – enhancing the capacity of New Zealand to use physical and engineering sciences for economic growth 10. Resilience to nature’s challenges – research into enhancing our resilience to natural disasters
Fig 1 – List of the 10 NaJonal Science Challenges Courtesy of the Ministry for Business, InnovaJon and Employment, 2013)(
150
Fig 2: The eleventh Science Challenge, ‘Report of National Science Challenges Panel (Courtesy of the Ministry for Business, 2013)
151
The eleventh Science Challenge: ‘Science In New Zealand Society’
Appendix 6A: Turning Great Strategy into Great Performance
Fig 1: Where performance goes (Steele, 2005) 152
Fig 2: Marketing-Strategy Implementation gap in financial losses (Steele, 2005) 153
Appendix 7A Motivation & Organisational Commitment Diagrams
Courtesy of (Meyer, 2002) 154
Courtesy of (Parish, 2008)
155
Courtesy of (Locke, 2004)
156
