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Hi everyone! The Faunalytics team is conducting our annual Community Survey, where we evaluate our impact and get candid feedback about our animal advocacy resources. If you’ve ever used our work or are familiar with what we do, we’d be grateful if you could take a few minutes to give us your thoughts here:

https://carletonpsych.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4YPg7T0JrDyQKV0?src=smred 

Thank you in advance for your help!

The nonprofit sector, including the animal advocacy movement, often uses data and research to improve their tactics to create positive change in the world. Now, Faunalytics has published a research paper that investigates exactly how research is used by animal advocacy organizations. In particular, the report discovers the research needs of advocates, like more accessible material, summaries, and reports on how to effect change. These findings will be of interest to animal advocates, researchers, and those interested in the science of effecting change.

“Advocates are clear about what they need: clear, understandable, and reliable data,” says project supervisor Dr. Jo Anderson, “As this project demonstrates, advocates are the experts on the needs of their organizations, and researchers must work closely with them to create impactful studies that meet those needs.” She adds that she is excited about the five uses of research, as detailed in an accompanying visual explainer, which will help organizations more mindfully plan projects to benefit the advocates themselves.

Key Findings:

1. Research and evidence in animal advocacy can be categorized in terms of five purposes: external legitimacy, internal decision-making, building partnerships, catalyzing action, and identifying problems and solutions.
2. Most organizations and audiences see peer-reviewed publications and the research behind them as the gold standard for rigor. Government and industry research is often seen as biased, but also the basis for the dominant systems and narratives and thus cannot be ignored.
3. Organizations need evidence syntheses that provide a ‘state of the state’ on specific topics, including agreement on key facts and figures when possible, as well as detailed annotated bibliographies, exhaustive literature reviews, or similar extensive summaries of the current state of the knowledge on general topics.
4. The most foundational gaps in the evidence base are related to how to effect change, especially regarding under-researched species and geographies. More social science research and knowledge translation is needed on the impact and efficacy of behavioral nudges on one hand and social movement tactics on the other.
5. Challenges to using existing research include having the time and expertise to translate complexity and ambiguity in research findings into actionable information. More evidence is needed from evaluation and internal data collection about tactics that work AND tactics that do not work to achieve intended outcomes.

As a result of the findings, Faunalytics has decided to enact a few program-wide changes. In 2024, the organization will improve its research strategy by working on agenda-setting in collaboration with other researchers. The organization will accelerate their content by increasing how many external papers it summarizes and publishes and will launch new series to explain the science behind advocacy tactics and how peer-review works in academia. And finally, Faunalytics will expand its reach and accessibility by creating more short-form, visual content with each study to improve its reach.

This report is the latest addition to Faunalytics’ original research collection, which serves to benefit the animal advocacy movement and improve its tactics. A list of upcoming and previous original studies can be found here.

Faunalytics is now accepting applications for our People & Operations Director!

This newly created position will play an integral role in supporting our organization behind the scenes by overseeing our human resources and general operations, ultimately increasing our impact for animals. If you’re detail-oriented with a passion for animal protection, people management, and nonprofit operations, this is the career you’ve been waiting for. Full time and remote.

Applications are due March 1st:
https://faunalytics.org/job-posting-people-operations-director

Faunalytics is now accepting applications for a new Projects Manager role!

This individual will work closely with the Research team to bring our original research projects to fruition, ultimately increasing our impact for animals. If you have a passion for animal advocacy, experience in project management, and familiarity with research, this is the career you’ve been waiting for - applications are due January 31st.

https://faunalytics.org/job-posting-projects-manager/

Hi everyone,I'm curious about the caloric potential of undigestible fiber, specifically when it's converted into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the gut. As we know, undigestible fiber passes through our digestive system largely intact, but some of it is fermented by gut bacteria and transformed into SCFAs, which do contain calories.My question is: If we consider 1 kilogram of undigestible fiber, how many calories could potentially be extracted from it once it's converted into SCFAs?I understand that the actual conversion rate and caloric extraction might vary based on numerous factors like the type of fiber, individual gut microbiota, etc. However, I'm interested in a general estimate or any studies that might shed light on this topic.This question came to mind while reading about dietary fibers and their impact on nutrition and gut health. I believe understanding this could add another layer to our knowledge of how different components of our diet contribute to our overall caloric intake.Thanks in advance for your insights!