The Ocean at Science-Policy Interfaces: Books EIUI Team Members Are Reading

The ocean is vast, occupying about 71 percent of the Earth’s surface and holding 97 percent of its water. These dimensions alone highlight how the ocean dominants Earth. However, size is only one of many factors that position the ocean in critically important roles for the well-being of the planet. Food sources, transportation and communication […]

Continue reading


New Paper: On the Development of Criteria for Determining the Effectiveness of Technical Working Groups

  Use of scientific information in evidence-based decision-making is critically important in contending with coastal and ocean management concerns. Evidence can reach policy- and decision-makers through a wide variety of channels, or it may not reach them at all due to a host of hurdles that can encumber information pathways. Furthermore, a myriad of information […]

Continue reading


“Tides of Change” – The ACCESS-Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership Conference, 4-7 June 2024

With the highest tides in the world as a backdrop, the joint Atlantic Canada Coastal and Estuarine Science Society (ACCESS) and the Bay of Fund Ecosystem Partnership (BoFEP) biennial conference was aptly headlined “Tides of Change: Accelerating Conservation and Protection Efforts in Atlantic Canada’s Estuarine and Coastal Waters.” While the macro tides alone are a […]

Continue reading


Information Science Public Lecture on Open Science

As increasing attention is being paid to implementing Open Science globally, the Environmental Information: Use and Influence research program is pleased to co-sponsor the upcoming Information Science Public Lecture on this subject.   Co-sponsored by the Dalhousie University Office of the Vice President-Research and Innovation, the Dalhousie University Libraries, the Faculties of Arts and Social […]

Continue reading


New Paper: Measuring Engagement with Shark Research in Science, News and Social Media, and Policy: A Bibliometric Analysis

What does research say about the shark species that navigate oceans all over the world? Is it critical to protect them? Does relevant scientific knowledge make its way to policymakers and journalists alike? In a study published on 13 September 2023 in Marine Policy, an internationally renowned journal dealing with marine affairs, we analyzed the […]

Continue reading


Assessing Research Use in Policy and Decision-Making Contexts: The Importance of Models

The relationships between research and policy and research and practice have been theorized in different ways. Several models have been conceptualized over time, which provide different frameworks for thinking about and understanding the research use process (Nutley, Walter, & Davies, 2007a). These models take several complexities into consideration that forms of research use can take […]

Continue reading


EIUI Co-Sponsors Panel on the Concept of Stock Assessment and Fisheries Management Decisions

On 8-9 March 2018, the Environmental Information: Use and Influence research program co-sponsored a visit by Dr. Jennifer Telesca (Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York) to Dalhousie University and the University of King’s College. At the panel, Dr. Telesca led off with a presentation that drew on her paper “Accounting for Loss in Fish Stocks: A […]

Continue reading


A Complicated Web: The Benefits and Challenges of the News and Social Media in Promoting Awareness of Research-Based Information

Massive changes in communication activities due to the rapid rise of social media and transformation in the traditional news media over the past decade have both increased opportunities for researchers to disseminate the results of their studies as well as presented challenges because of the plethora of information channels. Although information can potentially be transmitted […]

Continue reading


Public Participation in Policy: A More Inclusive Approach to Decision Making

The field of policy making can be influenced by a host of government agencies, interest groups, associations, and social movements, both on a domestic and global scale (Pal, 2010). Considering that the range of players involved depends on the issue at hand, policy literatures have introduced the two concepts of policy community and policy network […]

Continue reading