Climate science online journal club launch – what did we learn?
We held our first meeting of the climate sciences online journal club on 15th March 2023, reviewing the following article:
“Application of real time S2S forecasts over Eastern Africa in the co-production of climate services” – Lead author: Masilin Gudoshava – IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), Nairobi, Kenya; African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Rwanda
This was the first virtual meeting for the group, and pre-discussion menti responses revealed a diversity of research topics related to climate sciences:
Session summary (created using otter.ai and ChatGPT)
The lead author presented their paper on co-producing climate services between institutions and a Food Security and Nutrition working group in the Eastern Africa region. The region consists of 11 countries, most of which are arid, and communities rely on rain-fed agriculture and pastoralism, making them vulnerable to climate variability. The study used a co-production approach, working with climate information users to develop products for decision-making, and used a contrasting case study methodology. The Food Security and Nutrition working group was identified as a key partner, and the study was carried out under the SWIFT project, involving partners from the UK, West Africa and East Africa. A pre-tested questionnaire was sent out to get an idea of the situation on the ground, and one of the major findings was that climate is the main driver of food insecurity in the region. Climate information was requested for the seven to 30-day timeframe for tactical strategies and longer timeframes for strategic decision-making. The paper used the Future Climate for Africa (FCFA) manual for co-production, and the study included testbed workshops focusing on building common ground, exploring the need and co-developing solutions.
Reviews
Journal club members read the paper and provided short reviews and some critical questions and learning points. Reviewers were complimentary about the paper and also had some questions about practical implications. One reviewer noted that the paper does not mention which countries were covered in the predicted sub-seasonal forecast and also suggested that the information on rainfall onset should be provided to ensure that cropping patterns are based on seasonal rainfall predictions rather than weekly total rainfall and anomalies. The reviewer also suggested that forecast bulletins should be written in local languages to increase uptake among farmers and pastoral people who may not understand English.
The author noted that seasonal forecasts are provided and include rainfall onset, soil moisture, precipitation probabilities, and wet and dry spells and probabilistic temperature. However, the focus of the study was on the climate information required during the season, hence the focus on sub-seasonal climate information. The author also acknowledged the reviewer's suggestion to provide climate information in local languages and noted that they are working towards this but currently provide information in major languages spoken in the region.
The reviewer then suggested that the author collaborate with local universities to provide technical know-how and create local servers to store weather-related data to ensure that it is preserved over time. The reviewer also highlighted the importance of policymakers in making climate services relevant to users.
Another reviewer noted that while the methodology is relevant, the paper lacks direct policy recommendations for policymakers. The reviewer suggested that it is the responsibility of policymakers to design and implement strategies, and recommended that future studies address gaps and focus on disseminating information with less bureaucracy. The author started a discussion with the group, questioning whether all scientists should be making policy recommendations, as they may not be experts in policy. The group discussed the importance of considering policy implications in certain types of research, particularly in social and environmental problems that affect people's lives.
In general, the feedback highlighted the importance of providing localised climate information to increase uptake among users such as farmers and pastoral people. The paper underscored the need for collaboration among stakeholders, including universities, policymakers and third-party agencies, to ensure the availability and preservation of weather-related data over time.
Author's experience of writing
The author also shared tips for writing participatory research papers and leading collaborative interdisciplinary research projects:
“So this one was one of my first papers that I wrote that has a social science element. So I think, one thing I learned from writing this type of paper and from reviewer comments is that every statement that you make has to be backed up with evidence; you do not make assumptions. So normally, when we write mostly scientific papers, we work on the analysis and describe the plots/analysis. But in this paper, you write “this is the view of the people”. It has to be really backed up – you should have talked to the people and they should have given you that information, you need to carry out the survey in a certain way. You need to think about exactly what you want to achieve way before you even distribute your survey. And I think, for me, this was a very steep learning curve, but it taught me to think differently in terms of how I do research.
In terms of collaborating, it was not very hard because everyone was involved in the whole process for the whole two years. And then we also had people in communication who were also involved in going through the bulletins and providing feedback. And then from there, we had the actual users who gave the feedback. So for this one, in terms of working in that collaborative setting, it was not very hard. But one thing I learnt is that you need to keep following up on people to give feedback; once you write something, you keep asking people, please provide feedback and assign people to different sections. So in writing the paper, the communications team was assigned to check the information captured in communication – was it accurate? If not, then make sure you make it as accurate as possible. And then for the users, just assign them to specific sections, because sometimes when you assign someone to read the whole paper, they might not have the time to go through the whole manuscript.”
You can watch a recording of the session here: https://youtu.be/S_Q9z-eCzog
Thank you to the presenting co-author: Masilin Gudoshava.
Facilitators: King Carl Tornam Duho and Edmond Sanganyado.
Reviewers: Olanrewaju Omosehin, Shashikant Nishant Sharma, Stephen Asare Abankwah, Duke Ayim Agbozo, Abraham Akuoko, Byron Zamasiya, Femi Oyeniyi and Amon Jecheche.
Would you like to join the journal club? Use this link to join our WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/E1hhLTlM2XV7TGFUxjyEIo