The Space of Coordination: Accounting for Multiple Expert Knowledges in Environmental Communication

Activists, private companies, and nonprofits increasingly address environmental issues along with scientific and governmental bodies, each bringing valuable experience and original perspectives. However, the growing diversity of expert knowledges in environmental communication may complicate policy development and implementation. To help address this issue, we propose an account of environmental communication as a dynamic space involving multiple expert knowledges. To enable this account, we offer a computer-assisted mapping technique relating these knowledges to each other at various time points. We illustrate the proposed approach with a case study on flood risk management in the UK, where diverse expert groups have been engaged in a shared communication space which enabled coordination of their knowledges over time. Researchers can use the proposed technique to trace knowledge dynamics in environmental communication. Communication practitioners can use it to map thematic areas that experts specialize in, identify knowledge gaps, find relevant documents, and facilitate expert communication.