While many policy makers and practitioners heavily rely on information from the scientific community for their decision making, research about activities at the science-policy interface shows that information use is often not straightforward. Despite the large amounts of scientific information available to policy-makers and practitioners, there are still calls for more “useful” information to be […]
Information Use & Influence
“Holding our feet to the fire”: How eNGOs use information and relationships to advance marine conservation
Today, thousands of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), large and small, are found in decision making settings globally. Why are they active in these contexts? Do they fulfill particular roles? Do they affect how information is shaped and used by decision makers? Do they succeed in influencing policy development? Although NGOs have existed for many years, to […]
“Get Your Research off the Shelf and Into Policy”: EIUI Featured in MEAM Newsletter
The Environmental Information: Use and Influence research program is featured in the latest issue of Marine Ecosystems and Management (MEAM) in an article titled “Get Your Research off the Shelf and Into Policy: Writing Reports and Briefs that Influence Decision Making.” Written in the form of an interview, this brief article outlines the research agenda […]
Who Uses the Results of Long-Term Environmental Monitoring Programs? A New Study by EIUI Team Members
For over 25 years the Gulfwatch Contaminants Monitoring Program of the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment has annually measured chemical contaminants in the Gulf of Maine, including the Bay of Fundy using the internationally employed Mussel Watch methodology. Designed to “provide environmental and resource managers with information to support sustainable use of […]
EIUI Team Member Speaks at Calgary Conference on Environmental Contamination and Response
Ian Stewart presented a paper at the 40th AMOP Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response (AMOP), hosted by Environment Canada and Climate Change, 3-5 October 2017, in Calgary. The seminar focused largely on the fate, behaviour, effects and response options to oil spills in marine environments, particularly regarding ice conditions. Over 90 papers, given […]
EIUI at the 2017 Sustainable Oceans Conference
Collaboration, communication, and creativity – the 2017 Sustainable Oceans Conference encouraged participants to consider these three perspectives when addressing today’s coastal and ocean management challenges. This conference, held in Halifax on 22-23 September 2017, provided six members of the EIUI research program with an opportunity to report about current and ongoing research initiatives. Now in […]
EIUI Participates in the 39th Annual Meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization
Suzuette Soomai, Postdoctoral Fellow with the Environmental Information: Use and Influence research program, attended the 39th annual meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), 18-22 September 2017 in Montréal, Canada. Over 180 delegates from 11 of the 12 NAFO Contracting Parties attended the meeting. The participants were welcomed to the meeting and to Canada […]
Current Literature: Do Search Engine Result Pages Influence How People Select Information?
“Current Literature” is a recurring feature highlighting recent publications of interest on the science-policy interface. One of the common ways people find and access information is through search engines like Google and Bing. While search engines can be useful tools and definitely aid users in locating information, the way they are structured can pose challenges […]
Current Literature: Environmental Assessments and Public Consultations
“Current Literature” is a recurring feature highlighting recent publications of interest on the science-policy interface. Despite the fact that Canada has had a formal environmental assessment (EA) process since the 1970s, it remains highly criticized by academics and practitioners alike (MacKinnon, 2017). Currently, the federal government is undertaking a review of the Canadian Environmental Assessment […]
Ocean Connectivity – EIUI Researcher Conducts Study in Falmouth, Massachusetts
What does the ocean mean to residents of coastal communities? What information informs their views about the ocean? How do these views relate to oceanographic and coastal data? How can citizens’ views about their connections to the ocean inform public policy? These questions underlie a research project being conducted by Simon Ryder-Burbidge, a graduate student […]