Building Research Capacity Through Visual Storytelling: AG-ACt's Infographics in Practice Program

Posted on Tuesday, March 10th, 2026

Written by Michelle Stringer

Infographics on Display at Cultivating Resilience Summit Reception.

The Agricultural Genomics Action Centre (AG-ACt) refined a University of Guelph training program to help research teams build practical skills in visual communication. Drawing on insights from the Infographics in Practice program (funded by Food from Thought), the program supported participants in:

Identifying a single core message
Understanding target audiences, including their baseline knowledge and potential barriers
Translating complex data into a coherent visual story using simple design principles
Using clear and accessible language
Applying an iterative workflow that incorporates feedback and test‑audience insights

This work responded to a need identified by the Climate Smart Agriculture and Food Systems (CSAFS) network. In Fall 2025, CSAFS research teams expressed interest in strengthening their capacity to develop infographics, an increasingly popular tool for turning complex data into clear and engaging visuals.

The program kicked off with the Creating Impactful Infographics webinar, facilitated by Alex Sawatzky, Creative Advisor at the Arrell Food Institute (AFI). The webinar was, and is, made available to anyone looking to building skills and knowledge that support real-world impact in agriculture, industry, and policy.

The program’s intensive portion followed, with 18 participants from the CSAFS network’s highly qualified personnel (HQP) invited to take part. Rather than working with sample datasets, participants developed infographics using their own research projects, making the learning immediately relevant and applicable to their daily work.

Participants collaborated with knowledge mobilization experts from the AG-ACt and AFI teams to refine the “story” within their data, identify and define their target audiences, and select visual formats and layouts that would resonate with those audiences. Through cycles of drafting, review, and refinement, participants received feedback at multiple stages before arriving at a final product. These infographics were showcased at the Cultivating Resilience Summit in Vancouver, B.C., in October 2025.

As agri‑food research continues to grow in volume and complexity, so does the need for tools that make findings clear, actionable, and impactful. By equipping research teams with practical skills in visual communication and infographics design, AG‑ACt is helping research teams share their work more effectivelyand contribute to a more sustainable and resilient agri-food system.

What’s Next

Upcoming capacity‑building initiatives will continue to focus on tools and approaches that empower researchers to broaden the reach and impact of their work. These efforts advance AG‑ACt’s mission to strengthen knowledge mobilization across the CSAFS network.

Use the arrows below to view the created infographics.