Bridging the knowledge-implementation gap between agency and academia: A case study of a graduate research experience

Abstract

Conservation biology is particularly susceptible to the knowledge-implementation gap where academic pursuits do not always meet the needs of practitioners. Providing future practitioners with relevant training and experiences as graduate students can help narrow this gap. An example of one such experience was a partnership between the University of California, Davis and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), established to conduct climate vulnerability assessments of wildlife in California. Here, we discuss the value of the experience for graduate students as both developing conservation professionals. Students were motivated to participate because of the opportunity to work on an applied project and valued collaborating with fellow graduate students. Overall, we felt the project successfully met objectives set out by TNC. In recognition of the value projects like these have, we provide a suite of recommendations based on our experience and lessons learned for academic faculty and conservation practitioners wishing to establish similar opportunities.