Attached is a Frameworks Institute social science research report on using values and causal explanations as communications tools to reframe climate and ocean change. These concepts are part of the foundation for the style of communication used by the National Network for Ocean & Climate Change Interpretation.

A summary from the introduction section of the report: 

"Though research has shown that Americans have a basic understanding that climate change has negative impacts, they lack a fundamental understanding of the science of climate change and its impacts, especially on marine life and ocean systems. The challenge for climate change communicators, then, is not to convince Americans that climate change has negative repercussions, but to give them the ability to productively engage with solutions that address the issue at an appropriate scale.

"The research presented in this report was conducted on behalf of the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI), and supported by the National Science Foundation.1 NNOCCI represents a collaborative effort between the New England Aquarium, the FrameWorks Institute, the Association for Zoos and Aquariums, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the New Knowledge Organization to transform the public understanding of climate change and its impacts on oceans via institutions of informal science education.

"This report presents the results of research designed to test the effects of various strategies for communicating about climate and ocean change. SpeciNically, we discuss the effects of value frames on people’s attitudes and opinions towards climate and ocean change, and on their support for the policy solutions recommended by experts from these Nields. We also examine how different ways of providing information on climate and ocean change interact with these value frames, further affecting public knowledge, attitudes and policy support."