Managing the Communication of Research Information for Policy: Institutional Dynamics and the Social Component

Effective communication is a popular phrase within many institutions. At a basic level, communication involves purposeful exchange of information among parties. Failure to successfully transfer knowledge within this transaction can result in misunderstanding, misuse of time, and inappropriate or lack of action. Within a governmental context, this situation could result in wasted resources, ineffective policy, […]

Continue reading


Information Flow Frameworks: Communication of Research-Based Information into Policy

The demand for usable scientific information is increasing along with a greater need to understand how research-based information flows in pathways into both policy and practice settings. Yet, a number of issues with respect to the pathways, through which information is obtained, can impede the use of research in decision-making. The literature on this subject […]

Continue reading


New EIUI Book about the Science-Policy Interface to be Published in May 2016

The EIUI Research team is very pleased to announce that Science, Information, and Policy Interface for Effective Coastal and Ocean Management will be published by CRC Press (division of Taylor & Francis) on 16 May 2016. This volume, edited by Bertrum H. MacDonald, Suzuette S. Soomai, Elizabeth M. De Santo, and Peter G. Wells, brings […]

Continue reading


EIUI Team Member Publishes a Paper on Assessing Public ‘Participation’ in Environmental Decision-Making

Elizabeth De Santo, Department of Earth and Environment at Franklin & Marshall College, Pennsylvania, and Adjunct Professor at Dalhousie University, recently published a new paper about public consultations regarding marine protected areas in the UK. The paper provides an assessment of public consultation processes and outlines implications resulting from the erosion of public confidence in the […]

Continue reading


EIUI Team Members Speak about their Research

EIUI team members, Suzuette Soomai, Lee Wilson, and Ian Stewart, recently spoke about their research in several academic and professional settings.   Suzuette Soomai, Post-Doctoral Fellow, spoke about “Elucidating the Role of Scientific Information in Decision-making for Fisheries Management” in the Ocean and Ecosystem Science Seminar Series at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova […]

Continue reading


SSHRC Five-Year Insight Grant Awarded to the EIUI Research Team

The Environmental Information: Use and Influence (EIUI) research team is very pleased to announce that an application for an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) has been approved. The five-year (2015-2020) funding of $371,575.00 will support the team’s continuing research on questions about the use of information in […]

Continue reading


Lee Wilson Defends his Master’s Thesis Research on Tidal Power Communication Networks in the Bay of Fundy Region

Lee Wilson, Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) student with the EIUI research program, successfully defended his thesis on 30 November 2015. His research examined several aspects of inter-organizational communication among organizations affected by tidal power developments in the Bay of Fundy region in Atlantic Canada. Capturing tidal energy through the implementation of tidal […]

Continue reading


MacDonald and Ross Present Paper at Canadian Science and Technology Historical Association Conference

EIUI team members Bertrum MacDonald and James Ross presented the paper “Crossing Borders in Scientific Literature: The Case of Environmental Assessment Reports,” at the nineteenth biennial conference of the Canadian Science and Technology Historical Association / l’Association pour l’histoire de la science et de la technologie au Canada held at York University, Toronto, 6-8 November […]

Continue reading


Citizen Science – Achieving a Balance with Government Programs

An editorial in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science (PNSIS) calls for a debate about the role of citizen science in environmental initiatives in Canada (Wells & Richardson, 2015). “Citizen science” refers to the collection and analysis of data by amateur or nonprofessional scientists. Environmental monitoring programs initiated […]

Continue reading