A Researcher With a 500-Year Plan, the Lessons Learned
When you hear "long-term research", do you ever imagine a 500-year mission? That's the remarkable goal of Zealandia, which provides valuable insights for researchers of all backgrounds.
Most researchers are familiar with the struggles that come up with long-term planning for research projects. Nearly all scientists have faced some version of this when pursuing their PhD programs. This trend continues both in academia and industry, where projects continue to take years, if not decades.
Some projects, like the Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne ecosanctuary, located in Wellington, New Zealand, take this one step further. With a 500-year mission to ecologically restore the area, this project gives an entirely new meaning to “long-term planning”.
As Chief Executive of Zealandia, Danielle Shanahan brings a unique perspective to research methods, values and best practices. In our recent interview, she gave me a glimpse into what it takes to manage a venture like Zealandia, and the various insights gained which apply just as well to researchers across domains and organizations.
What is Zealandia?
Zealandia is an ecosanctuary located in New Zealand, with the mission of ecologically restoring the valley it’s located in. That includes re-introducing and enabling wildlife and vegetation to flourish, gaining knowledge that can be applied elsewhere and restoring “the indigenous character of the valley”.
Due to its relatively urban location in the city of Wellington, its influence on the region is widely-known and celebrated. It has over 140,000 visitors per year and hundreds of local volunteers. The increase in native bird populations throughout the region has been largely attributed to the sanctuary’s work over the last three decades.
Lessons learned, for all academics
No matter the domain, many researchers face the same challenges with their long-term pursuits. Whether that’s interpersonal struggles, budgeting, or losing sight of the big picture, there is some degree of friction, which naturally increases in proportion to the size and scope of a research initiative.
Although Zealandia has a unique goal and remarkable timeline when it comes to its ecological objectives, the challenges and lessons learned are clearly applicable to researchers in other domains and circumstances. Here are a few of those key takeaways, based on my brief chat with Danielle Shanahan.
Embrace a long-term vision
Working with a 500-year timeline in mind means frequent reflection on the scale and sustainability of practically all choices. Take something as mundane as file systems. At Zealandia, grappling with the best way to store data in the long-term is a serious challenge, taking significant effort and long-term thinking. This perspective has driven Shanahan to give genuine attention towards what she wants to achieve in the time she has.
“How do I want to see the world differently when I exit it?” - Shanahan
→ Find a long-term vision for your research. By considering the far-reaching impacts and potential legacy of your work, you can better guide your research objectives and help stay focused on the bigger picture.
Rethink the value of publishing
With a project as impactful and practical as Zealandia, it’s easy to imagine how the research conducted there extends outside of academia. Although Shanahan acknowledges the value of publishing research in peer-reviewed journals, she also finds that it’s not always the best mechanism when it comes to sharing scientific findings.
Of course, this can be a challenge. Shanahan herself came from academia, and saw publishing as a clear measure of success. But over her 7+ years at Zealandia, she’s seen the enormous value that comes from sharing research findings with the right audience, in order to ensure it has the best intended impact.
What are these other venues? Depending on the project, it may be better to share findings as a report, a public-facing blog, or (in the case of Zealandia’s ecological work) directly with other sanctuaries. By relying on local networks, media, and news, the discoveries made at Zealandia have a much higher chance of encouraging real world change in other contexts, as compared to limiting information-sharing to the academic domain.
Shanahan shares a recent example of researchers experimenting with a novel proof-of-concept for the veteranization of pine trees. Instead of cutting some trees down, researchers cut them in specific way that enables native kākā birds to nest in them. Although it’s a novel application of this technique, there’s no clear value in spending concerted efforts on publishing this procedure in a journal. Instead, the team would opt to share the process on social media, and other methods targeted towards the audiences most likely to benefit via reports.
→ Not all research needs to be published in peer-reviewed journals. Assess the best platform for sharing your research findings. Especially if your work has practical applications, consider blogs, social media, and detailed reports to effectively reach your audience and create a more targeted impact.
Prioritize people and connections
No matter what I talked about with Shanahan, the conversation often came back to the value of relationships. Whether it’s trying to engage a community, in order to get their support for a research initiative, finding collaborators, or supporting staff, the priority is the people.
“That’s my most important job — looking after the people and the place.” - Shanahan
When it comes to working with the community, Shanahan observes that people are far more willing to engage when they understand why a certain initiative is happening.
→ Invest in real life connections and conversations (e.g. conferences), especially for practical outcome-focused research.
Maintain open communication
Investing in people and relationships may sound great, but how does it happen in practice? Trust and honesty are key components to maintaining human connection, and even more so in times of difficulty or conflict. A great example is how Zealandia handles weasel incursions — events that make communication with the broader audience intimidating.
In order to effectively preserve wildlife within the ecosanctuary, Zealandia is fully enclosed with a 2.2 meter (7 foot) tall fence, plenty of traps, and strict biosecurity rules. Nonetheless, pests sometimes still get in. Shanahan acknowledges that although its tempting to wait until an issue (like a weasel incursion) has resolved itself before informing the broader audience, it’s better to share these events promptly. “Early, open and transparent” is the primary philosophy for communication at Zealandia, which Shanahan believes fosters better community trust.
“I think talking about the fact that research is hard, that there’s no easy answers, I actually think that’s interesting to people. The mystery is interesting to people. And I think really hearing that journey is what creates buy-in.” - Shanahan
→ Be honest and open with stakeholders and audience members, especially those who contribute to or support your research. Consider Zealandia’s communication philosophy of “early, open, and transparent.”
Taking a step back, it’s easy to see the remarkable benefits of working with such a long-term mission as Zealandia’s. It allows contributing researchers, like Shanahan, to more easily appreciate the big picture, to focus more on how research gets done, and to even reflect on each person’s individual contributions throughout their life. Although these values come swiftly to the forefront for very long-term projects like this one, they are equally salient across all research domains.
Do you think the lessons from an ecosanctuary with a 500-year plan transfer to your own work? What are the barriers you face in long-term strategy and planning? Share your perspective in the comments, or get in touch. The Scoop is always seeking new perspectives on the state of academia, research and more.
We would like to warmly thank Danielle Shanahan for her valuable insights for this edition of The Scoop.