Wendy Lu Maxwell-Barton and the team at the International Biochar Initiative (IBI) are leaders in championing biochar—an incredibly valuable tool for removing carbon dioxide. They decided to use their position as a trusted authority to help spread the word about biochar’s little-known ability to address the pervasive problem of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (a.k.a. PFAs or “forever chemicals”.) But when they realized the white paper they’d commissioned was too technical and dry to be impactful, they collaborated with us to re-work their white paper into an Insight Brief to get the word out in a more engaging and accessible
How it worked
As a mission-driven, science-based organization, IBI has the unique challenge of needing to articulate complex scientific concepts to a wide range of stakeholders in the areas of enterprise and policy. They commissioned a white paper on the potential of biochar for addressing the now-infamous forever chemicals. What they got was thorough, exhaustive, and technically on-point—but Executive Director Wendy Lu Maxwell-Barton knew that it would not resonate with anyone besides a PFAs scientist. She reached out to Written Progress with a vision of simplifying and optimizing the white paper to make it accessible to her enterprise and policy-oriented readers.
Megan and the Written Progress team listened carefully to Wendy Lu and helped her hone in on what the paper’s key messages were—and how she could describe them in a way that would be legible and meaningful to a wider audience. Before long, we realized that the most efficient approach involved heavily reworking the order, flow, and voice of the document – hard to do without completely changing the content. With Wendy Lu’s permission, and with multiple audiences in mind, we redesigned the document on every level, including:
- combing the text for opportunities to make its significance more concise – without taking away meaning or reducing the robustness of the science.
- employing headers, call-outs, and formatting to draw the eye to key points and quotable quotes.
- integrating illustration to give readers a vision of what biochar actually looks like in real life.
The resulting document has all the detail a researcher would want, eye-catching key takeaways for policymakers and journalists, and the visuals a biochar newbie needs to start discovering biochar’s surprising properties.
In short, the paper had transformed altogether: from a white paper to an Insight Brief. You can see it and IBI's other publications in their resource library.
Why they succeeded
From the beginning, Wendy Lu was very clear about what ideas IBI found exciting, important, and worth spreading. Her background in international communications and agriculture means she grasps both the potential of this approach and what will motivate various stakeholder groups to embrace it. In short, she knows her stuff.
This meant that our rapport with Wendy Lu could be a true meeting of the minds. Throughout the process, we were able to get into the weeds about agricultural concepts, policy implications, and chemistry—and how to talk about them. For example, while crafting a section that contextualizes biochar’s relationship to the process of pyrolysis, we were very intentional about selecting reference points that will feel familiar and relatable to readers who are unfamiliar with pyrolysis in the first place.
What we learned
Our work on IBI’s insight brief taught us two key lessons:
If you’ve got a clear idea, but are feeling boxed in by a conventional content structure like Wendy Lu was, get in touch with us. As scientific thought partners with a knack for wordsmithing, data viz, and document structuring, we can help you genre-swap and amplify your ideas’ impact.
The information gathering process and disciplined communication that Written Progress brings to the table have been invaluable.
It's a very mutually respectful way to do business.
Wendy Lu Maxwell-Barton, Executive Director
Ready to get started? Book your complimentary expert consultation.