Public consultation is a difficult and multi-layered process, with no single approach working effectively for all situations (Doubleday & Wilsdon, 2013). Governments must implement clear goals and techniques when engaging in public consultation (OECD, 2001). Networking, using tools that are fit-for-purpose, and ensuring citizens are aware of their legal and ethical rights are elements needed […]
Information Use & Influence
The Communication of Research-Based Information in a Public Policy Context: Bridging the Divide
Research should be an essential component in the development and implementation of public policy. By informing decision makers of the potential costs and benefits of a particular action or inaction, research can contribute to sound decision making. However, the technical and scientific nature of research often may not obviously match the policy implications of decision […]
Information Pathways: Charting Evidence-Based Policy
Policies are everywhere, and although often unseen and unknown, form the framework for how citizens work, play, and live their lives. At the heart of every policy is information, forming the basis of knowledge and evidence-based decision-making. Acquiring the information to make the right policy decision is by no means a simple task. In our […]
Improving Use and Awareness of Scientific Information: An EIUI Study of the Gulfwatch Monitoring Program
Chemical contamination is a threat that impacts all waterways, especially those closest to human activity. Contamination of ecosystems can lead to consequences within trophic (food-web) structures and can percolate up trophic levels and impact human populations. Countless examples exist of mercury poisoning from contaminated fish overwhelming coastal communities. Other contaminants, such as other trace metals, […]
Social Science Information and Local Knowledge in Public Policy Development: The Eight “Ps”
Decision and policy-making are multifaceted processes. Carol H. Weiss’s 1977 statement “policymaking process is a political process, with the basic aim of reconciling interests in order to negotiate consensus, not of implementing logic and truth” remains valid today (Weiss, 1977, p. 533). Awareness that policy making is a multifaceted process and one in which […]
Communication across Science-Policy Interfaces
Using research-based information to make informed decisions in policy-making is important in the creation of governmental policies. The use of evidence-based knowledge verifies and validates that appropriate decisions are made by policy makers. Within the science community, the use of scientific research in public policy is termed the science-policy interface. Van den Hove (2007) defines […]
Information for Public Policy with a Focus on Health and Environmental Policy
The relationships among research, decision-making, and policy development are often complex due to the multifaceted processes that involve varying institutions, people, and information. For both scientific and health research fields these issues are common. Specifically, knowledge and evidence utilization are not static concepts; rather they occur within dynamic settings encompassing a spectrum of types of […]
Grounding the Science-Policy Interface in Empirical Study
When studying the science-policy interface, it is easy to become lost in abstractions and forget that what is being examined is a living, breathing entity comprised of institutions and people immersed in the ebb and flow of complex forces. In a recent paper entitled “Balancing credibility, relevance and legitimacy: A critical assessment of trade-offs in […]
Marine Environmental Monitoring Data: Commodity or Public Good?
How to balance business and research interests in marine environmental monitoring data was a subject of debate at the 5th International Conference on Ocean Energy held at the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 4-6 November 2014. Held for the first time in North America, this conference brought together industry, government, […]
How Do We Improve Communication of Science to the Public? Paul Zehr Has a Suggestion
Most people would agree that good decisions are made when there is evidence to support a course of action. Policy-making is no different. Evidence-base policy-making is held up as the highest standard of decision making – in contrast to ideological or partisan decision-making. To make decisions in an information vacuum can easily be a recipe […]