The latest WiRē data report, published as a Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) Research Note in February 2017, reflects an evolution in our approach to communication.
In earlier data reports, we followed typical academic practices, with most of the space devoted to text describing the data and maybe a handful of tables. In contrast, this latest report emphasizes visual display of the data and includes twenty-one figures embedded within only thirteen pages for the entire body of the report.
This evolution includes an increase in attention (and time!) devoted to crafting our messaging to be more useful for the communities in which we work — and ultimately to more concisely communicate to the practitioners, policy-makers, and public that we serve. More broadly, it reflects our group’s development from separate tracks in “research” and “practice” to a tighter integration of the two throughout all of our efforts.
Check out our re-designed approach, hosted on the Forest Service’s public-access hub for all FS publications, and let us know what you think!
