Data from: Addressing communication challenges in transdisciplinary sustainability science: insights from a case study

To address sustainable development challenges, Transdisciplinary Sustainability Science (TDSS) requires understanding and managing ecological processes that transcend scientific, geopolitical, and cultural divides. Communication that can bridge these divides is critical for the success of TDSS projects. Here we describe a communication strategy developed as part of a large, transdisciplinary, multi-year project that aimed to understand the impact of invasive trees (specifically, Prosopis juliflora) on human societies and ecosystems in eastern Africa and to develop and implement sustainable management solutions to mitigate those impacts. The strategy included 17 activities designed to support communication among scientists, students and stakeholders throughout the project from inception to conclusion. Both the informational and relational dimensions of communication were considered in the design and implementation of these activities. We discuss the effectiveness of this communication strategy, offering it as a guide to enhancing communication and the success of large TDSS projects. As part of the evaluation of this project and its communication plan, a survey of project participants was conducted, soliciting responses on aspects of communication or communication-dependent project outcomes. Tallies of Likert scores for participants in the Woody Weeds Project at a Workshop held in Niarobi in 2022. In brief, participants in the project were administered a survey on which they indicated their level of agreement in response to a set of questions. The survey was administered as part of a final meeting for the Woody Weeds Project held at the Kenya Forest Resources Institute (KEFRI) in Nairobi, Kenya in May 2022. The workshop was conducted by Sanford Eigenbrode at a workshop at that meeting. Sanford Eigenbrode tabulated the data. Three csv files (WW_Workshop_May2022_Scientists.csv, WW_Workshop_May2022_Stakeholders.csv, WW_Workshop_May2022_Students.csv) contain all responses to this survey. Responses are grouped into these files by participant roles: Scientists, Students, Stakeholders. The score sheets for each group have a row for each participant (lettered), and columns for each question and participant's responses to demographics categories for that respondent. Mean, Max and Min scores for each question within each participant group are calculated on this sheet. The analysis included a comparison of the mean scores of responses by each of these groups. The numbers of each question differed between three separate groups of participants: Scientists, Students, Stakeholders. Some questions were only asked of one group and were excluded when making comparisons. The question descriptions and questions used for comparison are provided in a fourth csv file (WW_Workshop_May2022_Comparison.csv). Participant identities are protected and not provided. This was a survey of participants from Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Switzerland