Message Development Posts
China Leads World’s Embrace of Inexpensive Approach to Clean Water
Charting New Waters: State of Watershed Payments 2012 tallies an uptick in investments by governments, NGOS and private companies that pay communities to shelter or clean up water supplies. The study found that more than $8 billion was invested in these projects—a $2 billion increase from the study’s findings in 2008.
Reflecting on the Importance of Impact
I feel more thankful this holiday season than in years past. This realization came to me last week during a media and advocacy training with Baltimore community leaders who are fighting for the rights, health and safety of children, mothers, and families in East Baltimore. I’m thankful, because these advocates are having impact, and they have told us that our work with them has been part of what led them to success.
What Works for America’s Communities?
The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that poverty levels in the U.S. are stuck at historically high levels. The nature of poverty is also changing—it is increasingly suburban; it is deeper than it was just a decade ago. These new realities spurred the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF, a Burness client) and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to publish the book Investing in What Works for America’s Communities.
Can Bananas Feed the World if Climate Change Worsens?
Hurricane Sandy crashed into the northeast U.S. at the end of October 2012, demonstrating the type of severe weather that climate change is expected to bring with increasing regularity. At the same time, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)—a Burness client—released two research papers looking at how feeding the world contributes to global warming, and how agriculture in particular needs to be revamped as climate change continues to worsen.
What Can Scientists Learn from Tonight’s Presidential Debate
2012's Presidential debate was packed with perfect examples of messages about real people, and use of storytelling to get a point across. It was also a great display of a tool we call “bridging”—what experts in this NPR piece call “the pivot.”
Mars, It’s the Journey, Not the Destination
The now famous video “Curiosity’s 7 Minutes of Terror” tells the incredible story of the rover’s difficult landing and explains the complex process the engineers went through and the obstacles they faced in safely landing a $2.5 billion rover on another planet. Using animation and testimony from the engineers, the video turns the complex scientific process into a compelling and accessible story.
Challenging Rabies’ Killer Reputation
Rabies has been thought of as one of the world’s deadliest infections, and exposure to it—usually through the bite of a rabid animal—an automatic death sentence unless immediately treated with a series of painful injections. But according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers have uncovered a pocket of people in a remote area of the Peruvian Amazon who show a natural resistance to the disease.
Nice Save: The Unexpected Benefits of Federally-Funded Health Research
One of the overlooked stories in biomedical research is the story of unintended consequences. Or, more accurately, the story of unintended benefits. That’s the story that we wanted to tell through the new advertising campaign designed by Burness Communications for Research!America.
10 ‘Big Ideas’ from Day One of the Aspen Ideas Festival
One of the great perks of working at Burness is the range of topics we encounter– from fighting the scourge of neglected diseases around the world and improving the health care system at home to improving our nation’s community colleges. Experts from a number of different fields came together in the mountains of Colorado at the Aspen Ideas Festival– many whose work relates to the organizations we support--and discussed some thought-provoking ideas for us to ponder.
10 Tips for Successful Malaria Vaccine Advocacy
A group of senior malaria vaccine researchers from all over Africa recently collaborated with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and Burness Communications to publish a guide of best practices called “10 tips for successful malaria vaccine advocacy.” Helping these scientists get their message from the lab to Parliament could mean the difference between a child dying from a preventable disease and a child receiving a vaccine that could save her life.
