Vol.
25 No. 4
July - August 2003
Vice
President’s Column
It has
been a year since I announced in this column that my Vice
President’s Critical Assessment (VPCA) would focus on
communication. According to the Union’s bylaws the "Vice
President shall submit to the Bureau biennially a critical
assessment of the programs and projects of all IUPAC bodies."
The Union’s internal communications are an important
component of all the programs and projects that were recently
reviewed, and yet the way we communicate often seems to be
taken for granted, even though our changing world is offering
new means of exchanging information.
It’s
Time to Improve IUPAC’s Communications
by Leiv
K. Sydnes
The
importance of interaction and communication with the global
chemical community has been recognized by IUPAC. In fact,
an extensive communication activity is a requirement, even
a prerequisite, if the Union is to realize its ambitious Mission
Statement.
Reviewing
IUPAC’s current practices, one can identify four main
communication channels:
- written
correspondence between the IUPAC Secretariat and the National
Adhering Organizations (NAOs), the most traditional channel
- printed
publications such as Pure and Applied Chemistry and Chemistry
International
- IUPAC-sponsored
conferences
- electronic
communication such as e-mail and the IUPAC Web site
.
. . very few people are in fact involved in the decision-making
process.
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The
quality of IUPAC’s services to the global scientific
community depends on how well the four communication channels
are used to disseminate information and interact with IUPAC
stakeholders.
In
preparation for my critical assessment, I visited as many
NAOs as possible to discuss, among other issues, the fundamental
question of how to improve communication. Since my visits
started in October 2002, I have had discussions with representatives
of 18 NAOs and Associate National Adhering Organizations (ANAOs)
in all parts of the world, except Africa. The perspective
of these discussions was introduced in a letter that preceded
my visit:
"
[ . . . ] I believe firmly that the chemical community,
including the chemical industry, and the society at large
will not benefit properly from all the good work done in
and by IUPAC unless the communication is improved. [ . .
. ] This challenge has to be taken seriously, and as part
of my VPCA I am therefore going to visit a number of NAOs
and discuss what IUPAC can do to remove communicative bottlenecks
and obstacles, and how IUPAC should go about to facilitate
involvement in IUPAC work of more chemists from more of
the union’s member countries. In this connection I
would be delighted to have a meeting with the National Adhering
Organization and discuss the questions raised above in the
perspective: What changes have to be done to the way IUPAC
operates to satisfy [your] expectations of the union?"
Detailed
analysis and assessment of each channel of communication are
presented in my VPCA and are the result of an iterative process.
The inputs received during the very fruitful consultations
with the NAOs have been particularly valuable. Many issues
raised in that document will require more attention, but recurrent
problems appear to include a lack of responsiveness or poor
dissemination.
.
. . I found that the scientific work of the Union suffers
from the lack of communication.
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One
example comes from the formal and important correspondence
by letter between the IUPAC Secretariat and the NAOs. Most
of the letters are minutes, calls for nominations, or other
information that require consideration and feedback. In spite
of the small volume of this correspondence, there are problems
associated with it, the nature of which differs for the sender
and the receiver. From the Secretariat’s point of view
the main problem is the low reply percentage. Even when the
44 NAOs are contacted by mail regarding a matter of importance
to the Union, it is rare to receive more than 5 replies. As
a consequence, very few people are in fact involved in the
decision-making process.
From the NAOs’ point of view the main problem appears
to be related to the contents of some of the correspondence.
This is particularly the case for NAOs that represent countries
that have barely or not at all been represented in IUPAC activities
in recent years, and which therefore have little knowledge
about how the organization works and what the challenges are.
Under such circumstances, the natural tendency is not to comment
when the subject is unfamiliar. This is a circle that must
be broken to generate interest in IUPAC and engagement in
its scientific activities in countries lacking a tradition
of involvement.
Another
problem is related to the limited transmission of information
to each NAO’s national chemical community about IUPAC
and its activities. With the exception of news items about
the IUPAC conferences, the general impression is that most
NAOs do less than expected to keep their chemical communities
well informed about what IUPAC does. Such poor dissemination
seems to be most prevalent in countries that have had little
or no representation on IUPAC committees and groups in recent
years, or where the national academy (or an equivalent body),
and not the national chemical society (or the largest chemical
society in the country), functions as the IUPAC NAO. When
a chemical community knows little about what IUPAC does, it
is naturally less probable that members of that community
will become engaged in the scientific work carried out in
IUPAC.
Nowadays,
electronic communications makes the exchange of information
timely and cost effective and for the last few years IUPAC
has given high priority and spent a lot of money to improve
its electronic communication. The efforts have paid off, and
IUPAC is now running an efficient office based on e-mail correspondence
and Web-based presentations. The Web site is updated regularly
and includes information about new and completed projects
and other IUPAC activities. Updates are regularly featured
in the IUPAC e-news, a complimentary e-mail newsletter. But
in spite of these efforts, it seems that very little IUPAC
information finds its way into the national chemical magazines
published by the chemical societies in IUPAC-member countries.
As a matter of fact, other than IUPAC conference announcements,
most of these national magazines do not contain any information
about IUPAC on a regular basis. That is an awkward situation
that ought to be rectified.
To
summarize my assessment, I found that the scientific work
of the Union suffers from the lack of communication. There
is no doubt that chemists are more prone to engage in IUPAC
task forces and project groups when they feel included and
are well informed about what is going on in the Union. A major
goal of my presidency will be to implement measures that give
more chemists the opportunity to become involved in IUPAC
work. One arrangement that I can envision could include the
association of one representative from each member country
to each of the eight divisions; these groups of 44 representatives
should be informed by mail or e-mail about the work being
done in the division to which they belong. The members of
these groups should have not only the right, but the obligation
to give feedback to the relevant committee. This interaction
should improve the quality of the work carried out in the
divisions, and help to disseminate the results of IUPAC’s
scientific work. In addition, this arrangement could give
chemists from less active countries IUPAC experience that
may eventually lead to an elected position in the Union.
Other
arrangements could be thought of, and I would appreciate any
suggestions. Ways to improve, or simply use, the existing
channel of communications should not be ignored. This news
magazine for instance is YOURS. No writers and full time editors
fill up these pages. If you, your NAOs, ANAOs, or Associated
Organizations have a short, interesting, and relevant story
that will draw the reader’s attention, please contact
<[email protected]>. National magazines of chemical
societies are in fact encouraged to reproduce or translate
articles printed in CI.
Shortly,
you will hear more about the proposed improvements and measures
to be implemented that could be beneficial for IUPAC, its
members, and the chemical sciences.
www.iupac.org/news/
archives/2003/vpca_sydnes.html
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last modified 2 July 2003.
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